USNA News Article

Naval Academy Midshipmen First to Embark On Board Chinese Ship

September 27, 2012

By Jessica Clark

Two Naval Academy midshipmen became the first U.S. midshipmen to embark on board a Chinese ship this summer.

Midshipman 1st Class Sarah Early and Midshipman 2nd Class Krystyna Nowakowski stayed on the Chinese training ship Zheng He for nearly two weeks as it transited from Cadiz, Spain, across the Atlantic Ocean to Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

The ship, operated by a crew of officers and enlisted in the Chinese Navy, is a hands-on training vessel for midshipmen from China’s Dalian Naval Academy. While on board, the Chinese midshipmen take practical classes on navigation, first aid and communications while training with officers performing their duties on the bridge and in the navigation room.

The training ship was on a world-wide tour of goodwill and cooperation which included stops in India, Italy, Spain and Canada. The crew embarked midshipmen from multiple countries throughout the cruise as well, including Canada, Russia, India and Pakistan.

Early and Nowakowski were offered the opportunity to embark on the ship because they are both Chinese majors. Nowakowski’s interest in China began while she was still in high school, when she traveled there on an exchange program.

“I’m really interested in Chinese culture, especially the language,” said Nowakowski.

On her first visit to China she lived with a civilian host family, but this was her first interaction with the Chinese military. The two midshipmen stayed in a berthing with the 13 female Chinese midshipmen on board and participated in the same training alongside them.

“We really felt integrated into their ship and into their training,” she said.

The Chinese midshipmen and crew went out of their way to give them a warm welcome, even making them a traditional American breakfast of eggs, ham and toast and providing them with bottled water – something that’s less common in their own culture, said Nowakowski.

“They really made us feel welcome with everything from giving us forks at meals (instead of chopsticks) to escorting us to classes,” she said. “It’s a very different culture, but we felt we connected a lot with the female midshipmen on board. It was just a great experience.”

The Chinese midshipmen were eager to learn what the U.S. students knew about China’s popular culture, asking if they had seen any Chinese movies or knew of any Chinese actors and music, said Early.

“They were also interested in the Naval Academy and comparing the two academies,” she said.

The midshipmen noticed that the Dalian Naval Academy is more a vocational school focusing on professional naval training rather than a college curriculum that results in a bachelor’s degree, like the U.S. Naval Academy. The Chinese midshipmen spend five years in school, and each year they focus on a different practical naval skill, said Nowakowski.

Both U.S. midshipmen are planning to select surface warfare when they commission. Nowakowski is also interested in pursuing intelligence work in the future.