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!
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.
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.
On this past Tuesday, November 27th, TBC brought together the Beijing expat and young professionals community along with host organizations to discuss the significance and characteristics of a successful internship program and celebrate the achievements of TBC student interns at our semester internship showcase.
On Sunday, November 25th, TBC held its 20th Anniversary and Thanksgiving Gala to celebrate 20 years of promoting mutual understanding between China and the West through friendship, research, and exchange.
So this past Thursday was actual Thanksgiving Day, and to be honest with you all, it didn’t really feel like Thanksgiving. In the days leading up to Turkey Day, I was feeling less homesick than I thought, most likely because I wasn’t being bombarded with the fact that Thanksgiving was quickly coming up (I made it a point not to check social media for awhile, knowing full well that seeing Thanksgiving food videos and ads would make the homesickness worse).
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.
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.
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.
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…