Foreign teacher: I have a family in China

Updated:09/11/11 10:38:24 AM CST

Recently, Professor Donald Wallace Pereira, a 73 years old foreign teacher in Central South University, took part in a tree-planting activity in Changsha as one of the experts honored with the 5th Hunan “Xiaoxiang Friendship Award” and he planted a magnolia there. He also said happily, “This is indeed of great significance. Even if one day I’d return to Australia, my Chinese sons and grandsons will keep on taking care of it for me.”

Loving China: Loving A Simple Life

A two-story Expert Building hidden in a tranquil grove in Lotus Village on Tiedao Campus is the house of Australian Professor Donald Wallace Pereira and his wife. There, they plant a variety of flowers and plants in the yard, and they invite friends and students to come over for barbecues, get-togethers and parties, leading the simplest life.

In this small courtyard, spring festival posters are put up on the doors; while inside the house, on the wall are Xiang embroideries, with Donald’s favorite calligraphy scroll “On Yueyang Tower” decorated in the middle of the wall. What indicates him as a foreign teacher are the 700 film and video disks on the shelf and a bottle of foreign wine on a corner of the sitting room.

There are 12 members in Donald’s Chinese family, including students, friends as well as their families and relatives, among whom the eldest one is almost at his age, while the youngest one is his student’s child, his Chinese grandson. Though they live in such metropolises as Changsha, Beijing and Shanghai separately, and some have even gone abroad, they often get together at Donald’s home in Changsha to enjoy some small talks and meals. Recently, some new members have joined the family—stray cats and dogs adopted from the neighborhoods by Donald. He and his wife take care of them, and several ill cats have recovered under their care. Donald takes photos of them with his mobile phone and introduces these new family members to everybody he meets.

Foreign teacher: I have a family in China

In Oceania, Donald has a big family of 20 people, including two sons, a daughter, eleven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two soon-to-be-born great-grandchildren. Whenever mentioning them, Donald gets excited. Every year he has a reunion with his family members for a couple of days, and then he returns to China. According to Donald, he is used to living in China: he likes raising his glass to drink a toast with friends on the dinning table, and he walks along the right side of roads, unconsciously following the rule of “Pedestrians should keep to the right”, while all these customs and rules seem to be weird to the Oceania people.

Donald Wallace Pereira came to China in 2001. At that time a famous school in Shanghai was interested in having him employed, but he gave up the idea of staying in such metropolises as Shanghai after he got to know Changsha, simply because the life in Changsha is simple. He first taught in National University of Defense Technology and then Changsha University of Science and Technology, and began to teach in CSU in 2008.

Loving CSU: More Fun in Work than in Life

Though in his seventies, Donald looks hale and strong. He teaches English majors, both undergraduates and graduates and every week he goes to classes four times. Since the new campus is far away from his home, he turns up at 7:30 in front of the Office Building with his backpack on to wait for the school bus that heads to the New Campus. In his backpack are not only lecture notes, but also film and video disks that he prepares for his students.

In his class, silence is not welcomed from the students. They are encouraged to raise questions and make statements. His class is so active that many students from other schools and neighborhood universities are attracted and they often attend his class as auditors.

In 2005, CSU began to carry out educational cooperation with Monash University of Australia by implementing “2+2” mode, in which CSU selects and sends some outstanding students to study in Monash University. Donald is responsible for the English language training for these students. He has taken great pains to help the Chinese students adapt to their life and study in Australia. Besides helping the students improve their English, Donald gives various lectures, introducing Australian customs, people, culture, society and etc. which makes him an “ambassador” for both universities. He also tells the students how to cultivate the awareness of team-work and cooperation. With his help and guidance, 72 students from School of Civil Engineering and Architecture as well as School of Material Science and Engineering have successively entered Monash University to pursue their study and life. Last year, Donald went to Australia and took the chance to visit these students. They seemed like long-separated old friends.

In September 2010, Donald was honored with the 5th Hunan “Xiaoxiang Friendship Award”. He told this to all the members in his Chinese family, and they congratulated him and shared the happiness with him.

In CSU, according to Donald, there is more fun in work than in life.

Donald became somehow extremely curious in computer, and then he spends much time in computer programming. Besides teaching, he works on computer and sometimes till mid-night. By self-study, he helps his daughter with some troubles on the internet.

In addition, travel is Donald’s best interest. In the past ten years, he has traveled to a majority of famous cities and mountains around China. However, his favorite is small unpolluted mountain village, so he spends much time finding such kind of villages, and then he takes his wife and invites some friends to live there for a while, having fun and enjoying their time.