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Tag: China

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By shannonfitzz

I have just returned home from two weeks of traveling in Europe and Iceland, and currently sit at my computer with a huge mug of green tea and a snowy view outside my bedroom window in upstate New York.  In just a couple of weeks, I will begin my study abroad program in Shanghai, China. Since Chinese Universities do not resume classes until following Chinese New Year in February, I have had an extended winter break, thus providing me with the opportunity to travel a bit before I leave.

I decided to travel to Europe and prior to departing, my future adventures and experiences were largely unknown. I had a one-way ticket to London and plans with a volunteer organization in Greece, but other than that, the future was sort of a black box. I intended to spend a week exploring the city of London prior to heading to Serres, Greece, where I would volunteer with Refugees from Iraq, teaching yoga to women and children. Upon arriving in England, I met up with a friend with whom I was staying, and began ironing out the details of my arrival to Greece. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a mishap with the volunteer organization where I was scheduled to work, and my exciting service plans fell through. Life has a funny way of throwing little curve balls into your world and seeing how you respond- almost like some sort of game set up by the universe to see how you react in different situations. I knew I had to make the best out of my situation. After all, I had never been to England and was excited to be in a new place.

So, I was in London, without much of a plan. As bummed as I was that I couldn't spread my love for yoga to others, I used my time in Europe to explore different experiences and cultures, and to see things I had never seen before. From bustling market places, to ancient Catholic churches, to sacred Buddhist statues, I made it my adventure and task to explore new sights, sounds, peoples, and cultures with the goal of expanding my perspective beyond what it had been when I left New York . From London, I was even able to plan a trip to Iceland on my journey back to the States and experience the magic of this Nordic island country.

...continue reading ""And we danced on the brink of an unknown future, to an echo from a vanished past."-John Wyndham"

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By czhangangel

When people go to study abroad, the first identity that is assumed is a student; and the following is a traveler. We should not be too unfamiliar with being a student, but for many people, being a traveler is.

This wasn’t my first rodeo being out of my home country for a long period of time, but it was my first time going alone. While there was some nervousness, I was more excited and eager than anything. I knew what resources that I had, and I felt that I had the energy to tackle any forthcoming challenges. Upon reflection of my duration studying abroad in Hong Kong, I felt prepared for the experience but also learned a lot from it. Here some things to expect while you study abroad and how to have the best travel experience.

What’s Ahead

As with anything, there are good and bad sides. The good side of studying abroad is that you are going to meet a lot of people, make new friends, eat good food, travel to new places, and maybe learn a new language. You will seldom find a time where there is nothing to do with time spent exploring new places with new people and building relationships that will extend beyond study abroad, while not studying. The bad side includes not feeling that you totally fit in the institution, finding thing inconvenient, and/or feeling torn between your old life at home and your new life at your study abroad location. How one experiences any of these study abroad experiences depend on your support at home and abroad.

...continue reading "A Reflection: Attitude is Key"

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By gwujrbenjamin

བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས།! Tashi Dalek! This is Tibetan for hello, and in this blog I am using a traditional Tibetan greeting because I am back talking about my research on Tibetan peoples. To remind everyone, I am researching Tibetan mental health practices which is very interesting because not only is traditional Tibetan medicine the oldest system of written mental health methodology, but also it places the mental health above other kinds of health. In order to properly research this I became part of the community, volunteering at a local crafts center and Tibetan culture center. I taught English, and this gave me access to the community in a different way, one that was more comfortable.

People were able to talk to me more freely. I was able to shadow both Tibetan doctors in western medicine and Tibetan medicine hospitals. As well as a volunteer American doctor that works primarily with Tibetan nomads. This was an amazing experience, being so involved in a community that has such a rich culture. I was welcomed to learn Tibetan language, Tibetan traditional paining, and even to come over to Tibetan homes to eat dinner with the family.

These were not things that  I thought I would be able to do because I had imagined they had nothing to do with my project. However, much like the medical system, everything in Tibetan culture is connected. I found speaking some Tibetan helped me become more of a trusted person to talk to, even though Tibetans have a culture of not talking about their problems. I also found that there is a huge connection between art, spirituality, and health with the Tibetan traditional art. Finally, being welcomed into a home to experience meals with a family taught me about the importance of the family unit and daily life dietary methodology. I was extremely fortunate to get connections through my SIT program.

...continue reading "December"

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By czhangangel

Studying abroad is a decision that allows yourself to experience the world, be independent, meet different people, adapt to different living, learn about different culture, etc. During time abroad, one will adopt an optimistic, out-going, and relaxed attitude. Your focus turns from school to experiencing as most as you can by traveling the world and making new friends. The overall experience can be addicting and lull one into extending their study abroad experience – at least for me, it did.

I was very tempted to proceed with the process to extend my stay in Hong, but for the first time, I felt held back for once. I thought this situation only happens to those who are “grown up”, or those with responsibilities. “Grownups” have responsibilities to answer to such as family, friends, jobs, and opportunities that should be seized. It is very selfish and immature to just enjoy life without responsibilities – to leave everything behind – because there are people that care about you and want you in their lives, and there are people you will care about too. I asked myself, “Have I ‘grown’ that much to have these responsibilities – to have to make a decision like this?” I understand that studying abroad is a growing experience, but I didn’t realize how much one can grow.

The responsibilities that I believe I personally have are sick family that I must see and take care of, departing friends that I must see, credits I must take to graduate, and jobs and internships to apply for. I had to understand that the study abroad life is not long-term; home is because that is where your past and near future lies. Time flies and things change will you are away and does not wait for you; and the longer you are away, the more you have to “catch up” and accept changes that have occurred. There are future opportunities to come back to your place of study abroad to work or vacation since the location itself will never move.

...continue reading "A Pull From Across the World: To Go or to Stay?"

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By gwujrbenjamin

你好！Hello from my new home stay! I am currently blogging from a village named ShaPing outside of ShaXi town. This is a Bai minority agricultural village, so I am getting a taste of a new dialect of Chinese, and what it is like in rural China. The Bai minority is named after the color white because of the white houses, and emphasis of the color white in their traditional dress. The village is in the middle of a mountain range, and filled with corn fields.

The locals do not speack much mandarin. Yes, this rural area has its unique challenges, but mostly it is filled with lovely people willing to share their culture with you, beautiful ancient architecture, and a ton of shucking corn. This brings me to this blog post’s topic. For this blog I will not be focusing on my service and research that I am going to be starting in just a few weeks (yay!). But, instead, on a very basic and critical part of Chinese culture, familial piety.

Chinese people since the beginning of Confucianism, have put a large emphasis on the family unit. Specifically in the idea that the younger generation helps the older generation, or a continuous service to the family. Young people have an enormous pressure to serve their elders, and often take on this challenge with open arms. Upon entering a homestay in China this same concept flows. I am a 20 year old woman currently living in a house hold with a mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, and a grandchild.

...continue reading "November"

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By czhangangel

Previously in my last blog, I touched on how the Hong Kong/Chinese school system is a manifestation of and an influencer of cultural values. Recently, I have observed a difference between the young mindsets of Hong Kong residents and those of foreigners. When interacting with students at my school, we can relate to many things since we both have similar interests and life spans composing of development and life experiences. This applies to both my exchange/international friends as well as Hong Kong natives

However, I wonder, “why can’t I connect with Hong Kong natives on a deeper level or more naturally, like I do with my foreign friends?” I don’t believe it is a language or culture barrier since my foreigner friends are from all over the world such as Australia, Sweden, China, Canada, U.S., and U.K. – all with different cultures and where English may not their first language either. It is also not the difference in age or education level since we are all in the same or similar institutions. I believe it goes down to the difference in people’s experiences which helps them relate to and connect with others on a deeper level. In experience, there is a sharp difference between quantity and quality that contributes to character growth.

In Hong Kong, I hear more stories of, in my opinion, immaturity or lacking greater experience. I have been subject to people’s rants of a variety of situations in Hong Kong already – from both family and friends. For example, (in all anonymity) I’ve heard people only going study something at a certain place just because their parents said to, hiding a credit card bill because the person didn’t want his/her guardian seeing the amount of spending, and one asking his/her guardian to wipe his/her bottom after being constipated. Obviously, this is not to generalize all young Hong Kong people. I am only providing the causes for my impression. There are definitely “normal” people in the middle of these situations, but I think there are more cases of this “extremity” in Hong Kong than I have ever observed before.

...continue reading "Quality Over Quantity"

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By gwujrbenjamin

(Due to recent Internet connectivity issues in China, this blog entry was posted on Annaliese De Vita's behalf.)

Hi from my host family’s porch! Although it is October the Kunming weather enables me to take full advantage of this beautiful city. As I wrote in my first post SIT’s programs have a strong research component. However, this is mostly involved in the last month of study, culminating in an independent study project. However, we have many smaller research projects to be done in preparation for our field work. I find this to be extremely helpful because I have never conducted interviews in Chinese, so getting some practice in is for sure needed. 

Our first interview is with anyone we would like, about how the changes in China are demonstrated in their own life. We are to conduct an interview then choose a certain part of their life to write a small report on how their life emulates the larger general changes in China. The first problem for me is always fulling understanding what people mean by their answers. It is hard to fully understand a deeper meaning when you are struggling to understand the general idea of the answer they gave. Further, it is sometimes difficult to culturally understand what is inappropriate to ask. Although, language and culture classes have aided in this process immensely. 

This is a hard first step to the field work process. Living in a second language is exhausting, doing new things can be frightening, and getting discouraged at signs of failure is inevitable. However, what I have learned, is trying means a lot. Step one is always to take a deep breath, and remember everyone struggles sometimes. Then, try again, differently. Everyone I have talked to, or have tried talking to me, is very patient with my seemingly endless amount of clarifiers. People have been understanding that the language is difficult, and do their best to help me. My language also improves quite quickly because of their efforts. I have learned you have teachers everywhere, if you are willing to try, fail, and try again. 

...continue reading "October"

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By czhangangel

The first criteria I had when choosing places to study abroad was that the school has to be located in Asia. As Asian-American, I wanted to learn more about the culture and ideals in what my own Chinese-American culture is rooted in. The “East” (Asian) and “Western” (European) world are known to have opposite “thinking”, such as collectivism and individualism, respectively. I wanted to see myself if I could completely adapt to the Asian ideals that stray away from what American or “Western” ideals I grew up with. As a student at The University of Hong Kong, I was able to experience the Chinese/Hong Kong culture and thinking through its school system.

Learning

In China and Hong Kong, memorization became a standard way of learning because it is required to learn a language such as Chinese. Characters had to be memorized on how to write and how to say. Students would also be asked to memorize the extensive history and literature that makes up China. This point was made by my Cantonese teacher, who also proposed that memorization helps to recall information faster.

I, an American student, however, was surprised at the request to memorize. Besides preparing material for tests, I was never blatantly asked to memorize anything. I wondered, “Is this why Asians experience the notorious stress that they have due to academics?” In my experience, memorization adds a lot more stress than knowing and understanding material. Information that would be asked to memorize would always be available with the resources everyone has today, so instead of spending time and energy to memorize, I believe in the reinforced American thinking that learning how to think critically is more important, especially in upper-level education such as university.

...continue reading "Which Came First: The Teaching System and Learning System?"

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By acdevita

大家好！Hello everybody! I'm Annie, but my Chinese name is 丁爱丽 (Dīng Aì Lì meaning, love and beauty, not to brag). I am currently living in Kunming, which is the center hub of the Yunnan Province of China. For those of you unfamiliar with China's vast geography, it is close to the Vietnamese and Laos border in the south. Although Kunming is often touted as a small city with perfect weather, it is actually a city of about 9 million people and it is currently rainy season. But you won't catch me complaining! I am enjoying everyday, even those with bouts of homesickness, due to excellent program staff, infinite places to explore, and some cheap dumplings waiting for me at the end of every day- pause for a group "yummm." Yunnan is incredibly interesting from its extensive topography, including the mountains in the north west to the beaches in the south east, to the 24 minority populations that call Yunnan their indigenous home.

This is what makes my program with SIT so special. I am learning about minority health and traditional Chinese medicine from indigenous people, in Chinese. Chinese language skill is so important because understanding what an expert means in their chosen language opens up the depth of knowledge at which we can understand the more rooted truths of their experiences. Just for example, there are two forms of and; one that adds value and  one that does not. Understanding caveats of language open doors to deeper and more meaningful research. I was nervous about my language skills at first, however, 4 hours of Chinese class everyday while being immersed in the language can speed up retention times!

...continue reading "An Auspicious Beginning"

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At first glance, Hong Kong is just like the online pictures - a metropolis built on mountains and islands; unique and majestic. Upon arrival, however, there are details available to you that an image cannot capture. Details may be small and easy to overlook, but they can reveal the real story of the environment, culture, and daily life of a place and its people. Allow my first blog post to share how I have come to know Hong Kong through its details.

...continue reading "It's All in the Details"

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