On March 29, 2025, TBC students and staff visited Five Loaves and Two Fish for a morning of cultural exchange and creative craft making.
A Flourishing Partnership
Five Loaves and Two Fish is a volunteer organization centered on providing support and international education opportunities to the local migrant children who comprise its student body.
TBC has been in collaboration with Five Loaves and Two Fish for nearly eight years. The relationship embodies TBC’s Jesuit Education Mission of service learning, particularly by assisting in cultural exchange activities.
This semester TBC and Five Loaves and Two Fish experienced the fine fashion of the Chinese Cheongsam and the festive fun of Mardi Gras through arts and crafts.
Celebrating the Changing of the Seasons with Fresh Floral Fashion
Kicking off this creative morning, the students of Five Loaves and Two Fish presented the Cheongsam (also known as the Qipao), a style of women’s dress
originating from the Qing Dynasty’s Manchu “Changpao.”
The Changpao evolved into the many styles of Cheongsam we know and love today including Beijing Style (Jing Pai), Shanghai Style (Hai Pai), and Hong Kong Style Cheongsams.
While each type is unique in its decoration, cut, and length, the Cheongsam is a staple of Chinese culture and a beautiful garment appropriate for any event.
The students of TBC had the opportunity to design their own Cheongsam!
Wrapping Up the Month of March with a Mardi Gras Masquerade
What better way to celebrate the new season than with the party of all parties?
Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday” is a holiday of Catholic origin, marking the day before “Ash Wednesday,” which is the beginning of the solemn 40-day Lenten season.
Originating from France, Mardi Gras was brought to New Orleans in the late 1600s where it evolved into a massive festival of parades, costumed revellers, performances, jazz music, and delicious Creole-style food.
While its reputation of fun for all ages still stands, Mardi Gras remains culturally significant for the people of New Orleans.
After Hurricane Katrina, a devastating cyclone destroying over $125 billion dollars of New Orleans infrastructure and tragically taking the lives of 1400 people made landfall on August 29, 2005, many citizens believed Mardi Gras would not be celebrated that year.
However, in a remarkable show of resilience, New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras that year to show that despite tragedy, perseverance itself is a reason to celebrate!
In the spirit of Mardi Gras, TBC students and staff and the students of Five Loaves and Two Fish decorated their own Mardi Gras masks!
Author’s Note:
It was a wonderful experience learning about the Cheongsam from the kids at Five Loaves and Two Fish as well as teaching them about Mardi Gras – the entire experience brought me so much joy!
I can’t wait to see them again for another exciting cultural exchange!
By Spring 2025 Student Madeleine DeVoll
For the first time for one of these blogs, I’m taking on a new challenge: exploring without the involvement of The Beijing Center! This past weekend, I took the chance to take a pre-finals breath of fresh air and vacation for the first time in China, to the city of Tianjin.
I’ve written about my cultural exchange experiences in Beijing and at Minzu University before, but recently, I added something new to my roster: introducing my own culture to others.
If there’s any historical landmark related to China someone remembers learning about as a young child, odds are it’s the Great Wall of China. I have distinct memories of sitting in my third-grade social studies class, learning about this ancient marvel of engineering that was large it could be seen from space.
Beijing’s Temple of Heaven may be one of, if not, the most iconic tourist sites in Beijing. Constructed starting back in 1406, around the same time as the Forbidden City and the other respective temples of the Sun, Earth and Moon.