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Peter Nisbet, 28, is from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and is in China on an assignment from September 2007 till October 2008 as part of the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program in Chengdu, with the Chengdu Urban Rivers Association (CURA).
Since he arrived in Chengdu, he has been working with CURA for over four months now. CURA is a grassroots non-government organization (NGO) dedicated to protecting rivers, promoting environmental awareness, conducting ecological research, promoting aquaculture, communication between urban and rural communities.
During the Spring Festival, Peter spent a fascinating holiday with his girl friend who especially flied to Chengdu from Australia. In his opinion, to stay in Chengdu during the Spring Festival is a good chance to experience Chinese traditional culture. As below is the interview with Peter about his life and work in Chengdu and his view on the Spring Festival and the city of leisure.
Interview:
Could you please give a brief introduction of your work in Chengdu?
Yes. This assignment allows me to bring international experience and knowledge to assist CURA staff to undertake sustainable organizational development activities, through such tasks as facilitating strategic planning, improving project management, developing human resources management, undertaking staff professional training and so on. I’m helping to contribute to the long-term sustainability of the operations and management of this grassroots NGO.
I’m passionate about environmental sustainability, environmental promotion, and sustainable development in China. I thoroughly enjoy making a difference to CURA staff and to improving my counterparts and supervisors skills and knowledge by utilizing my experience and capabilities from Australia. I love to get my “hands dirty” by conducting field trips to various rivers, rural Sichuan villages, and other environmental reserves and parks.
Could you please talk about your background and other experience in China?
With a background in the Australian Army, I am a distinguished graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy. I have since been fortunate to have experiences in Australia including being a volunteer at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and professional career experiences with the Australian Capital Territory Government, the University of Southern Queensland, and my present position in the Queensland Government, which is my current job in Australia. I am on 12 months leave from my job in Australia to undertake this 12 months assignment with CURA. My professional experiences include policy development, strategic planning, communication, community engagement, and community development career roles.
I completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Politics, at the University of New South Wales in Australia. I have also completed a Diploma of Government with the Australian Capital Territory Government Graduate training program. I am now also currently completing a second undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of International Studies from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, which involved studies of Asian societies and cultures, international relations and learning the Mandarin Chinese language.
My traveling experiences have so far taken my all across Australia and across Asia, including to China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, and Japan. I am very excited about living in China, exploring the city of Chengdu, adventuring in the surrounding areas of Sichuan Province and getting to know the famously renowned spicy Sichuan cuisine.
What’s your view on Chinees Spring Festival before you came to China?
I had studied the Chinese language and culture for a substantial time before coming to China and so I was well aware of the Spring Festival as an important cultural and family time in China. I knew that there is a significant celebration that takes place at this time of the year including such great activities as a big family reunion and banquet on the New Year’s Eve and such things as Spring Festival CCTV Spectacular, the Spring Festival food, decorations, and of course, the great Chinese fireworks!
What do you think of the Spring Festival that you are experiencing in China?
It is indeed fascinating to watch and observe modern Chinese culture and society in operation during this Spring Festival here in Chengdu. I missed out on a traditional family banquet this Spring Festival, so for the next Spring Festival I spend in China, I would like to try and arrange that to occur. But observing and taking part in all of the food, CCTV Spectacular, New Year decorations, and playing with fireworks has been especially good fun! It is great to imagine all of these things before coming here and then even better observing them taking place first hand.
Where did you go during the holiday? Which is your favourite place in the city?
My favourite local place to visit this Spring Festival has been the Wuhou Temple Fair. It is great to see so many Chinese people gathering together and taking part is this truly time-honoured cultural event of going to temple fairs with the family during the Spring Festival. I have never seen so many young, old, baby and middle-aged Chinese people all together in the one place enjoying themselves before. It truly is a sight to see and the Wuhou Temple fair was especially good, because of the variety of the people, the food snacks, the lanterns and the amazing shows and sights!
During this Spring Festival, as well as spending time with friends relaxing and enjoying my home, taking time to rest and relax, I have also visited the Wenshu Town Food Festival, the Chengdu Culture Park next to Qingtai Street, the Jinsha Relics Museum and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. I had planned on doing more one or two day trips from Chengdu, but found that there was so much stuff to do here in Chengdu, so I spent all of my Spring Festival enjoying Chengdu!
Which is your favourite city in China? Why?
This is a hard question to answer because previously I spent so much time in Beijing that I began to really enjoy the Beijing lifestyle, food, culture and the Beijing people. But equally now that I have spent a great deal of time now in Chengdu, I am really beginning to enjoy the Chengdu lifestyle, food, culture and the Chengdu people. But I am still currently more of a fan of other types of Chinese food, other than Sichuan cuisine, but at the same time, I am a very big fan of Sichuan Hot Pot! So, I would have to say that currently both Beijing and Chengdu are my equal favourite cities in China.
Do you have the further development plan in Chengdu in 2008?
Yes, of course. Firstly, I will still devote myself to the environmental protection of the city. I will have some environmental project to do with my Chinese counterparts. Secondly, my girlfriend has come to Chengdu to support my work. She wants to find a job in Chengdu. I hope my local friends can help her and offer some recruit information to her. The job like English teach is suitable for her. She plans to study Chinese in Sichuan University so that she can communicate smoothly with local people.
Chengdu Weekly news
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The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program is an Australian Government initiative which supports young Australians who want to live, work and make a difference in the Asia Pacific region. Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development work with local counterparts in Host Organisations to achieve sustainable development through capacity building, skills exchange and institutional strengthening.
The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program aims to strengthen mutual understanding between Australia and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and make a positive contribution to development.
The Program achieves these aims by placing skilled young Australian, aged between 18 to 30 years old, on short-term assignments in developing countries in the Asia Pacific region. Every year, the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program places 400 young Australians on short-term assignments in developing countries across the Asia Pacific region. These assignments cover a diverse range of sectors including Education, Environment, Gender, Governance, Health, Infrastructure, Rural Development and Trades.
For more information on the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program or Peter’s work with CURA, he can be contacted on Peter.Nisbet@gmail.com or 13522767619.
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