Pete Lustig, a seasoned veteran of travel in Yunnan, has indeed experienced a great deal of bewitching charms in the province in about three and a half years. Speaking Chinese, sightseeing many stunningly beautiful places, having an appetite for savory food, Pete seemly acclimate to Yunnan. Here he contains a heart-felt love for his Chinese local wife and his family in Kunming.
InKunming: You must have been to many places in Yunnan, since you've known so much about Yunnan.
Pete: I've been to Lijiang, Qujing, Wenshan, of Shangri-la, Xishuangbanna, Dali, for example, Shuanglang. My wife and I went there last month. It was not very crowded, and a very beautiful place. Just stay there and relax. I had a good time time there.
InKunming: What has been your favorite place in Yunnan?
Pete: Kunming. I'm always happy to come back to Kunming. For me personally, I like the community here. There are a lot of foreigners here, so the community of foreigners is really good. That's important for me. I liked that too when I first came here.
The weather here is very good. But at the same time it's kind of strange, especially when you come from a place where I come from in the US. The seasons change, it's nice feelings sometimes. To go from summer to fall, fall to winter. Here, it's a nice feeling.
InKunming: What kind of change have you found on you after living in Kunming?
Pete: Lots of things. For one, I was a bit different. When you live in an atmosphere of foreigners, you often feel like you know people from everywhere around the world. So the world seems smaller. If you just stay in America or you just stay in China, the world is big to you.
InKunming: What has been merits and challenges for marrying a Chinese wife?
Pete: You really get to know the culture, you really get deeply to know another culture. If you are a single guy, maybe you have a Chinese girlfriend, you never get that close. When you get married, you really know about the culture. The funny believes, the wield things, good things, bad things and nice things.
You feel attached to both places. I feel attached to America when I am in China and attached to China when I am in America. The location challenge. You miss your family.
InKunming: What's your favorite moment in Yunnan ?
Pete: My favorite moment? It's hard to say having one favorite moment. I guess when I get married, it was a nice moment. My family is here. That's great.
InKunming: Can you tell us some humorous stories in life?
Pete: Mostly they are around language. When I say something funny in Chinese and she says something funny in English. For example, when you are playing, someone puts a pillow on your head. You may say"I can't breathe, I can't breathe." "我不能呼吸" but I said"我没有风" I have no air that's we usually say. So we laugh about that so much.
InKunming: How's your teaching in Kunming?
Pete: I teach a wide group of people. I try to use my expertises to teach them things about culture, the world and things specific to where I come from. I may not know about England, not know about the Europe, but I know America, so I try to take advantage of those things. Tell them specialties about where I from and stories I heard growing up.
InKunming: What has been the difference between a Chinese English teacher and a foreign teacher?
Pete: I speak from a personal experience. Most Chinese parents think a foreign teacher is better than a Chinese teacher. That is not necessarily true, but it can be. Because it has some advantages at both. Just like my wife who has learned English, so she comes from the perspective that a Chinese person learning foreign language. She knows how to do it, you can teach another person like you. As for me, I am an authentic native speaker of English. I grow up leaning it, and more I know about the culture.
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(Editor:Lynn)
