Niko Brauer
This month we decided to visit the recently built Alcanta International College. There has been a lot of buzz about this place and although they only have 12 students so far, they are confident that a lot more will follow. After taking a tour we can see why, just walking around the vicinity made my colleague and I nostalgic of school days back home; at one point I practically had to pry the sign up sheet from my colleague’s hand. So, how was this place created? And why is it so different to other international study programmes in Guangzhou? We talked to Niko Brauer, Alcanta’s manager of publicity and recruitment to find out a bit more about Alcanta but also to find out a bit more about him.
Hello Niko, this place is awesome it actually makes me want to be a student all over again!
(Laughter) I live with that feeling everyday
What makes this place so special?
Well, we are a candidate school for the IB programme which we plan to offer students from next summer. The IB programme aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
Sounds Great! So I guess the next thing we’d like to know is how you came to be here. What is your story so as to speak?
Ok
When did you first visit China?
I was in China over Easter 2006 to visit two friends of mine who were volunteering in Ningxia province. It was my first time in China, I landed at the airport in Beijing, I had 1 day in Beijing. I took the airport bus downtown and I ended up not really knowing where I was in Beijing, getting lost. My first impression of China really was Ningxia province.
What did you think of it?
Eh I liked it, it was a friendly place. I only knew China from the news, there were not many people, not many foreigners. I stayed there for a couple of weeks before travelling to Chengdu, Xi’an and then back to Beijing and I really liked it.
At this point could you speak any Chinese?
No.
So you had the complete foreign experience?
Yes. I learned my first two numbers playing the famous Chinese dice game shizi and learned a little bit of survival Chinese from my friends. But, yeah, I started learning Chinese when I studied in the U.S, and it was as I was travelling to the U.S. that I thought ‘hm you were in China, you liked China, why don’t you study Chinese?’ Because my home university in Scotland didn’t offer Chinese where as the one in the U.S. did. So, during my one year abroad I did some Chinese and then did a study abroad programme in Shanghai which was offered by the same university to do a bit more Chinese.
So, it was actually the language that first interested you in China?
Yes, well in the first place it was curiosity about the country and culture, and then it was the language that brought me back a second time. Then after finishing my studies in Scotland, I said I wanted to come back to China to work. That was in 2009.
Having this language skill and being able to speak with locals, do you think it gives you a deeper understanding of the culture?
Oh certainly, Except here in Guangzhou I wish that I could speak Cantonese, I have a feeling that if you speak with the local people in Mandarin there is still some barrier and I noticed that when I try to speak mandarin with the people that come to the school, and then witness my colleagues speak Cantonese with them, that it’s a completely different way of speaking.
What were you doing before you came to Alcanta?
Before I came to Guangzhou I worked in Harbin for a 1 and a half years teaching English.
Very Cold?
Yeah. I was there for 3 semesters, or as we would say there, 2 winters and then this opportunity here came up, and what really made me want to come here was the idea of the IB programme, which I also did at high school, now being available to Chinese students.
What is the most memorable experience that you have had in China?
I think it would have been when I was here in 2006. Not speaking a word of Chinese and I decided to climb Huashan near Xi’an. It’s beautiful except when I was there I was told that you have to go up at night to see the sunrise. So, I took one of the late trains there, except it wasn’t quite late enough so I hung out with a lovely group of Chinese people who invited me for dinner, and we eventually started walking up the mountain, except by the time we got to the top it was still another few hours until sunrise and they wanted to wait to do the last little bit. They kept saying stay here with us and we’ll wait here a little bit and I insisted on walking on alone. I ended up walking in circles in the complete dark for a few hours. I had brought my sleeping bag but never got to the top until eventually I saw a security guard wrapped in a big green coat, he was really nice and told me that the tour group would be coming by in five minutes, so they did, and I followed them up and I saw one of the most magnificent sunrises I have ever seen.
Wow, that’s very brave of you, to go to a mountain in the middle of the night knowing very little Chinese…
So what is the strangest experience that you have had in China?
I think the strangest experience would just be the collective amount of all the times a random person would come up to me on the bus and either say I love you or you are handsome or some other inappropriate comments (laughter)
What was your response? I mean, if someone said ‘I love you’ what would you say?
Erm, sometimes I would pretend not to understand, if they say it in Chinese this is quite easy, if they speak in English I night respond in German. Generally I try to take these things in a nice way. It’s just sometimes after a long day and you’re sitting on the bus wanting to be quiet that it’s ‘hum’. But, with some of these people I had interesting conversations afterwards, and they did find out that, yeah, it’s not a thing you can say the first time when meeting people socially in a Western environment.
Christmas is this month, have you spent many Christmas holidays in China?
I’ve spent 2 Christmas holidays in China.
And how does it compare to Christmas back home?
Erm, it’s nothing like it really. I think that, in Europe at least, Christmas starts about 1 and a half or 2 months before December 24th, 25thth. You know, you have the Christmas atmosphere in Germany, you have the Christmas markets, you have the decorations and then pretty much as soon as Christmas passes, there is only a week and then that’s it. There’s New Year’s and then people go back to work., where as here in China, Christmas starts on Christmas day and then the decorations stay up for half a year. So, it was very different, my second Christmas wasn’t anything special; it was just a small Christmas party and cozy meal with friends. The first Christmas, one of my colleagues got a message inviting him to a party and we ended up going, it turned out to be a church service in the grand room of a local small hotel. We’re not sure if this was official or unofficial, but the thing was, as soon as we arrived, us being the only two foreigners there, they put us in the front row. We didn’t know we’d be going to a church service, and church services here are very different to the ones in the west. So it mostly involved fun games, dancing and singing.
Sounds quite exciting…
It was an interesting experience.
Christmas without family can often feel lonely, at least you had company.
My Christmas’ here certainly haven’t been lonely. However, what I have missed is Christmas spirit, just whether you like Christmas or not it seems to be a time when everybody comes together a bit more and just in China that completely passes by. In fact, one of those Christmas’ I had to work and an announcement like ‘It’s Christmas’ was just like announcing ‘you have a test next week’ and the response would be similar too.
Do you have any plans for this school for Christmas? A celebration or party?
I think there will be a small Christmas celebration. School closes on December the 17th to give everybody a chance to have the holiday and then we have another holiday shortly after we come back for Chinese New Year. We tried to combine the calendars.
Working here must take up a lot of your time?
Erm the thing about doing student recruitment is that you work when students are available. However, I enjoy the interaction with the students; I just wish I could speak a bit more Chinese to do with this interaction. I’m also very proud of what we have here and I’m always happy when we have visitors to show around.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Erm, I really enjoy exploring the city, so, what I like to do in new cities when I go there, is essentially write down where I need to get back to and just walk, get lost and then take a taxi back. I’d also like to get in to sports more, do you know any places that are good for Judo?
Erm I’m not sure about Judo, but there are a lot of places to learn Kung Fu….
Have you visited the temple in Foshan where Bruce Lee is said to have studied?
No I haven’t but it sounds interesting. I have to admit that I haven’t travelled much around the area. I’d like to arrange this in the future after I’ve finished recruiting students fort the summer, maybe explore some local areas like Qingyuan.
Where do you typically like to visit?
Typically, I like to visit small villages. The areas of Guangzhou where you can really see what Guangzhou used to be. Some parts of Yuexiu seem to have this, even in Tianhe, if you are by Friendship Mall and you head one road down, there are some small allies with interesting shops and interesting people.
Have you been to Dongshankou?
Erm yes. That area is great but otherwise I’d have to say my favourite area is Baiyun district, it’s a bit more quiet, a bit more relaxed and you have a lot of these small villages.
Finally, what is the one thing that comes to your mind when you think about Christmas?
Probably the atmosphere. For me, whether people celebrate it or not, if they are for or against it, if they think it is just another commercial holiday or they give presents or don’t give presents. I think everybody appreciates that there is something about Christmas that makes it a special time of year. Now, I don’t like the idea of giving presents or going out and buying many things, but I do believe it is a great time to contact old friends and speak with them and look forward to the new year.
For more information about Alcanta you can contact Niko on 13926022600 or email him at nbrauer@aicib.org
Want to see more and experience more? please visit: http://www.beingfunchina.com/magazine/the-getgo-vol-14/now!