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An opportunity of a lifetime in China

Ask most Australians about Chongqing and many will admit to never having heard of it. This is despite the fact that Chongqing is home to over 30 million people - the most populous municipality in the most populous country in the world.

When I was offered an opportunity to live and work in Chongqing as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD), I jumped at the chance.

It was a fairly hectic two months between learning I’d been successful in my application and mobilisation. This included a week in Canberra for Pre Departure Training which was the first opportunity to meet other AYADs and bond, especially with those also posted in China.

My first month in China was a blur. It began with a week of orientation in Beijing with my fellow AYADs during which time, amongst other things, we learned some basic language skills. This was especially useful considering I didn’t speak a word of Mandarin up to that point. After a week of meetings, briefings and lessons we bid our excited farewells and I headed for Chongqing.

My role on the Australia-China (Chongqing) Vocational Education and Training Project (ACCVETP) (which is funded by the Australian government through AusAID and managed by HAI), is to aid in the publicity and promotion of the Project locally, nationally and internationally. I work closely with a Chinese counterpart which will hopefully ensure the sustainability of practices after my assignment concludes. Together we have been focussing our interest on areas which had been identified as needing some attention, such as design and layout principles and writing for the web. Other initiatives include a monthly e-newsletter and merchandising practices.

The arrival of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) in January heralded a series of concerts and performances staged by various schools and departments. Much to my horror I discovered that in my role as AYAD I would be required to perform. At one particular concert we - the Australians working on the Project - were asked to perform without notice. With no preparation time, no music, and no talent we got up and performed the first verses of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and ‘Advance Australia Fair’, the only songs we could think of at the time. Our performance was greeted with stunned silence, and I’m fairly certain that the organisers deeply regretted our involvement.

Another more significant performance was held a few weeks later and given its importance the locally-engaged members of the team decided that we could do with some lessons. The Chinese absolutely love performing and they can generally carry a tune. Unfortunately this was not true for the Australians remaining on the Project - on either count. The particular performance for which we were rehearsing was a competition staged by the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission and the Chinese members of the team took it very seriously.

Fortunately there is a happy ending. After hours and hours of rehearsals – with the help of a professional teacher – we managed to pull off the medley of Chinese and Australian songs with accompanying choreographed dance moves. The ACCVETP team was awarded equal first prize in the competition, a proud – and memorable – moment for all involved!

Briana Carroll

Australian Youth Ambassador for Development

Australia-China (Chongqing) Vocational Education and Training Project