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Published: March 9th 2009
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So far during my time at Tsinghua University and China I have learned to celebrate the small victories that come with adapting to a new environment and culture. Before I left the States, I made a personal goal to keep an open mind about anything that may come my way. While in China, I keep hearing people describe those who come to the country as having an adventuous spirit---that it takes a unique disposition to decide to come to China. For me, I had not really thought about this decision to go abroad to China has one of scariness, but rather an opportunity to face the unknown and adapt to the challenges. I came with the mindset that if I made the best out of any experience, it would in the end be a great experience (thanks to my awesome mentor 😉. All I had to do was try and try again, no matter how frustrating. As the first week of classes wraps up, I want to take a moment and reflect on what I have learned this week. It may seem like insequential experiences, but the grand scheme of lessons learned is the most important.
Today, I had an
One of the maining dining halls. Pretty much where the Chinese students eat.
The first time I went to this dining hall it was completely overwhelming. Lots and lots of students and no concept of lines. It cold and dark and everyone was speaking really fast. Now that school has started everything is much better and I'm definitely more comfortable coming to the dining hall. extremely long day of classes. From 8am to 9pm, I had classes in between all the meal times. I had a political science class called "China in Transition" and a communications class called "Chinese Media and Mass Communications." I also had about four hours of Chinese language. One of the things I highly value about the classes I am taking is that they give me the opportunity to learn with people from all over the world. In particular, my political science and communications class have an equal amount of American students and Chinese students. This diversity brings a unique aspect to the classroom as I am able to learn about the views of Chinese students on their culture, their history and their country within the context of political science and media/communications. One of the main reasons I chose to go on the Syracuse program is for the integration of international students with Chinese students in the classroom. Our lively discussions always bring about reflections on my own ideas, my culture and identity and overally thoughts on life and the world. Though I may fundamentally disagree with my classmates on everything from politics to movies, my Macalester liberal arts education has
definitely provided me the secure comfort of being able to accept other viewpoints. More than ever, I am continuously pushed to think about opinions different from my own and to communicate with people from all over the world. I knew Macalester was known for its internationalism, but I did not think so much internationalism would play into my life at Tsinghua. Everything from friends, to dorms, to classes is influenced by international views. This international aspect comes into play quite often in my Chinese language class.
Language instruction is primarily taught in Chinese, however, English is usually the second language that teachers fall back upon to teach grammer/meanings if the students don't understand. The most unique thing about these language classes is that I am literally learning another language with students who don't share necessarily speak or understand English and our common language is Chinese. Within my class, there are a few Americans, some Korean students, a Thai and Phillipino student and a Japanese student. This diversity forces us to speak in Chinese or attempt to explain things in Chinese when we can't communicate otherwise in English. It's quite a learning experience and it has definitely taught me lots
of patience. Chinese language is quite intensive at Tsinghua. The class is subdivided into three sections: Kouyu(口语)--Speaking,Zonghe(综合)--Comprehension,Tingli (听力)-Listening. During my Chinese classes, I felt like I was sitting in a Chinese class at Macalester. The class structure and teaching mechanisms are very similar. For the first time, I realized I was sitting in a classroom listening to instruction in a completely different language and understanding almost 100% of it. It was absolutely phenomenal to realize that I actually made progress and definitely encouraging to continue learning the language.
Everyday is something different and I'm excited for the rest of the semester to play out. One day after class, I decided to bike around and take the pictures in this entry. They are pictures all around the Tsinghua campus. The Tsinghua campus is 384.2 hectares or about 155 acres. Compared to Macalester's 53 acres the Tsinghua campus is huge! A bike is necessary in order to get anywhere on campus. I love my pretty pink bike. 😊. Enjoy!
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Michael Arnst
non-member comment
Yeah!
Kristina, I am so glad that you have acclimated to your new home so well and have kept such an open mind. You are definitely on point about the importance of integration of local students, and it is very intriguing to see pictures of your campus. Soon I will post some campus pics of my own, so look out for them. Take care in China!