Clichés fill our heads. Embedded like rocks in the stream of
consciousness they slow the flow
deep waters of thought. ‘Turning the tables’,
for example. Many of us have used the cliché without knowing its history.
Instead, we use it simply as a shorthand way of saying the situation we are in
has been reversed. For those who like to know where particular clichés come
from this one originated in the 17th Century. In the game of backgammon,
players turned the board.
I use this
cliché because this blog entry provides me an opportunity to ask one of the
rising stars in journalism in China for her answers to questions I asked during
the course of an interview I conducted with her.
Helen Gao’s
resume personifies the new China. As a Chinese national, she has reported on stories
that investigate education, politics, and the military. Her words have appeared
in the NY Times, The Atlantic, Foreign
Affairs, and most recently in the online version of the prestigious journal
Foreign Policy.
I may have been
a trendsetter for my decision to come to boarding school in the US, but the
real person who helped start the rush to come to the US is Liu Yiting. She was one of the first undergraduates from
China to get accepted to Harvard. She and her parents then wrote a book, Harvard Girl, which spelled out how she accomplished what to many in China seemed like
a nearly impossible goal. The book
became a huge best seller, with millions of copies sold. My parents read the
book and then encouraged me to think about study in the US.
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| Liu Yiting |
What do you think about the book
now?
Looking back I
now disagree with some of the things the parents put forward as strategies to help
your child succeed. For example, I specifically remember that they made her
hold ice in her hands for long periods of time to toughen her up. I also have
my doubts about the genre of childrearing manual in general. The underlying
message to other parents in books like the Lius’ seems to be ‘If you follow
what we did to our child, you too can raise your daughter to become a Harvard
Girl.’ But in fact the promise is flawed in so many ways: there is not one set
of parenting methods that serves all parents, and becoming a Harvard Girl
should not be the only matrix that measures success for a child. While the book
did open up the mind of many Chinese parents about the future possibilities for
their children, it also fostered among them an obsession with brand-name
schools in the West that is not always based on rational understanding.
Tell us about your Deerfield experience.
Coming to
Deerfield was in some ways a shock and in other ways just what I expected. I
started learning English in third grade, so from that process had a basic
understanding of American culture. But I knew next to nothing about American
boarding school before I arrived at Deerfield, and did not know what to expect.
I attended a traditional Chinese high school which emphasized learning huge
amounts of information in order to do will on the national college entrance
exam: the Gaokao. Deerfield’s approach to learning was much more open and much
less structured and focused on memorization for exams. The other big shock—the
facilities. Deerfield’s resources and endowment permit the school to offer
small classes, great faculty, and endless activities and opportunities. The
campus itself—the buildings, gyms, and dorms far exceed almost anything in
China.
What can you tell us about the students
and the faculty?
The faculty
changed my life. In articular, one great English teacher became a mentor and
encouraged me when my writing in English needed significant improvement. Having
a mentor, who took time to teach me not just the basics, but also some of the subtleties
of prose, translates into what I am doing today. My introduction to great
essayist like John McPhee permitted me to see how words that tell a compelling
story move others and make them more informed.
The students
were all very bright but the emphasis in the US for students in far different
than in China. At Deerfield, and I expect other places, the people who were the
‘coolest’ were not the ones with the highest grades. Instead, it was the ice
hockey players and other sports stars who were looked up to by the other
students. In addition, the flaunting of wealth was something that separated students.
People all know who the rich kids were by the way they dressed and some of the
things they did that others of us could not afford.
While at
Deerfield, one of my best friends was from Botswana, and another from New
Jersey who similarly was not enamored by the preppy boarding school culture. We
bonded and became very close. I learned a great deal about other cultures from
them.
Teenagers
everywhere are often too concerned with fitting in rather than trying to
explore new activities and ways of learning.
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| John McFee text |
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| Yale |
I certainly
worked hard at Deerfield so my transcript was strong. But the whole application
process was stressful and ultimately surprising. I applied to 21 schools and
ended up being accepted to only 3. I do know that I had a great relationship
with an alumnus from Yale and that might have helped. It is also possible that
money may have played a factor in some school’s decision not to offer me
admission.
Can you describe your experience at Yale?
I think the
added maturity of the students at Yale translated into a student body who were
much more open minded and much more wiling to seek classes and activities that
challenged their preconceived assumptions. Education is in part learning to be
skeptical. Certainly the role of a
journalist is to investigate deeper than what might just appear on the surface
of a story.
I learned to see
my writing as a craft. Once again, I had great teachers who also gave me time
and provided me with ways of seeing and writing that were new to me. Like any
craft the more effort and time you put in the more skills tend to grow. I
developed technique and honed my voice.
I also
supplemented my classes with activities which permitted me to write and to
speak with many kinds of people: Building
Bridges, Reach
Out, Yale
Daily News, The New
Journal, Chinese
Undergraduate Students at Yale, tour
guide for international visitors.
This was another great education. Most importantly I was
around people all the time who like to write. Ever since high school I have
been one of these people. Each week back then I would write an essay so to be
around people who loved the craft and who could teach me was an exceptional
opportunity.
Does
writing get any easier?
Writing is always hard. For a long time while I was in the
US writing was a pain in the ass. I did not have the narrative flow that comes
from years of writing in English. Being surrounded by writers who shared their
craft and let me work on their words made my own writing in English flourish.
My writing is much better but I am also much more self-critical.
You
then since moved up the ranks so that you now file your own stories. You have had stories published in places any
writer would dream of. What has it been like?
Again, I have had wonderful mentors who go by the name of
editors. My first editor worked closely with my words. I needed this although
it was hard and sometimes frustrating. Since then my editors have opened the
doors to the way I approach stories I learned how to approach a story from an
angle different than other reporters whether it be a story on the Olympics or
something more political. I learned to use my strengths—my perspective on
stories as a Chinese national allowed me to employ my cultural differences in
ways that would appeal to readers. My knowledge allows me to go into depth that
some reporters from the US simply do not have.
Are
there any US writers who you think ‘get’ China?
There are a lot of great reporters and analysts on China in
the West. Given the prominent role China plays in the world, there seems to be
a deep desire in the West to understand China. Two of my favorite China hands
are James Fallows, at The Atlantic,
as well as Peter Hessler and Evan Osnos, both at The New Yorker.
I think some readers would be surprised at a few of the
topics you have written about since the perception of China in some places is
that there is a vast amount of censorship. Have you found this to be true?
Although I have written on what some might consider sensitive
topics. Such as the future military strategy for China in Foreign Policy, the
biggest concern on the part of the government centers on efforts that would try
to mobilize large numbers of people to take part in civil unrest. The huge
population in China means that even if a small percentage of people were in any
mobilized it could lead to serious incidents.
None of my stories show such intent, and I have no access to any
sensitive materials so what I write about is based mostly on what is already in
the public sphere.
There
are certainly some who would like to follow in your path. Do you have advice
about how they should do this?
Students and others should first off seek to become more
culturally fluent. In other words they need to get out of the bubble they are
surrounded by day to day in order to see the larger world. Many of the students who are cooing to the US
now from China are not looking to stay in the US. Instead, many wish to return
with not just a great academic education but with cultural understanding that
will make global partnerships with our growing economy easier and more
transparent. As reporter I always need to try to put myself in another’s shoes.
I think anyone living today should try to do the same.
There are many cultural stereotypes that people in the West
have about China and her people. Our time spent in the US provides an education
for them at the same time as we are learning to get past our own sometimes-limited
perspectives. People tend to judge too much and too quickly. The more time we
spend talking and learning from others who are different than us the more
likely it will be that cultural barriers can come down and that everyone will
benefit. Things that may appear ‘normal’ to me may not be seen that way from
someone outside my background. A reporter learns that each story is different
and that each person needs to be understood well beyond the generalizations
that are often promoted as truths.
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I would like to thank Helen for teaching me to get beyond
the clichés and stereotypes to find out the stories that are far more
interesting and run far deeper into my stream of consciousness.
Here are a few of the stories that Helen has written. I have
learned much from these too:
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| Helen Gao |
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