My Chinese Brothers

Peter McNeely

Peter with one of his Chinese brothers

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Peter McNeely

Although my flight to Shanghai left Chicago O’Hare in February 2011, my journey to China actually began four years ago when I came to Miami’s first year orientation. While I was still in high school planning to attend Miami, I received a postcard advertising a brand new feature of the Farmer School of Business: the Chinese Business Program. Up until this time, I had no interest in learning Chinese, doing any kind of business in China, or making any Chinese friends. But after meeting with an advisor during orientation who urged studying the Mandarin language, I hesitantly registered for Chinese 101 instructed by Ms. Liang Fu and began the track that would eventually take me to China.

My very first roommate in college was Xiong Ling, a Chinese native from Chengdu. Was it coincidence or fate that led me to have a Chinese roommate to help me practice my Chinese? Regardless, I credit him with much of my success in the language for my first three years of study because I heard him speak with his friends so much that I naturally picked up on Chinese tones. I didn’t realize how important tones were until studying in Shanghai and discovered that I had a unique advantage over other students because, although my vocabulary wasn’t large, I could generally speak correctly. Before Fu Liang left Miami to teach at another university, she told the class a story that convinced me to take Chinese more seriously. She talked about a competition she saw on TV where Americans spoke Mandarin so well she could hardly believe it. Her eyes watered as she said that it was her dream that her students would continue improving their Chinese to be as good as they were.

It came to a point in my academic career that I had to decide whether to take business classes and some Chinese language abroad, or just take full advantage of a program that was only Chinese language classes. I chose the latter because I figured that I would rather spend a fifth year in college and not get any business credits out of studying abroad than to miss an opportunity to significantly enhance my language level. I met with a study abroad advisor who pulled out the brochure for the Alliance for Global Education’s Intensive Chinese program. She gave me some others, but I was already hooked on Alliance’s program (it was enough for me that an off-campus apartment was included in the tuition price, no dorm room!). Later that summer I applied, was accepted, and began packing.

I departed on February 6, 2011, not knowing what to expect. Because this was not a Miami program, I was alone on the airplane because the other students were coming from different parts of the country and took different flights. I had to make a conscious decision to not be nervous about anything, but it was hard to face the unknown and still be confident that I was doing the right thing. I can honestly say at that point I still had no passion for China or Chinese, even after studying for three years. Taking this trip was to check off my list of things to graduate, and nothing was heavier on my mind than wanting to get back to Oxford to complete my degree. Since I was already preparing to land in Shanghai, these thoughts had to be repressed because I wanted to get through these next few months… one day at a time.

As aforementioned, the Alliance Intensive Chinese program is unique in that it puts students up in apartments near Fudan University (where we took classes), as opposed to a homestay or a dorm. However, everyone does have the opportunity to have a Chinese student as a roommate in addition to an American. My Chinese roommate's name was Cai Li Cheng, also known as Charlie. I instantly befriended him because he had been in Shanghai for eight years and knew his way around the city. In fact, the first night he took me to Wal-Mart a few blocks away.

Over the course of the entire semester, Li Cheng grew on me more and more. After moving to China, I realized that my assumptions and stereotypes of the Chinese were all wrong. It took a lot of patience in trying to understand the Chinese culture; it wasn't until after I forced myself to be open to this culture and recognize my biases that I was able to form a deeper connection with Chinese acquaintances. Li Cheng became my friend, not just my roommate. I remember moving out of my dorm freshman year at Miami and Xiong Ling called me his "American brother" as we said goodbye. I didn’t think much of it at the time except that it was a polite notion, but by the end of my semester abroad in China some three years later, I knew that those words aren't taken lightly by a Chinese person. Li Cheng and I shared so many stories, talked about so many topics, practiced English and Chinese so many times; by the end of my brief time studying abroad, I called him my Chinese brother. Like the Chinese, I now don't take those words lightly either. Our friendship made such an impact on my life that I would consider Cai Li Cheng as important to me as a blood brother.

Classes at Fudan University were extremely intense, just like the program name indicates. I was placed in an intermediate level class and had only two classmates, so there was nowhere to hide when the instructor called on me! Only Chinese was spoken in and outside the classroom which was awful at the time, but in hindsight was really beneficial. That strict policy was crucial in improving my Chinese during the semester. Classes went from the morning into mid-afternoon, including all of the one-on-one sessions and tutoring. I began to get the hang of class after a few weeks, so eventually I was able to manage my time in such a way that I was able to travel around China during holidays, weekends, or school-sanctioned breaks. My travels took me to Xitang, Lijiang, Dali, Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Xi’An, Chengdu, Harbin, Beijing, Kaifeng and Sanya (Hainan Island) so I experienced the many different flavors of China (and the many accents and dialects!). Just as a sidebar, I think the best thing about traveling/flying in China is that even economy class passengers in two hour domestic flights receive complimentary meal service! In the United States, we’re lucky to get peanuts with a Diet Coke.

Back in Shanghai, my primary instructor was named Ding Yi. In the first few weeks, I really detested him. I’m not sure if it was the jet leg speaking or the intensity at which he ran our class. I was a couple years older than most students on our trip, and I could tell he was about my age, so it was a bit odd for a "peer" to be my teacher. Eventually I grew accustomed to his teaching style and actually became comfortable learning Chinese from him. He spoke very standard Chinese so it was really easy to listen to him speak. He began privately tutoring me a couple days a week to make sure I was staying on top of things because I was having trouble initially. This took a lot of pressure off by being able to talk with him in an informal setting.

Sometime in the latter half of the semester, Ding Yi urged me to participate in a speech competition open to all Alliance students (about eighty people). I really didn’t want to participate until he said that it would be a "pity" if I didn’t. With that kind of guilt trip, how could I refuse? It was really an immediate turnaround between the time the contest was announced until maybe ten days later when the event was held. I worked furiously on my speech and several teachers helped me edit it. The speech discussed the Chinese friends I had made in Shanghai, mentioning several different people and I followed up by thanking the teachers of Alliance for their dedication. The speech was completely memorized without notecards and was scheduled to last about ten minutes, but what surprised the audience was when I diverted from my planned speech and thanked my teachers individually for their work. There were several to thank and some in the audience started shouting, "What about Ding Yi?!" It was then that I said to him (in Chinese of course), "Ding Yi: You are my teacher, you are my friend, you are my Chinese brother." I closed the speech by asking the audience to applaud our teachers. Apparently there were a few choked up audience members, many complimented the speech, and I won first prize for the intermediate category, but I think the most memorable thing from that day is seeing his pride as my teacher, and as my Chinese brother.

And so I’ve come full circle: I gave a speech completely in Mandarin that moved audience members to tears, so I think Fu Liang would be proud of me. I thought about her when I evaluated my own progress during my final days in Shanghai and marveled at what a little time abroad can do to a person. Prior to going to Shanghai, I was missing a passion for China and wondered if studying the language was a waste because I had no intentions of using it after college. Now I wonder how I could have ever thought that. China and the Chinese language are a part of me now, even if it’s just by talking with and visiting my Chinese brothers. I have no regrets getting involved with the Chinese Business Program at Miami University and I recommend anyone who wants to experience an exciting journey to the East to participate. I can tell you that China will change your life, just like my Chinese brothers have changed mine.

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