A group of 47 students from theUniversityofInsubria,Italyattended a 4-week long intensive Chinese language summer course from August 13th to September 10th, 2011. For most of them it��s been the first time to be inChina. A special class, a visit to the local Dongshan farm produce market was organized to help them get a deeper understanding about local people��s lives.

The teachers first showed their students around the different booths selling aquatic products, vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry and eggs and toufu products etc. and told them the Chinese names of the food. It had been for the firs time for the Italian students to see many of the products, which aroused great interest. It was especially so when they saw the seed pods of lotus, which were fresh on market. When they learned these seed pods had been just picked from theWestLake, they bought and tasted them one after another.

After the teachers�� introduction, the students went to complete their assignment separately, i.e. to buy something with the Chinese phrases they had learned in the classroom and conduct a simple survey. The students asked the questions at the booths they were interested in, questions such as ��What��s this?��, ��How do you call it in Chinese?��, ��Can I have a taste?�� were heard every where around the market. The students took notes carefully and asked for their teachers for assistance when they encountered the Chinese characters they had not commanded. Many students were able to bargain with the sellers with what they had just learnt, ��Too expensive. Could you make it a little cheaper?��.

After one hour or so, all the students finished their shopping with fruitful results. After back to the campus, each student wrote a report about their visit to the farm market with different titles. But they all shared one point that this special teaching activity made a rewarding experience. They spent an unforgettable day, came to know a lot of different fruits and vegetables, had opportunities to practice the conversational skills. More importantly, they got a real immersion experience into local people��s daily life and thus made them love the country and her people more.

(written by LIU Yan; translated by XU Xiaohang)