Author: Yongye Xue
A wonderful Ping-pong diplomacy tradition exists between China and the U.S. which can be traced back to 1971. The U.S. table tennis team visited Beijing and had a friendly match with Chinese table tennis team. This event marked a thaw in Sino-American relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon. Today, I arrived in Moscow, a beautiful town in Idaho, as a Chinese cultural messenger to teach students at UI about how to play table tennis.
Nine years ago, when I was a high school student, I participated the U.S. Joola Open in New Jersey. At that time, I just stayed in U.S. about 2 weeks. This time, I will spend a whole year to stay here and learn about the American culture. Before I came here, what I had heard about table tennis was that it was just a game called beerpong, which is played with alcohol. It made me feel a little bit worried, that this is what American students had learned table tennis and that they would not take it seriously.
There are some moments that show me how enthusiastic about table tennis American people are. Two days after I arrived, I was invited to have a friendly game with the UI Table Tennis Club (UITTC) members. Everyone in the club showed a big welcome to me and asked me questions about the technique of table tennis and Confucius Institute. It makes me excited about their enthusiasm in table tennis. In the beginning of the semester, the University of Idaho Confucius Institute hosted some fun table tennis games. They attracted a great number of students to join us, although games were a little bit difficult. Students not only enjoy the game, but also were interested about the beautiful pictures of China which we exhibited. Many of them asked questions about Chinese culture, Chinese food and famous scenic spots. Many of them leave their email address so they could receive our newsletter to know about China and Chinese language. I was a bit nervous before I gave the first class because of my poor English, so I took a piece of paper in case I forgot the words I wanted to say in English. After I introduced the history about table tennis, table tennis diplomacy tradition and some basic techniques, I could feel their patience with me. They also feel excited about the demonstration by Patrick (the academic advisor of UI Table Tennis Club) and me and showed us rapturous applause. After the class, some students asked about how I learned table tennis when I was a child and why I came here and what China looks like. I realize that table tennis in U.S. is not just beerpong. A lot of people love this game and they would like to know about the culture of that. Some of them even want to accept professional training. That’s a great encouragement to my teaching in the future..
Before I came here, I thought I would find a job after graduated and go through life in a regular way. It is hard to believe that I make a huge change by coming to Idaho. The Confucius Institute is the bridge between Eastern culture and Western culture. And I just like having a window to let more students get a glimpse into Chinese culture and cultivate their interest about it. I am so enjoying my life here!
Confucius Institute, Idaho 