The first day I couldn’t understand anything, there was no order, lots of people passing by and food I could not identify. I took all the courage I had and approached the vendor pointed at something that looked edible and hoped it would not give me a stomachache. It was scary but my first day at the UIBE canteen was an adventure. Now I lost my fears and I even made some friends at one of the little restaurants.
The first time I went to the canteen and tried to order anything without saying a word of Chinese was hard but I survived so did all my classmates. I have grown to really like Chinese food and now I cannot imagine going back home and eating “fake” Chinese food. The canteen now is one of my favorite places to eat, especially in a busy day at school. However, don’t get carried away by the convenience of the canteen and try to go experience all the little restaurants outside East or West gates. It is an essential part of living in Beijing to go eat in every corner, literally at the corner. Many delicious foods are just at the sidewalk corner of East gate.
Advice from a person that knew zero Chinese when she got here, the canteen might seem scary at first but it is an experience you should go through.
By Larissa Sales, Loyola University Chicago, TBC Communications and Social Media Intern and Fall 2015 Student
In their discussions, Cardinal Chow underscored the pivotal role of the Church in Hong Kong as a bridge. He emphasized that not only the Church in Hong Kong but every individual serves as a bridge connecting the world. In the current context of a divided global society, individuals often pursue their individual interests. To be a bridge means to lead people to cooperate for mutual benefit rather than work in isolation. A bridge gathers people, helps them discover common ground, and motivates collective efforts towards creating a better world.
Watch the full video here:
During his visit, Simon engaged in a conversation with Antonio Spadaro S.J., the former editor-in-chief of the Jesuits’ biweekly review, La Civiltà Cattolica, and the undersecretary for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Simon also had a meeting with The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, a dicastery of the Roman Curia. In this meeting, Simon shared insights into the current situations in China, offering the organization a deeper understanding of Chinese society.
It was an honor and a privilege to be able to speak to so many and share these incredible moments with both old and new friends of TBC.
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.