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After world chaos comes local calm
By Xu Wenwen |
October 27, 2010, Wednesday
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AS a former spokesman for Kofi Annan and the United Nations, Frederic Eckhard has discussed many pressing issues on a global scale. So Xu Wenwen finds out why the visiting lecturer at Zhejiang University now just wants to live a peaceful life.
Frederic Eckhard always smiles, speaks slowly, considers every word before using it, and seldom uses first person - it's because he is not only a calm person, but also the former spokesman of the United Nations.
Eckhard has been working as a spokesman for nearly 17 years, including eight and a half years speaking for Kofi Atta Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the UN.
Today, he lives in a tranquil town in France after retiring from the UN in 2005, but every year he teaches for two months at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.
This year is the last year of his contract with the school and he will be leaving Hangzhou next month.
The former spokesman gives two courses: "The Role of the Spokesman" as a compulsory course for students studying journalism, and "Post-Cold War UN" as an optional course to all kinds of students. Earlier this year he wrote textbooks for both of the courses.
The 68-year-old has never been a college teacher before, but he did occupy a high school teacher post for a while in his late 20s.
His idea of teaching in the scenic city was ignited by a romantic experience. In 2002, Eckhard came to Hangzhou with Kofi Annan who made a speech at Zhejiang University, and they stayed in Hangzhou that night.
Eckhard describes the unforgettable memory in the introduction of his textbooks:
"The government put us up in luxury villas along the lake. I was running from my villa to his to give him some papers, when suddenly I stopped. The lake was calm, a traditional-style boat glided noiselessly over the water. The moon was high, silhouetting the mountains in the distance. I suddenly stopped and thought, 'This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen.' Later, the words slipped out of my mouth. 'When I retire, I want to come teach here'."
In 2006, with many people's help, Eckhard achieved his wish. In the scenic city, he enjoys a simple, regular and joyful life, sharing the time mainly between teaching and travelling.
Eckhard teaches every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday using textbooks coupled with PowerPoint.
Sometimes, Zhao Jingjing, his partner, the professor of the school and translator of Eckhard's two textbooks provides a supplementary guide. At the end of each class, Eckhard leaves five minutes for a Q&A session.
Thanks to his approachability, Eckhard is not only a good teacher but a good friend to young students.
Eckhard writes in the introduction of his books, "people call me professor? but as a visiting professor, I am not a real professor ? so just call me Fred."
Fred says he is happy to help students with personal things, he talks with them frequently, he writes recommendation letters for his students and he even helps solve the love problems of some.
In return, students have given him high grades in teacher evaluations: in the past five years, Eckhard has achieved grades from 4.8 to 4.9 out of 5, much higher than his peers.
In his free time, Eckhard travels a lot and the local West Lake and peaceful old towns are his favorite places.
"He is even more familiar with the lake than I am," says Zhao, the professor who grew up in Hangzhou. "He not only knows the scenery, but also legendary stories about the scenery."
Eckhard says he not only liked the city's scenery, but also the Hangzhou lifestyle of sitting by the lake playing mahjong and drinking tea. He records Hangzhou people's lives in words and pictures.
Ever since he started to work at Zhejiang University, he has written an essay about his life and traveling experience nearly every day. He forwards his writing with pictures attached to more than 100 friends, including many important members of the government.
The essays vary from writing about new scenic spots he has visited, great dishes he has tasted or even an interesting person he met in a park.
Eckhard says he is accustomed to writing to his friends to keep in touch with them, and by his correspondence, his friends can touch and smell China.
But Eckhard, who is in contact with some of the world's most important people everyday and has seen so much of life and the world, prefers a mild, plain life much more than an extravagant one.
When he retired, Eckhard and his wife moved to a lovely town in France, and in Hangzhou, when he gets free time after teaching, he loves to spend days at Zhaji, a small old town in Anhui Province next to Zhejiang Province.
"People there carry stuff and they keep fit naturally, they leave their front doors open, they get food from their farms, they live a satisfied life ? Yet in big cities, people are angry at their lives, they spend money to keep fit in a gym and many are offensive."
"Preserving tradition means they can stay in touch with their culture," says Eckhard, clearly showing strong admiration for a peaceful lifestyle.
Zhao, who has known him for years, explained why this is. "Eckhard has witnessed wars, so it is no wonder he is eager for a quiet lifestyle."
"On one hand, he is shocked by the fast development of China's economy; on the other hand, he yearns for an old lifestyle," she adds. "So he feels the dilemma between globalization and localization, which is also the national government's problem."
Frederic Eckhard always smiles, speaks slowly, considers every word before using it, and seldom uses first person - it's because he is not only a calm person, but also the former spokesman of the United Nations.
Eckhard has been working as a spokesman for nearly 17 years, including eight and a half years speaking for Kofi Atta Annan, the seventh Secretary-General of the UN.
Today, he lives in a tranquil town in France after retiring from the UN in 2005, but every year he teaches for two months at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.
This year is the last year of his contract with the school and he will be leaving Hangzhou next month.
The former spokesman gives two courses: "The Role of the Spokesman" as a compulsory course for students studying journalism, and "Post-Cold War UN" as an optional course to all kinds of students. Earlier this year he wrote textbooks for both of the courses.
The 68-year-old has never been a college teacher before, but he did occupy a high school teacher post for a while in his late 20s.
His idea of teaching in the scenic city was ignited by a romantic experience. In 2002, Eckhard came to Hangzhou with Kofi Annan who made a speech at Zhejiang University, and they stayed in Hangzhou that night.
Eckhard describes the unforgettable memory in the introduction of his textbooks:
"The government put us up in luxury villas along the lake. I was running from my villa to his to give him some papers, when suddenly I stopped. The lake was calm, a traditional-style boat glided noiselessly over the water. The moon was high, silhouetting the mountains in the distance. I suddenly stopped and thought, 'This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen.' Later, the words slipped out of my mouth. 'When I retire, I want to come teach here'."
In 2006, with many people's help, Eckhard achieved his wish. In the scenic city, he enjoys a simple, regular and joyful life, sharing the time mainly between teaching and travelling.
Eckhard teaches every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday using textbooks coupled with PowerPoint.
Sometimes, Zhao Jingjing, his partner, the professor of the school and translator of Eckhard's two textbooks provides a supplementary guide. At the end of each class, Eckhard leaves five minutes for a Q&A session.
Thanks to his approachability, Eckhard is not only a good teacher but a good friend to young students.
Eckhard writes in the introduction of his books, "people call me professor? but as a visiting professor, I am not a real professor ? so just call me Fred."
Fred says he is happy to help students with personal things, he talks with them frequently, he writes recommendation letters for his students and he even helps solve the love problems of some.
In return, students have given him high grades in teacher evaluations: in the past five years, Eckhard has achieved grades from 4.8 to 4.9 out of 5, much higher than his peers.
In his free time, Eckhard travels a lot and the local West Lake and peaceful old towns are his favorite places.
"He is even more familiar with the lake than I am," says Zhao, the professor who grew up in Hangzhou. "He not only knows the scenery, but also legendary stories about the scenery."
Eckhard says he not only liked the city's scenery, but also the Hangzhou lifestyle of sitting by the lake playing mahjong and drinking tea. He records Hangzhou people's lives in words and pictures.
Ever since he started to work at Zhejiang University, he has written an essay about his life and traveling experience nearly every day. He forwards his writing with pictures attached to more than 100 friends, including many important members of the government.
The essays vary from writing about new scenic spots he has visited, great dishes he has tasted or even an interesting person he met in a park.
Eckhard says he is accustomed to writing to his friends to keep in touch with them, and by his correspondence, his friends can touch and smell China.
But Eckhard, who is in contact with some of the world's most important people everyday and has seen so much of life and the world, prefers a mild, plain life much more than an extravagant one.
When he retired, Eckhard and his wife moved to a lovely town in France, and in Hangzhou, when he gets free time after teaching, he loves to spend days at Zhaji, a small old town in Anhui Province next to Zhejiang Province.
"People there carry stuff and they keep fit naturally, they leave their front doors open, they get food from their farms, they live a satisfied life ? Yet in big cities, people are angry at their lives, they spend money to keep fit in a gym and many are offensive."
"Preserving tradition means they can stay in touch with their culture," says Eckhard, clearly showing strong admiration for a peaceful lifestyle.
Zhao, who has known him for years, explained why this is. "Eckhard has witnessed wars, so it is no wonder he is eager for a quiet lifestyle."
"On one hand, he is shocked by the fast development of China's economy; on the other hand, he yearns for an old lifestyle," she adds. "So he feels the dilemma between globalization and localization, which is also the national government's problem."
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