SANFORD - Thousands of miles from her home in Nanjing, The People's Republic of China, Professor Ling Huang is excited about being the instructor for Central Carolina Community College's Confucius Classroom.
Huang arrived at the college on Oct. 12 and is eager to teach about her country, its language and culture. In turn, she is excited about learning American culture and becoming friends with many people here.
One of her favorite childhood memories is learning songs, both in Chinese and English, from her musician father in their home in Huaian, Jiangsu province.
"We would sing 'Jingle Bells,' 'Oh, Susanna,' 'Take Me Home, Country Road,' and others," Huang recalled with a smile. "As a little child, I didn't understand the words, but I loved the songs. I still love country music."
Now, approximately 7,000 miles from her home in Nanjing, she said those experiences sparked her interest in the cultures of the world. In 2004, she taught at a middle school in Australia. Now, she is enthusiastic about being at CCCC.
Huang, who is fluent in English, earned her bachelor's degree in English literature and her master's in Jewish Literature from Nanjing Normal University.
"I am impressed by their endurance, perseverance, and harmonious living with nature," she said of the Jews. "I am deeply touched by all the different cultures of the world. I want to see more places and know more things."
Her father also played folk music from various parts of China. That inspired her to travel within China, learning about her own country's cultures. That desire to experience more cultures and meet people has brought her to Sanford for the next two years as the visiting professor for the college's Confucius Classroom.
Starting in January, she will teach university transfer credit classes in Elementary Chinese I and II. She will also teach Continuing Education classes in cooking and traveling in China. Huang has already started her community outreach, making a presentation on Oct. 28 to seventh graders at West Lee Middle School.
Huang brought her son, Qianfan ("Fan" for short) Chen, with her so he could have the growing experience of living in a different culture, meeting different people and becoming fluent in English.
Fan has already enrolled at East Lee Middle School. Huang admitted to a bit of motherly concern about her son, who doesn't have a large English vocabulary. That concern was relieved the first day when he stepped off the school bus with a big smile on his face. He had been welcomed and already made friends.
Her husband, Bingshan Chen, a journalist for the Zinhua Daily newspaper, is expected to visit from China in a few months. Huang uses her maiden name, as is customary in China. As is also customary, her first name usually comes after her last name, but while in the United States, she will reverse that order, using Ling Huang, as is the custom in Western cultures.
The college's Confucius Classroom is a partnership with N.C. State University's Confucius Institute. Huang was originally scheduled to work at the Institute next year, but, after researching Sanford on the Internet, she opted to spend her next two years at CCCC. People's comments about Sanford described it as a warm place, where one has nice neighbors.
"That impressed me very much," she said. "We've found it to be true. The people here are very friendly and helpful. We feel very comfortable. Before we arrived, the people from the college had prepared our apartment. I can't express my gratitude to them - they thought so considerately about the small things."
For more information about CCCC's Confucius Classroom, visit www.cccc.edu/confucius.
Professor Ling Huang (right), visiting professor for Central Carolina Community College's Confucius Classroom, and her son, Fan Chen, will spend the next two years in Sanford while Huang teaches Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. Chen is already enrolled at East Lee Middle School. Huang is an English instructor at Nanjing Normal University, People's Republic of China. For more information, visit www.cccc.edu/confucius, or contact Professor Huang at (919) 718-7228 or lhuan584@cccc.edu .
Professor Ling Huang, visiting professor for Central Carolina Community College's Confucius Classroom.