Studying the Arts

　　After the culmination of a memorablemartial arts performance， Zimbabwean MedemboUesebia and her classmates end up in a close embrace，celebrating their graduation from a famousChinese martial arts school. Huo Yuanjia Cultureand Wushu School， located in Tianjin， the birthplaceof wushu (Chinese martial arts) master Huo Yuanjia，has produced many wushu champions. As part ofthe cultural exchange program between China andAfrica， the school provides a three-month trainingcourse. Starting in January， this course consistsof 30 Zimbabwean students who predominantlyply their trade as teachers of physical education.Uesebia， one of the graduates， shared the details ofher time studying in China with ChinAfrica.

　　ChinAfrica： What made you come to China tolearn martial arts？

　　Medembo Uesebia： I saw martial arts when Iwas too young so I didn’t know what it was. I wasjust watching action movies with Bruce Lee andJacky Chan. Then I went to college to study sports.That’s when I got to know that it’s called martialarts. Then I realized that there are different typesof martial arts.

　　Last year， I got an opportunity when I wasteaching in school. A Chinese guy， Wu Demin， fromFoshan City in China， came to Zimbabwe. He cameand conducted a one-month workshop and I attended.That’s how I was selected to come to China.

　　Thanks to that， we have already learned a little bitin Zimbabwe， and I fell in love with wushu since thattime. So I decided to come and train further.

　　Is the martial arts technique you learned inChina the same as you imagined？

　　My imagination of martial arts， before I really gotto know it， is about fighting or military. But when Icame here to learn it， I realized that there are differentforms of wushu. There’s something for the militaryindeed， but the non-contact wushu we learnedhere is not about fighting， but being disciplined.The main idea of martial arts， wushu， is to keepyour body fit， refresh your mind and keep yourselfyoung. Learning some of these routines is not thateasy. It needs dedication and team spirit.

　　What’s been the most difficult part of yourstudy here？

　　The only difficulty that I had was adjusting to theenvironment of China. The first month here was verydifficult， because， you know， Africa is warm， but inChina， especially in Tianjin， it’s really cold in winter.So that climate change made us sick sometimes. ButI’m happy I managed to adjust. After the first month，we were already fully adjusted.

　　And another challenge was some of the food thatwe are not used to， like crabs. In our country there’snothing like that. But the school was good， and theydid some surveys and managed to provide us withmost of the food that we eat in Zimbabwe - like beef，pork and chicken. So I’m happy here.

　　Besides studying wushu， can you tell us moreabout your experiences during the threemonths you’ve spent here？

　　This is my first time in China， and I’m so happyabout being here. We celebrated Christmas in China.It’s my first time to celebrate Christmas outsidemy country. It was a bit different. In China， theycelebrated the Spring Festival instead of Christmas，so not everyone was in that celebratory mood likethe one we have when we are home. But we still hadthe chance to enjoy the celebration during SpringFestival. During the festival I really had fun. I learneda lot， like making dumplings and paper-cutting. AndI really love that.

　　And I got to understand much more aboutChinese culture than before. When you don’t knowsomething about a place or you have never beensomewhere， you just imagine things or you justbelieve in what you have been told. But now I havea different perception. The good thing about Chinais that it’s an economically developed country andit has good business opportunities as well， notonly wushu. So many things in China are amazing.Zimbabwe is far away from China， and it’s alwaysgreat to learn about a country so different from yourown.