Confucius Classroom instructor Dr. Shuya Che
SANFORD – More than 7,000 miles separate Professor Shuya Che from her home, husband and daughter in Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, but she is excited about the opportunity to teach at Central Carolina Community College.
Che is the instructor for the college’s new Confucius Classroom, the first of its type at a community college in the United States. She will teach Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture at the college and some schools in Central Carolina C.C.’s service area of Chatham, Harnett and Lee counties. She will also do community outreach.
“I am happy to be here,” said Che, who arrived in the United States Sept. 8. “It is helpful for me to know more about Americans and for them to know more about China and the Chinese language.”
The Classroom is a partnership between North Carolina State University’s Confucius Institute and the college. NCSU’s Institute is, in turn, a partnership with the People’s Republic of China’s National Office of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (Han Ban) and Nanjing Normal University. Through the college-NCSU partnership, Chinese scholars and business people can visit the area and those from the local area can visit China.
Che, who now lives in Sanford, will be at the college for two years before returning to China. She is an associate professor and master tutor at the International College for Chinese Studies, Nanjing Normal University. She has her doctorate in Chinese Linguistics and Literature and has published more than 20 works in her field.
Che’s husband, Xiangyang Cui, is also a university professor. Their daughter, Yixiao Cui, is a 15-year-old high school student in Nanjing. Che keeps in contact with them via the Internet. When she returns home, she will have a great deal to tell them about Americans, the United States, North Carolina, and the local area.
“North Carolina is beautiful and Sanford is clean and quiet,” she said. “The Americans I have met so far are polite and friendly, just like the Chinese people. I look forward to meeting more of them and teaching them about my country.”
Confucius Classroom instructor Dr. Shuya Che
North Carolina State University’s Confucius Institute and Central Carolina Community College celebrated the establishment of a Confucius Classroom at the college with a reception at CCCC on Sept. 15. Dr. Shuya Che (left), from Nanjing Normal University, People’s Republic of China, will teach the Classroom programs as a visiting professor at Central Carolina C.C. In partnership with the Institute, the Classroom will teach Mandarin Chinese language and culture, as well as offer cultural activities and travel opportunities for residents, government and business people in the college’s service area of Chatham, Harnett and Lee counties. Che is pictured with her husband, Xiangyang Cui, and daughter, Yixiao Cui, who will remain at home in Nanjing while Che teaches at CCCC for two years.