CANADIAN Mary Ellen Widmeyer, currently working at a local training center, is well-known to most Shenzhen Daily readers for an English-learning column called "Ask Mary" that she used to write earlier this year.

After working as an English teacher for over three years in Shenzhen and Guilin, Widmeyer is quick to catch how Chinese people think.

"I encountered many culture shocks in the first few months after I arrived in China. From the way how people think to how they behave. Everything seems different from those in Canada or the United States," the teacher said.

Although Widmeyer had plenty of work experience in Canada before she came to China, most of which involved communicating with different people, her Chinese students still surprised her in the beginning.

"I used to work in the customer service sector and needed to talk to clients all the time. I met different people every day and had to understand their philosophy before I could serve them better," she said.

She found out that Chinese people are not like her Canadian countrymen soon after she arrived.

"Once I traveled with other teachers in the training center to a poor village in Guilin, they ordered so many dishes that we couldn't finish. I understand they are enthusiastic people and that's probably their tradition in treating guests, but I am sure there must be some other ways to deal with it," she said.

Now, Widmeyer said she is no longer surprised by her students, as she begins to understand their ways of thinking. She feels this makes her even more suitable for a teaching position.

"At least I can catch their meaning in a second, and it saves time in the class," she said.

When she was writing a column in the Shenzhen Daily's Speak <2022> Shenzhen page twice a week, the Canadian teacher collected tips from classes and friends.

"Enquiry calls and e-mails from readers will also inspire my writing," she said.

She plans to compile her writings as a handbook some day in the future.

"A unique gift for local students, writing from their prospective and answering their questions in learning a foreign language," said a teacher surnamed Wang from the same training center.

Editor: Wing