A pretty, quiet young woman, Meina's friendly demeanor invites company. She admits to being a hopeless romantic. And, the fact that she is at the University of Twente bears testimony to this confession. While studying English at the Ocean University of Qingdao (renowned for having the largest marine studies program in Asia), she met and fell in love with an English professor named Jimo Zhang. Later, after Jimo enrolled in the UT International Management PhD program, the university recruited Meina to join the International Masters program for Educational Training System Design (ETSD).
Together the professor and his student embarked on a new chapter of their lives at the UT. Meina's experience as a Lecturer of English at Ocean University led to her interest in curriculum development. After the yearlong program in ETSD, Meina hopes to apply what she learns to Chinese educational institutions.
Currently China is undergoing educational reform, moving from a knowledge-based approach to quality-based approach which would encourage critical thinking skills. This represents a true revolution as the government will no longer insist on an exclusive body of knowledge; teachers and students will be allowed to experiment with ways of gaining knowledge, although still firmly guided by the centralized educational system.
Despite the nationwide reform, Meina will have to be conservative in her attempts to implement new pedagogical approaches. Western ideas are still frowned upon by most ruling members of the Chinese Communist Party, and their tentacles of power stretch into nearly all aspects of public life.
For the moment, however, Meina has more mundane matters to cope with, like riding a bike! When she arrived two months ago, she did not know how to ride a bicycle. After what she refers to as 'tearful hours' and a few bruises, she is now quite adept.
Her handsome counterpart, Jimo, displays great enthusiasm for the United States and speaks excellent English with a casual American accent and a wide array of contemporary colloquial expressions. He was eager to talk about his country, citing all kinds of fascinating facts. The couple comes from Shandong province, located on the coast of the Yellow Sea. This is the birthplace of great Chinese thinkers such as Confucius and Mencius. The third strongest economic region in China, Shandong's many seaports lend to its progressive, international flavor. Furthermore, the region was leased to Germany from 1898 to 1915, yielding a heavy influence of European architecture.
Perhaps the most important morsel of information Jimo shared was that Qingdao is the home of Tsingtao (an alternate spelling of Qingdao), the best beer in China, according to Jimo. It is also the only beer exported from China. Nevertheless he seems quite content imbibing Dutch beers.
Jimo was born in another Shandong city called Weihai, noted as the cleanest city in China. When he completed high school, he had three choices: to become a 'pop star singer', to become a military pilot, or togo to university. He chose what at the time must have seemed like the least glamorous of the three options: becoming a college student. But his choice has ultimately propelled him to personal and professional opportunities that he never fathomed at that green age.
After university, the army enlisted his services employing him as an associate professor of English for the Foreign Languages University at the People's Liberation Army (Jimo equates this loosely with the United States CIA training center).
In 1989, Columbia University in New York City accepted him as a doctoral student. But in that same year the government crushed the prodemocracy demonstrations on Tianamen square and conducted widespread arrests, summary trials and executions; banned the foreign press; strictly controlled the Chinese press; and restricted travel in and out of China. Jimo's dreams of studying in America were shattered. For five years, he tried to leave the army, succeeding at last in 1995.
The next chapter of his life led him to Ocean University of Qingdao. There he works as Professor of English and Associate Dean of the College of Foreign Languages. In March 2001 he arrived at the Hogeschool in Amsterdam to teach a seminar and never left. Subsequently he enrolled at UT for a three-year stint in the International Management program.
This is quite a change in status for Jimo: from college Dean to lowly PhD student. He maintains that being a dean is just a job, not a title. He adds, however, that he finds his experience at UT to be liberating. There are no restrictions on his time or his speech as there are in China where professors and teachers nationwide must meet once a week for a political study group. Generally they meet on Thursday afternoon to listen to articles and documents distributed by the Chinese Communist Party to Party Secretaries who must then read and discuss the items. There is no real debate of ideas because speaking against the Party simply is not done. Electing not to attend the weekly gatherings could result in a stagnating professional career, diminished housing dispensation or even a salary reduction.
Where Meina and Jimo will go after their stay at UT is still unknown. They envision returning to their home in China. Nonetheless the taste of freedom is intoxicating; they may try their luck in a country where speaking freely is a right not a privilege.
Meina Jiang and Jimo Zhang
Place of origin: Qingdao, China
Favorite book: MJ 'Gone with the Wind' by Margaret Mitchell; JZ 'A Dream of the Red Mansions' by Qin Xuequin
Favorite musical groups: popular Chinese rock bands - Beyond, Dynasty, Black Panther, Zero Point
Favorite films: MJ 'anything from Hong-Kong'; JZ 'anything from director Yimo Zhang'
Favorite leisure time activities: singing karaoke, reading, playing ping-pong
Favorite dish: MJ crab; JZ clams
Favorite spot in The Netherlands: Amsterdam
Worst part about living in The Netherlands: the weather
Most surprising aspect of Dutch life: Small cars and big people
