Have I ever really written about the Chinese students? I can't help but wonder and admire every day when I talk to them and look at their lives. The children here learn very early that studying is their work and it is to be taken very seriously. Even the young children stay at school until the evening, only to come home to a mountain on homework and passages to be memorized for reciting. And of course, the ambitious parents probably want their child to take up an extra hobby to fill in the few otherwise idle minutes. The competition begins in kindergarten and grows fiercer and fiercer as the children move up through the different stages of school.

By the time they reach university, they are fully trained in study techniques and accustomed to waking up before sunrise to begin their day of studying. Many students at our university go to the little campus park to recite texts or practise their English before breakfast. The breaks between classes and lectures are easily filled with self-study, there are heaps of books to be read and memorized. And the work goes on until the night, the students sometimes complain that the electricity (and thus the lights) are swtiched off in their dormitories at 10:30 pm, which means they have to stop studying or use a torch. At any given time, the vacant classrooms at the university are all filled with students, sitting their with their books.

And no talk of holidays, the books go anywhere you go, and there are always extra courses to take. I have noticed that the standard answer to my question "What are you planning to do over the holidays?" is 'study', quite often attending an extra course in mathematics, English, this, that or the other. The university organises some of these classes, but there are also a number of private schools offering vacation courses.

The results of this all? A country full of exhausted students. Maybe smart students too, or at least ones with heads crammed full of information. But at the same time, my students tell me that they haven't *really* learned much during their time at university, at least not anything very useful that they would be needing later on. The learning is too often based on memorizing, which I notice also in my own classes. The students can recite bizarre texts from their middle school textbooks, but they might have no idea what it all means. Or they can remember long lists of words by heart, but can't use them in a conversation.

And why are they doing this, you might want to ask. The pressure comes from different directions. There is an immense competition for jobs and an even bigger pressure to be the best, to be successful, to make money, to contribute to the country and especially to make the family proud (and rich). The parents set unattainable goals for their children and push them to keep going at all costs. Some students tell how they dream of a life in arts or music, but are now studying physics or biology as chosen for them by their parents. Another girl said how she would like to open a small shop, but has to now go do a Master's degree instead, as realising her dream would cause her family to lose face. Of course, most of them are the only children of their families, therefore having to carry the heavy weight of the whole family's success and reputation on their shoulders.

The university also encourages students to study and to compete, I was told that our university offers a prize for the best two students in each major exam. The first one gets 500 yuan and the second 250 yuan, which is a lot of money for a student. Not a bad incentive.

I know I'm writing about this in a negative tone, but I feel helpless sometimes talking to students who are simply exhausted and talk to me about how they are feeling. Pressure, stress, exhaustion... And just yesterday I told one of them to just keep pushing on for another couple of years, that graduation was not that far away, she replied: "And then what? I have to compete to get a good job, and then work work work as hard as I can to please my parents, to become rich and to build a successful life for all of us."

On the other hand, I think many students in Europe have a lot to learn from their Chinese counterparts. Comparing to them, I think I went through university not doing anything much, and certainly without such determination and persistence. Being here now makes most European students appear as simply slobs... Maybe there is a middle way somewhere in between the two...and maybe someone will find it, too. I certainly hope that some of these students will be different with their own children. And I hope that in the middle of all the pressure, my friends here will keep on pushing for it and smiling, I truly do admire their courage and strenght, I think I should be the first person to learn from them.