Jensen recently returned from China after spending the last six months there with a service and learning program through Utah State University's College of Agriculture.
The USU students went to Chinese farms to learn about their agriculture and try to help them improve their farming methods.
Utah State University has partnered with Husi Produce International, a company that grows produce for McDonald's, KFC and other quick service foods within China.
"The Chinese people want their fast food to taste like it does in America -- same food, same quality, same standards," Jensen said.
The produce was grown on farms that were not even 100 U.S. acres, with almost 120 employees per farm.
One of the biggest differences in their agriculture was everything in China is manual.
"There is not a lot of need to push technology because they have cheap labor. The people need to work," said Jensen, whose purpose while in China was to work as plant quality control and to teach the people how to improve their methods to make them more efficient and economical.
"Even in their greenhouses, they were pushing the seeds in the soil with toothpicks one at a time," Jensen said.
Though the labor in the farms was manual, Jensen said the Chinese farmers did use up to date drip irrigation systems.
Jensen and other USU students also taught oral academic English at a university in China for two months.
The Chinese people see Americans as their peers and they want to learn everything they can about America.
"The people are very shy, but once you get past the shyness they are very open and want to learn everything about you," Jensen said.
Although students in China learn English at a very early age, the USU students were teachers at a Chinese university to help the students polish their English to prepare the students to study abroad.
"I was their first native English teacher. I was the same age and a peer to most of the students. Most were in their first year of college, but some were getting their masters (or) PhD, as well as some professors," Jensen said.
Along with teaching English, the USU students helped the Chinese students learn cultural differences they might experience in America.
One of the biggest differences between the two countries was how to ask questions in a classroom setting.
"The Chinese people never raise their hands, they consider it rude. If they have a question, they wait until after class to ask the teacher or they search out the answer themselves. We had to teach them that in America, if you have a question you need to raise your hand," Jensen said, adding that in the classroom every student's eyes are on you. They are so focused in the classroom.
Jensen said when the Chinese people are students they are full-time students, with no part-time jobs. Their families support them through school and once they get a job, the students will support their families.
"That is their retirement program," Jensen said.
Another big cultural difference Jensen saw between the two countries was in what the students wanted to do after their education. Jensen said Americans want to use their education to advance their own careers.
"Eighty-five percent of the professors we talked to said after they get their education they wanted to return to their own country and share their knowledge. That hit me. They very much wanted to see their own society prosper," Jensen said.
When asked if he ever wanted to go back to China, he answered, "I have to go back. The people gave me so many souvenirs that they ended up filling an entire suitcase and I had to leave it over there."
Comments