Cultural exchange continues

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- New Ulm Middle School eighth-grade English students got an added dose of Chinese cultural immersion Monday when the husband of their Chinese team teacher visited the classroom.

"Rocky" Wu, the husband of Lu Rongrong, presented a slide show and gifts to students of Lu and Ingrid Liedman. Lu is visiting New Ulm this year as part of a team teacher exchange program with the Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning.

Liedman and Lu met in China in 1995 when Liedman was teaching there. Liedman was instrumental in bringing her to America.

Wu arrived in America on Friday, taking 16-hour flight from mainland China to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

He hails from Hangzhou, a city of several million people, a two-hour car trip from Shanghai.

Wu is a promotion manager for Upjohn Pharmaceutical Co. in China. Lu arrived in New Ulm last August to team teach with Liedman.

Chinese teachers enjoy coming to Minnesota and teaching, improving their English and learning about America. Minnesota teachers in turn, travel to China to teach and learn about that country.

Wu was thrilled to be in America with his wife for several weeks. The couple will fly to the East Coast today to tour New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Orlando, Fla.

"People here are very friendly and open-minded," Wu said. "People are so good to me. They make me feel right at home. I like the fresh air and seeing snow for the first time. It's great. I like the the clear, blue sky. It's quiet and pretty."

The climate in Hangzhou, where the couple hails from, is similar to northern California.

Sunday, Wu tried his hand at using a snow blower. Later in the day, the couple toured Schell's Brewery and attended several receptions with Liedman and her husband Lowell.

Monday, the couple showed slides of Beijing, Shanghai, and Hanzhou, China to New Ulm students.

A good number of foreign companies moved to China in the last decade, but many more have moved there recently, Wu said.

"We have a huge market with so many people in China. More companies in many fields are coming now," Lu said. "It has developed our economy very, very fast. There are many large, new skyscrapers in the large cities."

The growth is enabling more and more Chinese citizens to achieve dreams of owning vehicles and homes. Ownership was seemingly impossible for anybody other than the very wealthy until recently.

Wu applied for his tourist visa twice. The first time he was asked many questions and then denied the visa.

When he applied for the visa a second time, Wu was asked one question in the interview -- how long had his wife been in the United States? He got the visa right away.

Before the second visa interview, Liedman wrote a letter to the U.S. Consulate, describing the teaching exchange program in detail.

"The letter really helped," Lu said. "We were lucky she wrote it. We were one of the first couples in the teaching program in my Chinese school to get together in America. We're very thankful to all the people that helped us."

The Chinese economy is in flux between communist and capitalist principles.

"People are really busy making money, trying to develop the economy," Lu said. "There are good changes. It's exciting. We're happy."

Wu returns to China Feb. 28. Lu will return in July.