Gatecrashing Beijing’s ‘Australian Studies’ classes

Gatecrashing other people’s lectures is quickly becoming a regular habit of mine. As much as I love learning Chinese (no, really) I still need the kind of brain food that you can’t get from endless memorising of Chinese characters, or running through dialogues describing tomorrow’s weather. And I’m not going to pass up this golden opportunity to peek into China’s university education system.

A couple of weeks ago I happen to meet a Chinese student majoring in Australian Studies, lulz! So of course I asked if I could gatecrash, and this morning turned up to a class that introduced six Chinese students to Australia’s colonial past. The Chinese lecturer, and who must be mentioned had all but flawless English, had no problem with me sitting in, and introduced me to the others as an Australian, “who might hopefully be able to share some of her experiences with this topic.”

“Well I can’t say I was there in person,” I joked.

But much of the content was familiar to me from primary and early high school years of history: the transportation of Britain’s convict population to their Southern outpost, and then the gradual burgeoning of an independent nation. I relived the horror I felt as a 12 year old, hearing the tales of mass deaths at sea, the cruel floggings (she even had a picture of what a live one looks like) and hangings, and the generally harsh conditions those early Australians lived in.

It was surreal to be hearing these familiar tales … but now in a neon-lit classroom of Beijing, with six other Chinese girls – none of whom had never stepped foot in Australia, but were busy taking notes on “Port Arthur” and “Governor Phillip” in the margins of their textbooks.

Of course it wasn’t all doom and gloom. As the lecturer pointed out, life was hard for all poor people back then, even in Britain. And when along came pardons, tickets-of-leaves, and emancipation, Australian became a place for some to start anew. She pointed out that out in the harsh outback, people learned to rely on one another, and from this a strong cultural value emerged: mateship, and equality. That is, judging people by their actions, rather than their social status.

The Chinese students, though somewhat more reserved than Australian students, also asked some thoughtful questions, and I was impressed at their level of English. The lecturer had delivered the whole seminar in English, and there were more than a few sophisticated turns of phrases.

Very quickly, because it’s late, one thing that was definitely new to me, and I can’t believe I’d never known of, was the story of Mary Reibey. She’s the face on the 20 dollar bill – and is one impressive lady.

Tomorrow I’m gatecrashing the lecture on “Australian Youth” (double lulz!)