‘Love Chinese’ function held
“Say hello to my mother,” says the young Chinese man, Darren (his name in English) pointing to his cell phone.
His mother appears on the video call, and with a friendly laugh, she waves at me. I wave back. All I can remember to say in Chinese is wo ai ni (I love you). Darren is one of a group of Chinese student pilots who were invited by the “Love Chinese” (Mossel Bay) organisation to embark on a hike along the St Blaize trail on Sunday afternoon.
The hike was one of several activities arranged for the student pilots and the Chinese shopowners in Mossel Bay over the weekend.
On Saturday evening some 25 Chinese shopowners joined 20 folk from “Love Chinese” to enjoy a meal at a local Chinese restaurant. A couple of
Chinese interpreters ensured an evening of exuberant conversation and laughter.
Everyone joined in the programme of icebreakers, “getting to know you” activities, Chinese (traditional) and Christian songs. A lucky draw competition ensured many prizes were won and each winner was enthusiastically applauded.
I was apprehensive about the Chinese food. Raw fish is not exactly one of my favourite dishes. But to my surprise what I would consider normal
food (with Chinese flavouring) was set before me. This included soup, sweet and sour pork, beef, calamari, chicken and salad, and much more. We ate like emperors.
On Sunday afternoon after the hike, the student pilots joined us for the KomTuis Gemeente church service at 17:00. We enjoyed a rich time of singing together, with one of the highlights being a traditional Chinese song, The moon represents my heart, to which Christian words had been set. This song was accompanied by organ, piano and saxophone. One of the students then presented to us their experience of South Africa and explained how they had come to George to be trained to become commercial pilots.
Apparently the airspace in China is so busy that it is easier and cheaper for companies to arrange training for their students in the wide open spaces of South Africa. Trainingg schools were therefore set up in George, Oudtshoorn and Beaufort West. All the instructors are South Africans and the
operation is headed by a retired pilot from the old South African
Air Force, Jaco Nel.
After the service everyone was treated to soup, bread, fruit and various snacks. The Chinese soup was the first to disappear. The cheerful group of young men (with an average age of 22) have been selected from the cream of young Chinese academics, some already having a university degree behind their names.
While the students will be going back to China after their training, the Chinese shopowners are here to stay. They are very hardworking people, many of whom have come out of humble homes in China, but they hope that by setting up shop in Africa they will be able to create a better future for themselves and their families.
They are lonely in a strange land, far from their families and place of birth. Many cannot understand English and struggle with immigration problems, licences for their businesses, the workings of credit card machines, and to pass driver's licence tests in a foreign language. The thousands of South Africans who are working in China and other overseas countries no doubt know exactly how it feels to be foreigners in a strange land. Perhaps we should face the fact that "there is a Chinaman on my stoep". You can choose to see him as a threat – someone who will "steal your sunshine", or you can see him as a valuable contributor to our economy and community. What is your choice? (www. dsgielie.net) If anyone would like to know more about “Love Chinese”, contact Lloyd (076 199 8229) or Gielie (072 137 3535).
We enjoyed a rich time of singing together, with one of the highlights being a traditional Chinese song, ‘The moon represents my heart’.