This week, TBC was pleased to welcome Fall Semester students Mars, Jen, and Thomas! We are thrilled to have them join us this fall as they embark on an exciting academic journey in Beijing. Their introduction to TBC began with a comprehensive orientation led by Simon, our executive director, and Queenie, our VP of student affairs. They covered the academic program of TBC and the essentials of student life at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), our host university.
After the orientation, we provided them with a welcome package, including TBC merchandise, SIM cards, and student IDs. They toured TBC headquarters and participated in ice-breaking activities to discuss their motivations for coming to China, ranging from business to culture and art. Later, we toured the UIBE campus and stopped by the delivery lockers, where they learned how to take their items out. This tour allowed them to familiarize themselves with their surroundings and key facilities, giving them a sense of the history and community they are now a part of.
In the following days, orientation focused on setting expectations and gathering their first impressions of China. With the guidance of TBC staff and interns, the students successfully set up their bank accounts and linked them to China’s payment platforms, WeChat and Alipay, making their stay in Beijing smoother. During their follow-up orientations, they also discussed academic policy and regulations as well as the credit and grading system.
Later in the week, we ventured out to nearby malls. First, we visited a store where they can find different foods and snacks. For lunch, they tried different dishes like curry and beef noodles. Although it was pouring rain, that was just part of the adventure, because later they visited a popular supermarket with two floors to explore. They found exciting fruits and veggies they hadn’t seen before. Also, they found some items they needed for daily use and familiarized themselves with the area around the school.
Over this past weekend, some of our students enrolled at Minzu University of China took their annual Spring Outing – this year, to Gubei Water Town. Situated about a 2-hour drive northeast of Beijing, the April weather made it absolutely perfect to explore for a spring outing. It surrounds various canals and offshoots of Yuanyang lake.
If you ever want to get a taste of Old Beijing, by far one of the best ways is to visit the hutongs. They’ve conceptually been around all the way since the 1200s, and in their most modern forms exist as protected alleyways and streets surrounded by old traditional houses and neighborhoods in the heart of Beijing and are recognized in China to be an important part of cultural heritage in the city.
My name is Jane Turner, and I’m a student from America- a second-year at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Although I’m studying in the middle of America, I come from the very south, from a state called Louisiana.
My name is Panatsaya, a third-year student at Xavier Learning Community (XLC) / Saengtham College, Xavier Campus, Chiang Rai (SC-XCC), and I come from the Akha ethnic community. Questions of culture, identity, and belonging have never been abstract to me—they have always been part of my daily life.