TRAVELING TWINS
Not many people are born having a best friend and soulmate, but I was. Everything I do in my life, I always think about how I always have someone to count on and someone to do anything I want with. Whether I am in school, traveling, having a meal, or just sitting at home reading or watching tv, I always have the option of being alone or having company, a choice not many people have many times. Being in a foreign country is already scary and unpredictable, to begin with, but being alone without knowing anyone, makes it that much harder. Fortunately, my experience is never as scary and hard as many others’ because I have my sister, Verica.
CHINESE ROOMMATE APPRECIATION DAY
On November 16, 2017, TBC students hosted a Chinese Roommate Appreciation Day to show our thanks to our wonderful roomies! Each semester TBC students have the opportunity to room with local Chinese students who are amazing because they dedicate so much time and energy into making us feel welcome and with helping us transition, get around, and adapt during our time in China. Chinese Roommate Appreciation Day is a way for TBC students to acknowledge their effort and the crucial role Chinese roommates play in creating a unique experience for students at TBC.
DISNEY IN SHANGHAI
Shanghai is already a magical city all on its own. But this weekend at Shanghai Disney felt like an out-of-body experience. I felt like it was someone else experiencing this trip, not me. My two days spent exploring Disney and Shanghai have been exceptionally memorable. Especially since, everything was so well planned, as soon as my 7 friends and I got to Shanghai at 9 am on Friday morning, the fun began. We made our way from the airport to our Airbnb (143 kuai per person), and by 10 am we were standing in front a luxurious gated building that was just as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. As soon as we settled in our apartment, we made our way to People’s Square – the beginning of our exploration around Shanghai.
RECOMMENDED, CLOSE & DELICIOUS
Restaurant: Let’s go to Chengdu
Location: Outside East Gate
Cost: $
The menu includes: No English and no photos
Order: Everything here is delicious and SPICY! We ordered hotpot, noodles, duck blood, and pig brain
Recommended
FALL BREAK STORIES: TBC STYLE
The first of week of October celebrated the Autumn Festival in all of China, and it gave our students the opportunity to travel all over China and explore Beijing even further! Students shared with us how their trip went, how much it cost and what their favorite part of it was:
FALL BREAK STORIES: FLYING IN ZHANGJIAJIE
I have to give thanks to my parents and my uncles for making me love nature and be an adventurer at heart. And I also have to give thanks to my friends Kate and Reed for organizing the trip to the best park I’ve visited in a long time.
The Monday of the Chinese national holiday, the Autumn Festival, we embarked on a twenty-four-hour train to the Hunan province, on the south of China.
LIVING WITH A CHINESE ROOMMATE
Living with a Chinese roommate
As we approach our month mark of living in Beijing, there are many things I’m grateful for that TBC has provided to make the experience of studying in another country comfortable.
ADJUSTING IN CHINA
It’s been a few weeks into classes and I can say that I have pretty much adjusted to the unusual ways of China’s living. This has been no easy feat. Culture shock is a real thing, and it happens to everyone. It affects everyone differently. I will not brush over it. It did not hit me lightly. It hit me like a full on emotional bus full of doubts and stressors. It ran over me at full force leaving me completely lost in what to do and how to feel like I was going to be able to make it.
FAVORITE FOODS WITH FATHER GENE: IBERO-LATINO NIGHT
On Friday, resident Jesuit Father Gene invited nine students to his apartment to cook and eat delicious Ibero-Latino food. It was a very fun night in which we shared laughs, spices, recipes, and stories about our first month in China.
A VISIT TO THE COUNTRY
The countryside filled my window as we left the busy metropolis of Nanjing. My neck began to ache as the ride wore on, but I couldn’t stop watching the varied drama of the landscape. My friend Jacob Miller and I first traveled in China during our junior year at Loyola while studying abroad at the Beijing Center. The fall after our graduation from Loyola, we returned to China to continue searching for a full and honest picture of life there.
BEGINNINGS IN BEIJING
By Almudena R., Loyola University Chicago, TBC Fall 2017 Student
*Scroll down to read in Spanish*
Beginnings in Beijing
I’ve been in China for almost a month. And I’ve never been happier. I keep saying it to everyone I know, but I cannot help it. I feel like I’m flying, moving through my days with an aura of joy surrounding me, leading me into another hour of exploring the beauty this country has.
PREPARING FOR BEIJING
Have you ever thought about traveling abroad, or even studying abroad? The chance of a lifetime at your doorstep and all you have to do is open the door. In the fall of 2017, I will be opening the door, grabbing my suitcase, and hopping on a 13 hour flight to Beijing, China.
BEFORE THE ADVENTURE STARTS
As I prepare to go abroad to Beijing next semester, I feel a wide array of emotions: excitement, hope, happiness, gratitude, and nervousness. I made the choice to study in The Beijing Center my first semester studying at Loyola University Chicago. The departure day looked very far away that first semester, and now it is two months away. There was a chance, due to my financial situation, studying two majors, or getting cold feet sometimes, that I wouldn’t study in China. So, now it seems a little unbelievable that I have my plane ticket and my classes already scheduled.
CHOOSING CHINA
One day as I am sitting in class, I catch myself thinking about how nice it would be to go back to Europe and study abroad in Greece: frappes by the sea, devouring innumerable gyros, learning about Greek history and mythology, and reminiscing about the laidback European lifestyle I once lived. Soon my thoughts came to life, as I began a conversation with my classmates about travelling the world and cultural immersion. As it turned out, a girl in the group (Maria) was Greek, and soon we were laughing about My Big Fat Greek Wedding and how refusing meat is incomprehensible within the Greek mentality.
CHINA FOR THE WHOLE ACADEMIC YEAR
The idea of studying abroad for me dates back to sophomore year of high school. In Mandarin class, we were watching a series called Wild China, which was an informational video and narration that explored the immense and unique wildlife and nature of China. Before that, I considered college far away and did not give thought to what I wanted to do. After finishing the series, I knew. I had to explore this place, experience the people, and discover its secrets for myself.
UMMAH: ENCOUNTERING MUSLIMS IN CHINA
The first Saturday of March, April pushed at my shoulder, “Addy, wake up! He’s already waiting for us at west gate!”
I sat up, looking down at my jeans. “Do I have time to change my pants?” Back in Chicago, I rarely wear pants, let alone jeans. I brought this sole pair with me thinking they would be a good clothing item to potentially lose to Beijing’s smoggy atmosphere, and how right I was: earlier that day upon climbing machinery in the 798 Arts District, first the right seam followed immediately by the left seam of the inner thigh tore down to the knee. I wore tights underneath, thankfully, but I nonetheless looked quite ridiculous.
YONGHEGONG LAMA TEMPLE
On Saturday, April 15th, I set off with my friends Emily, Wilson, Adah, and Carol for the Yonghegong Lama Temple, one of the largest and best preserved historical sites in Beijing. I had seen the Lama temple (or at least its subway stop) in passing multiple times- it is only three stops away from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) on the Beijing Line 5 Subway- yet I had never had the chance to get off and explore the site.
SPRING BREAK STORIES: GOODBYE CHINA, HELLO JAPAN
My second semester in Beijing has continued to be full of surprises. I am still meeting new people, experiencing new places and foods. It may be too early to say, but I am enjoying my second semester with the TBC program even more than the last. This semester’s TBC students blend together especially well, which is almost too good to be true. This semester I even have two fellow stags, Lauren Jachimcyzk (18’) and Debra Chevalier (18’) to accompany me along this once in a lifetime journey.
SPRING BREAK: TBC STYLE
Spending a semester in Beijing gives our students easy access not only to the wonders of China, but also to other parts of Asia! TBC students recently returned from spring break, and they ventured near and far: all the way from Inner Mongolia to Spain! With spring break overlapping China’s Tomb Sweeping Festival, students spent fourteen days relaxing and travelling, often covering multiple cities. Some students even explored multiple countries! Talking about their experiences vacationing primarily around Asia, students shared with us where they went, what their favorite part of the trip was, and how much their trip cost:
“ABC AT THE EGG,” NYTIMES ARTICLE PUBLISHED BY TBCER
Tucked away in a plush dressing room off a press conference hall at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, we sat nervously in chairs upholstered in China’s trademark red. After a last-minute cancellation; a week of dogged phone-calling, WeChatting, and restrained begging; and a final, wretched wild goose chase around the airplane hangar-sized theatre complex known as the “Egg”, I had finally been granted a brief interview with opera director, Chen Xingyi. To help navigate the murky waters of opera jargon, I had brought along a Chinese friend to help translate when needed.