January 21 - GDUFS students play many different roles during their four years in school. They may be actors, debaters, or even reporters. Ten students from our university recently served as docents for the Guangdong Exhibition on 30 Years of Reform. Eight of the students were from the Faculty of English Language and Culture, and two from the Faculty of Asian Languages and Culture.
Ten GDUFS students serving as exhibition docents
The ten girls were chosen by the school propaganda department based on their height, appearance, and communicative skills. Although they knew little about the exhibition before hand, they studied hard to become informative docents. Their main duty was providing explanations on the exhibition to leaders and foreign guests.
Wu Ying, an FALC senior who is not Cantonese, learned a great deal about Guangdong Province due to the work she put in. "Thanks to this experience, I gained a lot through my interaction with others and providing guests with information."
Cai Ziqi, an FELC sophomore who is a native Cantonese, said the work provided her with comprehensive knowledge of the reform policies and their effects in Guangdong. "All of the elderly visitors to the exhibition praised the great changes that have taken place in Guangdong over the past 30 years. I could sense their great perseverance and was inspired by them."
A challenging job
The exhibition ran from December 6 to January 15, with training starting in November. The extensive time commitment made by the docents gave rise to schedule conflicts between work and studies. Cai Ziqi said, "Because we could not change the work schedule, I had to adjust my study time, for example, studying during lunch break." Cai went on to say that "At first, it was hard to understand the vague political topics, and we had difficulty translating the many titles and proper nouns. But we managed by asking advice from teachers and discussing the problems with our classmates."
Wu Ying said she was impressed by the Japanese consul-general who spoke both Chinese and English very well. Cai Ziqi added that she met a Philippine diplomat who was very friendly and whose daughter is also a GDUFS student. Cai also related that she met an American consul who was fluent in Chinese and helped the docents translate when they were in trouble.
A docent making an explanation
Source: GDUFS News Website
