"Chinese Language Camp" - Slices of Emotion

The first night in Nanning, viewed from the Zhuang Yuan Po Hotel.

Actually, this wasn't my first time in Guangxi, but it was my first time experiencing it as an official member of the student delegation representing the University of Social Sciences and Humanities at the "Chinese Language Camp." Perhaps that's why, after looking back on the whole trip, instead of rigidly following a bullet point, I decided to sit down and write down little stories along the timeline of the journey.

Day 1, November 18, 2018

4:45 AM

It was still pitch dark and drizzling. I quickly grabbed my luggage and headed to the schoolyard. Thinking it was still early, I intended to quietly find a spot to stand in the yard. Little did I know, everyone had arrived at school quite early, excitedly chatting and making the whole yard noisy.

To briefly explain the reason for this trip, perhaps because I am an Anthropology student, when I learned about the "Chinese Language Camp" as a great opportunity to experience and gain a clearer, albeit fleeting, understanding of Chinese culture in general and Zhuang culture in particular, I felt interested and immediately wanted to participate.

Students from the Faculty of Anthropology - University of Social Sciences and Humanities on their trip to the 2018 Chinese Language Camp.

The "Chinese Language Camp" is a program organized by Guangxi University in China to promote cultural exchange between students from both countries. This is not the first time the program has been held; it has been running for many years and will likely continue to be organized in the future.

7:30 PM

After a long day of traveling, we arrived at the Zhuang Yuan Po Hotel. Although quite tired, driven by curiosity, and despite the cold and dark weather and the damp surroundings, as soon as we checked in and put away our luggage, I and Le – my roommate and one of the two students I knew before the trip – set off to explore the area.

A corner of the campus of Guangxi University, Nanning, China.

Monday, November 19, 2018

As scheduled, we visited the campus of Guangxi University in China. It was a chilly morning, but everyone was excited because we found some beautiful spots on campus to take photos for social media. Spending an entire morning breathing in the fresh air and walking around chatting with friends made me feel so relaxed and comfortable. It was the perfect way to start a new day, I suppose.

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Early in the morning, it was raining heavily, which is why I didn't bring my camera to Yi Ling Cave. It was a mistake to not do any research beforehand, because when you come here, you not only get to visit the cave but also learn about the culture of the Zhuang people.

Visiting Yi Ling, I had the opportunity to witness how the Zhuang people promote their culture at tourist attractions. According to the tour guide, there are actually no traces of Zhuang settlements inside the cave. However, tourists are still taken to visit the Zhuang village.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

For an Anthropology student like myself, visiting the Museum of Ethnology was a great excitement. Despite my enthusiasm for the trip, the weather wasn't cooperating; it remained cold and the rain continued to fall incessantly.

Visit the Confucius Temple.

First, we visited the Confucius Temple. Then we moved on to the Museum of Ethnology. This time, I was lucky enough to be one of the few people allowed inside the museum. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the museum visit was quite short, so I tried to visit as many places as possible to gather as much information as I could. When I got to the exhibition hall, because there were some things I didn't understand, I struck up a conversation with a group of local visitors. They were very friendly and enthusiastically explained the Chinese annotations that I didn't understand. It was truly wonderful to receive their help. They explained that the model they had erected was a recreation of a Zhuang family making their traditional Zongzi dumplings. I took a chance and spoke to them in Chinese, and we had some short but enjoyable conversations. I particularly remember one student asking me a question: Are the Zhuang people and the Vietnamese people the same? Are they one and the same? This was a fascinating question, somewhat related to our field of Anthropology. The question was interesting and unexpected. In truth, I, and probably many other students, had never even considered it briefly. With my limited knowledge, and perhaps not knowing if I was being presumptuous, I explained to them, in my rather poor Chinese, that the Zhuang people in Guangxi are quite similar to the Tay and Nung people in Vietnam.

A model recreating a Zhuang ethnic family making Zongzi (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) at the Museum of Ethnology.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Today, we toured the student dormitory at Guangxi University, followed by the closing ceremony of this year's "Chinese Language Camp." After the ceremony, I was fortunate enough to meet a Chinese friend. Her name is Wang Liping, and she's a Vietnamese language student at Guangxi University. We spent the day exploring many places in Guangxi, sharing stories in a mix of Vietnamese and Chinese – a truly unique bilingual experience, but still more comforting than communicating through gestures. After that day, we kept in touch and planned for her to visit Vietnam someday so we could practice our Chinese together again.

A day out with Wang Liping (far right)

Friday, November 23, 2018

One day I went to a shopping mall combined with an amusement park. Honestly, I'm not a fan of games, so I brought my camera to capture the interesting things around me. Mostly, I photographed the cute children I encountered. Behind each photo of a child is a story, and I can say that those children gave me a Friday filled with wonderful memories. Perhaps, playing with children is always more fun.

Perhaps the most memorable person for me was this little girl. She was lovely and relaxed while talking to me. But more importantly, after I showed her a photo of herself, she was very happy and didn't forget to thank me.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Time flies, and it's time to end this journey. Seven days in Nanning, at Guangxi University – neither short nor long, but filled with countless memorable experiences. A journey with seemingly endless car trips, spontaneous conversations with strangers, and small but unexpected joys. This is truly a precious experience that I will never forget from the 2018 "Chinese Language Camp."

The group's last day in Nanning, with their familiar vehicle.