Bolabola Joelle Zita: An African girl's adventure in Beijing

Bolabola Joelle Zita, Hostess of French Channel of Star Times

Sir, Sir, Sir .Carly, why are you so late?  My mother took me to a blind date. Why today? My mother said that.Now I’m a stewardess on the Mombasa–Nairobi Railway I’ve had a status change. That’s a big deal. I will marry an ideal man, and my life will be perfect.

Hi, everyone. My name is Bolabola. My Chinese name is Zhou Aile. I work as a full-time hostess of the French channel at StarTimes. I played the female leading role in the sketch comedy Happy Together at the CCTV 2018 Spring Festival Gala.

People of China and Africa are members of one family.

My father watched the Spring Festival Gala in Gabon.He sent me a text message, saying he had never seen me speak so much Chinese. I felt really happy.

In sketch comedy Happy Together, Polla acted as a 18-year-old girl, Carly. Carly just got a job as a train stewardess, her mother, however, urged her to get married.But Carly has her own dream .She wants to study in China to improve her knowledge and experience. In real life, Bolabola has realized “Carly’s” dream.

I came to Beijing in September 2008. I went to the (Chinese) language class at Beijing Language and Culture University. I came to Beijing because my father thought that China had been developing robustly and I should be here to learn Chinese.

After joining StarTimes in 2016, Bolabola once worked as a voice actress to dub Chinese films and TV dramas in African local languages. Then due to her language advantage, she became the hostess of a program oriented at an African audience. She has since become a messenger for China-Africa cultural exchange.

I couldn’t watch Chinese programs in my childhood. Now we have StarTimes, so we can watch a lot of Chinese channels, and experience Chinese culture. Beijing is very big. My hometown is very small.When I first came here, I was shocked to see so many people. I think Beijing develops very fast. I feel that I have changed a lot. The biggest change is in my thinking.I become more open and confident.I think that women should have their own career and do what they want to do.  It’s still not easy for women to have a career in Africa. It’s difficult for them to make it. Because it’s not so open there. And women don’t have such social status there. To me that’s the biggest cultural difference.

“I want to study in China. I want to work harder with my sleeves rolled up like Chinese people, and let the world give me a ‘Like’.”