vTIELKE continued from page 17
Tielke explains how the urban centers in China are extremely
populated. Chongqing having a population of 20 million just in the city
itself, he described the vision as “a sea of people.”
“That was another big shock to me,” he reflects. “Fargo Moorehead
was maybe 250,000 people and you go to Chengdu which had nearly
15 million people. That just adds to the experience.”
When serving for the Peace Corps in China, volunteers often live
and work in communities that are central to Western China rather than
in wealthier areas, he explains. For many of the provinces, compared to
most cities in China, people would be very awe-struck when they saw
him walking around, not accustomed to seeing a white man in the area.
Though they might see a lot of “westerners” or foreigners on TV, seeing
one in person was uncommon.
Many would stare at him in curiosity of why he was there and where
he came from. When he moved to a new campus for the second half of
his service, he strolled around the campus often and recalls feeling a bit
embarrassed when others were so captivated by him, girls giggling and
guys staring.
Back Home & Future Aspirations
After his two-year term was complete, Tielke returned to his home
town of Yankton and adjusted to jetlag while adapting to the change in
time, food and cultural behaviors.
“When you live in another country, you develop mannerisms that
are just there, and you pick them up even if you don’t know that you
did,” he reflects. He explains how others looked at him curiously when
he naturally displayed habits he had developed while in China.
Serving with the Peace Corps made Tielke more interested in
China specifically and he hopes to go back to China again to study the
language, with a goal of not speaking English for a year. He plans to
apply for the Boren Fellowship in January, which provides grants to
students who study critical languages and allows the student to live in
the host country to learn the language for a variable amount of time.
He would then like to finish his Master’s program after finally
returning to the United States. Because he is currently a fellow of the
Robertson Foundation for Government, he is required to work for
the federal government for two to three years in some way after he
graduates and has career goals of working in the State Department in
a diplomatic position with the government or possibly in a research or
writing position.
Reflecting Back
Tielke brought back with him more than just the experience of
volunteering abroad, explaining, “For one, it’s taught me to be a little
more patient with how things work and how to approach problems in
different context. Being in China, it taught me to navigate issues that
were foreign to me.”
The opportunity reinforced the rewards of helping others. “It also
reaffirms the importance of volunteering. How small things can mean
a lot to people, even if it doesn’t seem like it, even if it doesn’t seem
apparent. Remembering that things that might be small to you might
be monumental to other people,” he states kindly.
There are some things he misses now that he’s back home. Though
he was not a fan of the food in China initially, he grew to appreciate
it and now craves it. He explains that much of the food was spicy,
something the Midwesterner wasn’t accustomed to, but now misses the
spiciness and flavors of the authentic Chinese food. He also misses the
lower cost of living in China and explains that an entire plate of food
18vHISVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
might cost $1.50 in American money, allowing him more freedom to
eat out at a lower cost than making his own food.
The Chinese weren’t so different from Americans, Tielke explains.
“From the perspective of a Midwesterner, a lot of the people I met
in China were pretty similar.” He found that his host family, the
community and even his students were very hospitable. They were
always there to help him when he needed it, or get what he needed or
fix something.
“In terms of goals and aspirations, they’re almost identical to
Americans.” He explains that because many families can only have one
child, they are very family-oriented, relationships are important, and
they strongly encourage their children to obtain a college degree.
He is proud of the impact that he left on the community where he
volunteered. When he was first assigned to his location, his program
manager selected a site for him that previously had difficulty with
their volunteers. Normally the oncoming volunteer would be paired
up with an existing, experienced volunteer already at the site. The site
Tielke was visiting had no existing volunteers so he would be taking
on the task alone. By the time he left, he feels that he made a positive
impression on the community. Those that wouldn’t help him in the
beginning would do everything they could by the time he finished his
term.
“Until you do something like this, there’s really nothing to compare
it to,” he reflects. “The Peace Corps was, at that point, the most difficult
thing I’ve ever had to do. Everything was a new challenge, no one was
there to really help you. After you were done with training, it was all
on you to integrate, to be a good teacher, to be a role model, to be a
good representative, to really build trust.” He explains that even with
this difficult task, seeing the positive change in the people’s attitudes by
time he left indicated to him that he really did something. One thing
people of the world have in common is people teaching people, and
Tielke serves as a fantastic example of the impact this can make on
others.
vBy Julie Eickhoff
vPALMER continued from page 9
Swedish company in England. Already an avid fan of fixed-wing flying,
Palmer’s interests were about to add another hobby.
“There was a guy at the next drawing board who said he was going
flying,” he said. And as someone who admits to being ‘crazy’ about
flying since a young age, Palmer jumped at the chance to join.
Only, it wasn’t what he was expected.
“We went out and it turns out, he was going ballooning,” Palmer
said.
Palmer, along with a few others, followed his coworker’s balloon in a
‘chase’ balloon. “He (coworker) had no interest in taking it further than
that, but I was totally hooked,” Palmer said.
His work as an engineer eventually took Palmer around the world
— he estimates that he’s either lived, worked or traveled to 44 different
countries — but he never lost sight of his new favorite hobby: Flying a
balloon.
Before moving to Yankton in 1993, Palmer had previously been
to the area two years before when he was invited to fly an Uncle Sam
balloon at a rally hosted by people who owned a balloon museum in
Tyndall.
The collection at that museum were eventually moved to one in
Mitchell, and the Soukup and Thomas International Balloon and
Airship Museum closed in 2000 — that collection was moved to a
museum in New Mexico.
vPALMER continued on page 19