World in the eyes of Chinese student

World in the eyes of Chinese students

(People's Daily Online) 09:08, September 15, 2014

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Chen Yunzheng, a senior high school student, traveled to Kenya this summer. 'Their lifestyle shocked me. Though they could communicate with us fluently in English, their living conditions were intolerable: cow dung was everywhere in the fields, and people sat on the ground ignoring dirt and insects.' But they seemed happy and content, Chen added. (Photo/ China Youth Daily)

For today's children, traveling abroad is no longer a dream that is difficult to achieve. Every summer, these little luggage draggers swarm over airports, airplanes and cruise ships. Some of them go traveling with their parents and some of them are on their way to join summer camps. Their destinations too are diverse, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, America, Europe and even Africa.

Last week, a few days after the new semester began, while checking students' summer vacation homework, teachers in a key primary school in Beijing found that most of the students had traveled abroad for the two-week vacation. Though some of the students' parents are working class, they are still willing to spend about ten or twenty thousand yuan to take their kids abroad and discover the world.

Teachers with experience of traveling abroad also love to share feelings and experiences with the kids. They talk about the differences among people in different countries, the sparkling merits of the foreign kids, and more. 'Actually, sometimes, the world in the kids' eyes is different from the one the grownups think it should be. We should let them discover the world by themselves,' a teacher said.

However, the negative effects of traveling abroad and visiting big cities should not be ignored. Some kids from rural areas may suffer psychologically, and become less confident and unsure about themselves after a trip to Beijing or Shanghai provided by a warmhearted sponsor.

No matter where the kids come from and no matter where they travel to, they view the world differently from adults. It's not sure that what influence the 'outside world' will exert on them and how their memorable experiences will change their future choices and even their lives. Maybe only time will tell.

The article is edited and translated from《中国孩子看天下》 by Chen Jingtong , source: China Youth Daily, author: Zhou Xiaoyu

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(Editor:Huang Jin、Liang Jun)

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