Volunteer's Story: Martin & Kaye Downing, Australia  

Su Zhou is not the picture perfect canal village that we can readily find on travel brochures and the likes. In reality Su Zhou is a growing region of over 5 million people, and is in the process of undergoing huge development and revitalization. It is a great blend of the very old, the old, the not so old, the new and the very modern. On the main streets you can pass by upmarket department stores selling Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Burberry etc, while not 100 metres away you can find lanes and alley ways where the Chinese, like those that we have read about in books for decades, continue to live simple lives. They can only be earning a meagre amount of money carrying out small businesses or selling traditional foods from the smallest of shopfronts or street stalls. It is an amazing mix that we have only been able to appreciate by living here.

The tourist however, who pass through here in the hundreds of 1000’s, mainly go to the gardens and some of the remaining old canals in and around Su Zhou where buildings and lifestyles have survived the developers’ blades. In such places we too have found the postcard scenery, so it is worthwhile wandering along some of the well beaten tourist paths.

Our school has been another good experience. While by western standards the classes are quite large, the students have been very friendly and keen to engage in the work that we have presented to them. As our classes have not been their normal English lessons, which follow a well defined curriculum that is tested regularly, we have been able to cover a range of topics to engage the students in oral English. If only we were here for longer!!

The local community has been very interested in our presence here. While our Chinese is poor, and their English often no better, we have enjoyed our interactions, which are quite often humorous, with the local shop and restaurant staff, as well as with many of the residents that we meet in the street.

Another good thing is, should you want a different type of weekend, Shanghai is only a quick and easy train ride from Su Zhou. A stop over at the flat brings you in contact with more interesting folk and lots of interesting options.

If you are at all like us, and a little hesitant about stepping out to do some volunteering in a very different culture, then a placement in Su Zhou is a good option.

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