THE CITY THAT TOOK MY SEOUL
Dear Mom, I’m still alive, and I’m back in Beijing. Last week, during China’s National Holiday, I and five other TBC students flew to Seoul, Korea. I’ve wanted to visit Korea ever since high school when I befriended Korean foreign exchange students who studied at Bishop Miege. Not only did I finally get the opportunity to go, but I also reunited with one of them, Monica, for the first time in four years!
ON A SMOGGY BEIJING DAY
Dear Mom, I’m still alive, and although I’ve only been back in Beijing for a couple weeks, I’ve already gone exploring. One of the cool parts about living in one of the world’s oldest, largest cities is that there are always more things to do. This past Saturday, I got to visit two more major cultural sites in Beijing. These two famous icons represent both China’s long history and its contemporary prominence. They are the Temple of Heaven and the 2008 Beijing Olympic complex.
CHENGDU: HOTPOT, PANDAS, AND OLD PALS
During my time in Beijing, there was one destination I knew I needed to go to: Chengdu. Why you might ask? Well, there are several attractions within the city of Chengdu that suit all kinds of people. The most famous attractions are the panda parks. Chengdu is known across China for hosting the most renowned breeding grounds for sustaining China’s prized animal. Additionally, Chengdu is an up-and-coming city with thriving streets and night-life. The main streets are home to fashionable stores and lavish restaurants; however, alleys leading you off the main roads guide you quaint mom-and-pop shops where you can find authentic trinkets and dishes.
BUDDHISM AND I
I grew up in a Buddhist Vietnamese family. As a child, I went to the closest Buddhist temple to my house every Sunday to sit and listen to the morning chants and teachings alongside my family before attending Vietnamese school for a few hours. I grew up wearing necklaces with little Buddha carvings and prayer beads around my wrist. I was raised with Buddhist traditions, and I was told that whenever I felt unsafe, unsettled, or just not right, I should pray to the Buddha. Doing so would calm my rapid heartbeats and my noisy mind. So it was natural for Buddhism to become the belief that I would call my religion for a good part of my childhood.
AN AMERICAN GAY IN CHINA
In its online ads, The Beijing Center promises to take students to the China they weren’t expecting. That has certainly been true for me as an openly gay man studying abroad in Beijing.
‘LOST’ IN THE MOUNTAINS
I had an expectation, when I decided to study abroad in China, that I was going to travel all over Asia. It was unrealistic because I neglected the fact that I was a part of a STUDY abroad and that I had classes during the week. However, I didn’t want classes to hinder my desire to see as much of China as possible. Also, the Beijing Center purposefully schedules classes Monday-Thursday and gives you three days off for travel and internships.
CONCERNS COMING TO CHINA
The decision to study abroad is not always easy. There is more to it than applying to a program. You are faced with the reality of being immersed in a culture that differs from your own. Maybe the language is different, the food, the style, the etiquette…
SEOUL SEARCHING
By Alexa L., Stonehill College, TBC Fall 2018 Student
In China, the first week of October is the National Holiday. Many businesses and schools close for the week. Given this free time, some of my friends and I planned a 6-day trip to Seoul, South Korea!
Step 1: LOGISTICS
LIVING WITH AMERICANS
When I first saw the recruitment article for Chinese Roommates (CR) by The Beijing Center (TBC) in my WeChat Moments feed, little did I know that it was going to be an experience that would completely change my college life. TBC’s semester study abroad program provides its students with the option to live with a local Chinese Roommate, an experience which I’m proud to say in most cases, ends up becoming the student’s favorite part of their semester in Beijing.
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL: A FREE WEEK TO TRAVEL!
The first week of October is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, a national week-long holiday.
Our TBC students utilized this period to explore distant destinations across Asia. In the end, our TBCers settled in 5 locations: Bangkok, Tongling, Shanghai, Seoul, and Palawan & El Nido. A member from each expedition describes the logistics of their travels below.
AVENTURA EN LA RUTA DE LA SEDA
Este semestre tuve la oportunidad de viajar por una parte de la gran Ruta de la Seda, viaje incluido en mi intercambio a China con The Beijing Center. Durante los siglos XIII y XIV DC, esta ruta fue la principal de comercio entre oriente y occidente. La ruta empezaba en Xi’an, y terminaba en Venecia. Es increíble haber caminado por esa misma ruta, 700 años después dehaber sido la única conexión por tierra entre estos dos hemisferios del mundo.
你好北京! (HELLO, BEIJING!)
Hello, everyone! Welcome to my blog! For the fall semester of 2018, I am participating as a student in the Beijing Center (TBC), a study abroad program based in Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics, or UIBE for short. I’m so excited to bring all of you along with me through this amazing experience studying abroad in Beijing, China.
DEAR MOM, I’M STILL ALIVE
SILK ROAD TRIP, PART 1
Dear Mom, I’m still alive, and I’ve been in China for more than three weeks! Sorry I haven’t been posting, but I’ve been very busy – for the past two weeks, I’ve been traveling with my study abroad program across western China, following the path of the ancient Silk Road.
BEING CHINESE AMERICAN IN CHINA
For many of our students, being in China means viewing Chinese culture as a guest and an outsider, but for Chinese Americans, being in China can be a completely different experience. Being able to pass as Chinese lends them a different lens to view China through and in the meantime, puts them under higher expectations from strangers such as shopkeepers and restaurant owners, which both afford them the opportunity to understand China on a deeper and more personal level as well as present more challenges. To see how different students approach these challenges and opportunities, we had three Chinese American TBC students write about their unique experiences during their time here.
HOW TO USE YOUR PHONE AS A SUBWAY CARD
Conveying an average of over 12 million passengers on a daily basis, the subway system of Beijing is quite literally the veins of the city. Recently, to make the use of the subway system more convenient for passengers, Beijing Transit Authority introduced a new feature that allows you to pay the transit fare with your phone. Straightforward as the registration process is, the app you do it through is entirely in Chinese, and thus it might prove difficult for students who are not fluent enough.
LIST OF MOST USEFUL APPS IN CHINA
It is often said that all you need to live your life in China is your phone – it provides so many features that indeed it can be the only thing you need besides your keys when you leave your room. In China, your phone is not only your means of communication, but is also your wallet, your subway card, your restaurant and your shopping mall. However, none of these will be available to you if you don’t have the right apps. In this article, we’ll make a list of the most useful apps that will make your life in China a lot easier.
RIDING THE SUBWAY IN BEIJING
Before coming to China I did a lot of research. One of the main takeaways from my research about Beijing was that the subway is always horribly crowded. My experience differs from this quite a bit. While the subway can be extremely crowded, there are also times when it’s possible to sit down on the subway. Usually, it is somewhere in between. What line you are taking, in which direction and at what time all influence how busy your train is going to be.
THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN BEFORE COMING TO CHINA
There’s a lot of things that can be, and have been, said about China. I see myself as incredibly, incredulously lucky that not only did I have previous study abroad experience in Rome before coming to China but that I have, well, previous experience coming to China. Being half-Chinese, speaking some of the language, knowing people here already – it’s all things I’m immensely grateful for.
7 REASONS WHY TO CHOOSE A CHINESE ROOMMATE
Have you decided to study abroad in China and are making plans on how to make the most of your semesters abroad? Are you excited but at the same time nervous about your upcoming new life in a country and culture that is perhaps completely different from your own? Do you want to build international friendships and connections during your time abroad but are afraid that it may prove difficult? A great answer to all these questions you are probably having right now is actually quite simple – you should choose to live with a Chinese roommate.
MY SECOND ACADEMIC YEAR IN CHINA
Can you briefly introduce yourself?
My name is Veronica Lewis (Roni). I grew up in D.C., but my university is in Denver, Regis University. I’m an East Asian Studies major with a concentration in Mandarin, and a community food systems/ farming minor.