Chinese Classes Are Starting Again

Today, we re-started our Chinese class for some students from the international business studies department in San Marcos University in Peru. Due to changes in their academic schedules, we were not expecting too many to turn up - maybe just 2 or at most 3, so we were pleasantly surprised when 5 students turned up. What was even more gratifying was that all of them came with their notebooks, and they had not forgotten what they learnt in the first cycle despite the fact that we have had close to a one-and-a-half months of break in between.

After the class was over, three of them stayed back to have an interview with our friend Joan regarding various issues about Singapore. (In the pictures above, Joan is telling them some interesting anecdotes. In the first picture, from left-to-right, the university students are Johnny, Cynthia and Sonia.) Apparently, they are working on a class project on the topic of international trade, and they have chosen the theme of exporting mangos to Singapore.

Along with our teaching of Chinese, we have also been constantly seeking ways to inculcate good values into these university students. They are all intelligent students who have made it into one of the most difficult public universities to enter in Peru, and therefore have a good chance of doing well in their careers in their future. We are trying to teach them altruistic values and to encourage them to participate in some community projects with us, so that when they enter into the marketplace, they will not be sucked into the cold and calculating ratrace, but will continue to be principled professionals who will invest their time, treasures and talents into blessing the less fortunate members of society.