I always wonder about the wonders of doing international volunteer programs. Come to think of it, from the word ‘volunteer’ itself, only the purely good-hearted individuals must be able do such thing. But on the other side, I guess all kinds of people can engage in volunteer works. On top of having an experience of a trip outside your hometown, not to mention culture immersion the whole idea must be great! I’ve read an article about volunteering in China and it really fired up my curiosity. I think the Chinese culture is fascinating, if not interesting. I can point out a number of things that make it so. Chinese is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. I believe they have a lot of great minds there too, or we would not have had paper or printing. The most spoken dialect in the region is Mandarin, which I actually find complicated, yet ironically it is interesting because it is so. I also find the religion of Taoism particularly captivating in its philosophy on “the way’. However, I never really understood the whole idea of Buddhism, but why does it seem to have a very large number of devotees from the public. I sure like to find the reason behind that when I get there to volunteer. I’m sure that regardless of the duration of time I’m going to spend for volunteer work abroad, it already makes one lifetime experience. The idea of total immersion alone; being with the people, understanding their way of life, knowing their beliefs and living their culture already feeds me enough. I’ve read most volunteer programs in China are based either in Shanghai or Beijing, but if choosing where to volunteer is entirely up to me I think I’ll choose both. The two cities are great and I’m sure it makes the whole job a fulfilling endeavor. Furthermore, if volunteer programs are either in rural or urban areas, I think the rural area is more appealing. I believe it is the common people who have had a good share of extraordinary life experiences and it should teach me more. Nonetheless, I am certain the language barrier is a potential problem. Perhaps if I can have just a brief background of Mandarin while I teach English or take care of little children, I can get by smoothly.