Johannes’s experience report from Suzhou
Some of my students were only one or two years younger, whilst others were about the same age.
Johannes
Visiting lecturer in Suzhou – Logistics
I had a few months to spare between finishing my bachelor’s degree and starting my career. I didn’t want to spend that time just waiting around, so when the opportunity arose to teach logistics in Suzhou, I jumped at it.
Academically, I was lucky. Logistics is easy to demonstrate. The supply chain, warehouses, stock, transport routes – these are things everyone is familiar with from everyday life, at least since it became possible to track parcels in real time. I worked a lot with sketches and simple calculations, and kept the theory to a minimum. Over the weeks, my sentences got shorter and shorter. That’s probably the most honest description of my progress.
My biggest concern wasn’t the language or the country, but my age. I’m 23. Some of my students were only a year or two younger, whilst others were about the same age as me. I’d given it serious thought beforehand: how would I handle it if someone realised I was standing at the front of the class without really having much more professional experience? In the end, the answer was unspectacular: it simply didn’t matter. What counted was whether I was prepared and whether I could answer questions. If there was something I didn’t know, I’d say so and follow up the next day. That built more trust than any attempt to appear more confident than I actually was.
I probably didn’t see enough of Suzhou. I visited the old town a few times, walked along the canals, and went to one of the traditional gardens the city is famous for. It was lovely and peaceful – a real contrast to the high-rise districts that start just ten minutes away. If I go back, I’ll plan my weekends better.
To sum it up in a nutshell: three weeks well spent. I now know that I can stand in front of groups, and I’ve gained a pretty clear idea of just how much preparation goes into good teaching. Neither of these things had been clear to me before.
