With my summer here coming to a close, I would like to mention some things that I saw in China that I will not find in the United States:
women carrying parasols to create their own personal shade from the sun
men rolling their shirts up to cool down as they walk around
bold Chinese fashion ranging from platform shoes to colorful and cute styled t-shirts
authentic Chinese food (maybe with the exception of Chinatown)
adults and elderly people exercising, doing handstands or tai chi, and dancing in parks
ginormous shopping centers (the largest I’ve ever seen)
dogs walking alongside behind their owners without leashes
electric scooters carrying entire families around (ex. Parents and a child)
people bargaining at street vendors and in shops
people playing Chinese chess or other games on the street
In terms of things I cannot easily find in China, churches are less common. Even though the amount of people equals that of Notre Dame Basilica mass attendees, China has a very low number of churchgoers. When I went to mass in China the process was standard. I’m not quite sure how to explain why, but the hymns had more of a Chinese feel to me. Honestly, I did not understand any of the mass because I have only learned secular vocabulary.
Lastly, any type of study abroad makes for a unique immersive language experience that cannot be provided in the United States. The language pledge was key for our progress. The teachers are aware of our vocabulary, grammar, and capabilities; they speak clearly and slowly for us. On the streets of Beijing however, people speak casually at faster speeds and often with accents or slang. In engaging with local Beijingers I felt that my listening comprehension made the biggest improvement. I was more hesitant to speak, for fear of mispronunciation. When people do not understand me I easily become discouraged. But it is in speaking despite my self-consciousness that I improve.
Reflect on your language learning and acculturation during your SLA Grant experience.
To properly learn a language, one must make the effort to learn about the culture attached to their language of choice. I certainly learned a lot of new vocabulary and grammar in the classroom; however, the lessons outside of the classroom are what made my trip an exceptional experience. While useful for conversation in the classroom, some of our vocabulary proved to be less practical for daily conversation. During my time in China, I encountered the difference between listening and speaking in the classroom versus communicating in real world situations.
In my opinion, observation is one of the best ways to understand cultural differences. Walking around on the streets and parks, going into restaurants, bicycling, and participating in Beijinger’s lifestyle allowed me to perceive the cultural differences. I learned about Chinese values and their focus on respect and family. I also witnessed accommodations for their dense population and I learned about their pride in their long history. Overall, I respect the cultural differences.
Starting out, my goals were a bit ambitious. While I did not meet all of them, I definitely made satisfactory progress in my language capabilities. I gained a bit of that confidence that I was aiming for. At least in the classroom, I became more comfortable speaking. Outside of the classroom I also dared to test out my Chinese. While I was in China, I did travel independently without any problems. By the end of the program I was very comfortable taking the subway. I even took my own weekend trip to Shenzhen, making my way to and from the airport. When it comes to buses and taxis, I am a bit more hesitant. I cannot read simple literature without consulting a dictionary as I had planned, but my character recognition has increased significantly.
Reflect on your SLA Grant experience overall.
Even if we are separated by culture and location, we are all human, deserving respect, requiring love, and relying on one another. Living in America with the privileges that I have, I often forget to think about my brothers and sisters around the world. I thought of people of other countries as collective populations rather than individuals. Now my world view has expanded.
Another concept that I pondered over is the universal pursuit of happiness. Different cultures have varying approaches to and definitions of “happiness.” I feel that America is especially open to individuals taking their own paths. Perhaps because of their long history, China seems to be more rooted in tradition. Compared to the United States China is homogenous. Many people’s “happiness” has been planned for them by tradition and their elders. Many aim for security: a well-paying job, children, and a household.
For those preparing for their own study abroad journey, I highly suggest venturing out as much as possible. Prioritize studies, but avoid getting so involved that you forget to immerse yourself in the culture. Also, if possible try to engage more with locals. Take advantage of the activities and places that are available in your country of choice. I promise the summer will fly by.
How do you plan to use your language and intercultural competences in the future.
The SLA grant provided me with my first independent international experience. I view China as the first of many to come. I am increasingly interested in global studies and now I am more determined to become fluent in Chinese than ever. From here I will continue studying Chinese. Unfortunately, next year I will not have room in my schedule to take Chinese at Notre Dame, but this summer has equipped me with language study skills that I can use to study Chinese on my own. If I have a chance, I intend to pick up Chinese class again at Notre Dame. Maybe I’ll even major in Chinese if my schedule permits.
While in China, I learned more about myself. I managed my time well in China and reflected on my life in America. I came to further appreciate my educational opportunities and possibilities for global communication. I also admire the hard work of Chinese university students who undergo tremendous academic pressure and competition. Overcoming the Chinese language barrier opens a door to a whole different world. In the future, I would love to be able to travel.
Chinese citizens’ opinions of the US varies dramatically based on their education, age, and international experience. In general, I noticed younger Chinese individuals (middle school) tend to hold exaggerated ideas of how lax or lazy American students are, most likely because of how grueling their own education system is. Chinese middle school students seem to think American students don’t have much (or any) homework, and so they can spend their days relaxing, working, or pursuing extracurricular. Compared to their own workload, they aren’t far from the truth. These students don’t necessarily view American students as lazy, just the beneficiaries of a more forgiving and accommodating school schedule.
College educated Chinese citizens have a more informed and appreciate attitude towards American education, especially regarding how American students apply for college. In China, one’s college admittance is essentially entirely dependent on one standardized test, called the “High Test”. This test is only given once a year, spans multiple days, and is considered the most important event in every student’s life. Needless to say, the pressure of this test is difficult to handle, so Chinese students seem to prefer the holistic college admissions approach of the US.
Adult Chinese citizens have the most varied opinions of the US; those who have never gone to the US or follow Chinese media closely have many criticisms of the US, but also points of praise. The most common criticism is of how ineffectual or political system is, as well as how dangerous our permissiveness of weapons is. However, they respect and envy the political freedom US citizens enjoy, as well as our right to openly and harshly criticize our own government. This is most likely because the Chinese government does not permit open criticism; from the Chinese adults I spoke to, it seems though citizens are allowed to make suggestions for improvement and correction, but they cannot openly protest their government or endeavor for political reform.
Perhaps one of the highlights of visiting Beijing is the opportunity to experience the world-renowned Peking Duck. This dish is a roasted duck, finely sliced and served with thin wheat or corn pancakes, spring onion, cucumber, and sweet bean sauce. The duck is sliced so the ratio of each slice is approximately half skin, half meat. Well prepared duck is characterized by skin with an outer crisp but moist interior, soft and tender meat, and subtle hint of spices (as to not drown out the distinctive flavor of the duck).Peking Duck is often consumed in celebratory settings. One duck can go for as much as 200 RMB, which can feed 2 or 3 adults.
The restaurant we went to claims that every duck is raised for exactly the same number of days before being slaughtered. The duck is then marinated with spices and herbs for several hours, before being roasted in a large fire oven. This dish has been prepared this way since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, dating back to the 13th century.
A topic that has been a sensitive issue for some time now is the China – Taiwan relationship; specifically, whether Taiwan is officially part of China, or whether it is an independent country. Mainland China considers Taiwan to be part of the People’s Republic of China, while Taiwan considers itself independent and with legal governance of its own affairs. Many countries, even the US, do not politically recognize Taiwan out of fear of provoking mainland China. During this program, I had the opportunity to discuss this issue with both Chinese citizens and a Taiwanese citizen,
The first Chinese person I asked this topic about was a young Chinese teacher, in her mid-20s, who had never traveled outside mainland China. Her attitude reflected the general Chinese government’s stance, that Taiwan was officially a part of the People’s Republic of China, but with its own government and regulations. She compared Taiwan to one of the United State’s territories.
The second Chinese person I asked was another Chinese teacher, in her late 20s, who had spent the past several years in the US. Though she too recognized Taiwan as officially part of China, see seemed to empathize with those who considered Taiwan independent. Her perspective seemed to be influenced by her time in the US, as many Asian-Americans (especially from Taiwan) view Taiwan is politically independent, but only unofficially.
The final person I talked to was actually a teacher from Taiwan, who of course believed Taiwan to be fully independent from mainland China. She expressed how China had essentially no official political or cultural influence in Taiwan, but could influence Taiwan’s politics by exerting pressure on other countries. For example, the USA does not officially recognize Taiwan out of fear of provoking China; since China is such a dominant economic and military force in the world, most other developed countries are sensitive about broaching the subject.
In general, the political relationship between Taiwan and China is murky, depending on who you ask. Chinese media and Taiwanese media have convinced their respective citizens of what status they should proclaim, but for third parties, consideration is given to the political and economic ramifications of taking a specific stance.
My roommate for half of this summer was a PKU international student from Malaysia. But, she was of Chinese descent; even her name is Chinese. She told me her grandparents had moved to Malaysia from mainland China. I didn’t see much of her at first, but after a while I got to know her a little better. One week, I thought I’d take a break from Chinese food, and she knew a decent Korean restaurant nearby, so the next day we went out for my first (hopefully not last) Korean hot pot. Over glass noodles and BBQ beef, we talked about college and how we ended up at our respective institutions. I asked her why she decided on PKU, and she told me that she moved to China for middle school with the intention of going to a Chinese university.
“Was it hard to learn Mandarin in school?” I asked, ignorantly. She shook her head, and I nodded admiringly, until she finished her mouthful of japchae and said, “But no.. I grew up speaking Mandarin, at home all we speak is Mandarin. I didn’t have to learn it.”
“You can’t speak Malay at all?” I pressed. She shook her head again, and said that all she knew was English and Chinese. Her family was the same way. In some sense, my roommate was an outsider to all nations. She didn’t know much more Malay than I, and Chinese face discrimination in Malaysia, yet she was not quite a true mainland Chinese either. Privately, I thought this a sad place to be, essentially being a foreigner at home as well as abroad. Even at PKU, international students are put in living quarters separate from the rest of the student body. Of course in the U.S., international students regularly live and interact with the rest of the student body.
Through further conversation with my roommate and her friends, I learned that the Chinese-Malaysian community in Beijing is a tight-knit group. My roommate’s boyfriend is Chinese-Malaysian, as are most of her close friends. Again, looking for a break from Beijing fare, we went to a Malaysian restaurant, the owner of which she knows well. She told me that the owner not only gives Chinese-Malay student big discounts when they eat there, but at times even assists Chinese-Malay students financially.
Apparently, food names are the extent of my roomie’s Malay. Though, perhaps those are the most important words to know.
My roommate expressed intense frustration with the attitude of some mainland Chinese towards her, despite her 100% Chinese background. She mentioned that some people are condescending, and even downright rude when dealing with her. When she ordered us a Didi (essentially the Chinese Uber) to return home, there was a bit of trouble with getting the driver to come to the right location on a backroad because he kept asking, “How can I trust you?”, apparently because he picked up on her Chinese-Malaysian accent. Although my roommate’s first language is Mandarin, it is immediately obvious that her way of speaking is not a Beijing, or even mainland Chinese, accent.
I asked her whether she preferred her home in Malaysia to Beijing, she did not express a clear preference for one over the other. She’s a marketing major, and said that she would feel comfortable working in China or Malaysia. Foreigners aren’t a rare sight in Chicago, or even smaller cities like Indianapolis, but Beijing is a city unused to foreigners, and if it becomes evident that you don’t quite fit in with the rest, you’ll draw eyes and may be treated differently. In my roommate’s case, this has, at times, proven to be especially trying. Empathizing with my roommate reminded me to be grateful for the diversity that America allows and celebrates.
To my initial sorrow as a sweet-tooth, I found that in the East, dessert is a minor affair and sometimes is even completely passed over. Traditionally, sweet items are lesser players in the world of Chinese eats. Northern China in particular is known more for its preparation of meats and noodles rather than desserts but Beijing has more to its culinary name than roast duck. To my intense joy, halfway through the program, I discovered the Daoxiangcun (稻香村) company, which roughly translates to “village of rice fragrance”, one of Beijing’s oldest and most famous pastry companies. Daoxiangcun pastries are unique to Beijing; there is a different Suzhou Daoxiangcun company, but these pastries apparently cannot be found in Hong Kong, and even in Taiwan, people are not as familiar with them as in Beijing. Daoxiangcun is known for its mooncakes, which are a traditional dessert of the Mid-autumn festival, also called the moon festival. However, Daoxiangcun’s most popular products are its wide assortment of traditional pastries, and are eagerly bought up by Beijingers year-round. These pastries, which come in hundreds of varieties, are quite popular with the older folks, but people of all ages enjoy them. The company also sells a variety of cooked meats.
I visited several Daoxiangcun stores, and it seems that most are set up generally the same way. At the counter, you may choose from a wide range of pastry boxes, but you can also pick which pastries you want to put in your own, custom-made box. Some stores have several separate counters for meat, pastries, and other sweets. Set up in the center of the store is an assortment of individually wrapped candies, dried fruit and other uniquely Chinese sweets. If you’d like to try specific pastries without having to buy a whole box, you can also order them individually at the counter. It’s a heaven of goodies with something delicious for just about everyone.
I went to a Daoxiangcun bakery just a ten-minute walk down the road from our quarters at PKU to buy some pastries. I had visited the store before, and they had had prepared boxes of daoxiangcun pastries laid out on the counter. But this time, there were no such boxes, no one knew a word of English, and the only thing I could read were the price tags, so I had to figure out how to order pastries with my limited Chinese. I had no idea where to begin with ordering pastries (there are literally hundreds of options), I decided to befriend the staff and ask a few questions. Communication was a challenge; thankfully they seemed to understand me quite well but I had trouble making out exactly what their responses were. I went ahead, however, and started out with asking about the process of making daoxiangcun pastries. The staff informed me that the Daoxiangcun bakery company sends the pastries to its various branches around the city. And, it turns out that the company is a bit secretive about the process of making the pastries, so the staff did not know too much about the process, or even the length of time it took to make the pastries. So, I just talked with them a little about which pastries were especially delicious, and which are most popular.
One of the ladies was said that her favorite Daoxiangcun product are their meat products, and said that the pork was especially good. When I asked her if she had any favorite pastries, she said “They’re all great to eat!” The other staff member I talked to was very friendly, and gave me more specifics, but my limited Chinese made it rather difficult to follow. I did manage to catch that she enjoyed more traditional selections like the round lotus pastries. After she finished rattling off an incomprehensible list of “top ten” pastries, I decided that it might be better to get up to the counter and get a visual on what she was talking about. I explained apologetically that I really had no idea what any of the pastry names were, but was looking to order a box of pastries most unique to Beijing. To my surprise, and delight, she offered to help me order. The twelve types of pastries I ordered included pastries in shape of shells, pig heads, and flowers. Some were a little salty, others were very sweet, some were light and flaky, and others were very dense. The fillings ranged from jujube, to pumpkin, to red bean, to chestnut. I also learned from a few Beijingers that these pastries also play a role in social interaction. Like mooncakes, many pastries symbolize long life, good health, prosperity, or happiness, all of which are very important in Chinese culture. These often have characters marked on them.
The Chinese seem to prefer more subtly sweet pastries such as the jujube flower cake and the ox tongue pastry, but my personal favorite is the almost overwhelmingly sweet golden pig cake. It contains a dense pumpkin filling, is shaped like a pig’s head, and tastes even better than it looks. I suppose I’d really have to agree with the first lady I asked about daoxiangcun; you can’t really go wrong with any of them.
Set boxes of pastries waiting for the final addition of the salty-sweet “ox-tongue” pastry. These pastries are delicious, but one box feels heavier than 15 lbs..
After much anticipation we finally arrived at Wadi Rum! As we stepped out of the bus we climbed into 4×4 pick-up trucks we were met with vast expanses of rock and sand. As we drove into the desert to Rainbow Camp, our Bedouin host for the night, we were enveloped in a sea of dust and towering rock formations. As soon as we left the initial village of Wadi Rum I was surprised as to how desolate and pure the desert was. It was incredibly peaceful and unlike anything I had ever experienced before. As our Bedouin host drove us to our camp, I acutely realized that it would be very easy to get lost in the expanse of this desert. Once we arrived at our camp our hosts began to sing traditional songs and play an instrument similar to a guitar. As we clapped to the beat of the songs the men started lining up in front of us and dancing! After this they were ready to serve us dinner and show us how they prepared our food. They cooked the most succulent chicken and potatoes for us in this underground oven where they place the meat on metal plates that are connected and lowered down into a circular oven that is dug into the earth. As they pulled out the metal trays to let us see the oven it was incredibly long and narrow! Later on in the night, at about 2:30 AM, we hiked to a rock beside our camp to stargaze. The sky was full of stars. I could see the soft twinkling stars and older bright stars, the sky looked like a maze, a sea of variations of light. As I laid on this rock, trying not to fall asleep, I began to see white lights streaming across the sky. I realized that I was watching shooting stars! Never before have I seen that many shooting stars. If you weren’t watching closely enough you could easily miss them for the fall only lasted for about five seconds.
The following morning we left for four hours of 4×4 tours of the desert. Since we had arrived at night the previous day, I recall seeing the desert for the first time and being in awe. The sand was this incredible rust, blood-orange color! We first drove to a spring in the mountains where we hiked up an enormous taupe colored rock to a small plateau with vegetation to reach a spring, hidden like a treasure inside a cave with a narrow entrance, so slight you could almost bypass it. As we continued on our tour we came to another canyon that was recessed. The canyon had inscriptions from the Nabateans, an old tribe that lived in the south of Jordan, at its entrance. There were three tribesmen carved into the top of the rock, higher than was seemingly feasible. As I walked on the ridges of the rock to reach the end of the canyon, I was surrounded by multicolored rock that reminded me of the Siq trail. At the entrance the rock was a rust-orange with lighter sand colored striations, however the color of the interior of the canyon was completely different. The rock was shades of burgundy, chocolate, sand and rust with golden hues. It was beautiful. All along the canyon walls were Arabic words and images.The rock was cool opposed to the hot dusty breeze of the desert. It was a beautiful place to camp out and listen to Arabic music.
Later we arrived at another camp for another Bedouin meal. Since the heat was at its pinnacle, we rested for two hours before going back out for four more hours of touring. We continued on hiking mountains and sand dunes to a clearing where we could see the mountains that separated Jordan from Saudi Arabia! As we toured we lost track of time. Driving around the desert in the back of a 4×4 made time seem irrelevant and illogical.
The most memorable part of the afternoon tours was watching the sunset on the mountains. At the end of the day we climbed to the middle of a large rock formation and directly in front of us was the sun, descending upon the mountain. The as the sun set the sky turned colors of deep purple, soft pink and vibrant orange with tints of golden yellow. It changed the color of the rock, which went from a blanched rust-sand color to a saturated pink-orange. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I had ever seen. It was a perfect end to the weekend full of desert tours.
This week my parents and sister arrived in Amman! It was so much fun taking them around the city that had become my new home. As they went on their daily excursions and I went to class, I was excited to be able to spend the weekend with them in Aqaba. The drive to Aqaba was quite long, four and a half hours along the Dead Sea Highway. However, the long hours were worth it for Aqaba was a beautiful and much needed oasis. The town of Aqaba itself was filled with eateries and small jewelry shops. Our hotel was twenty minutes outside of the town of Aqaba and overlooked the Red Sea and the mountains of Egypt. It was so surreal to be that close to Egypt. We could have swam over to it!! Our room was across from a marina and the docked boats on the water reminded me of New England marinas. It was easy to forget that I was in Jordan.
Later that day we decided to venture outside into the Red Sea and it was very refreshing. I had anticipated the water to be very hot like the Dead Sea but thankfully it wasn’t because the outside temperature was 104 degrees!! Since we went to the beach later in the day, the sand had cooled off, so it was not as scorching on our feet. The beach reminded me of Cape Cod beaches where the sand turns to a bed of pebbles on the coastline. It was so relaxing floating in the water. I was fully enjoying my weekend absent of the bustle of Amman and the constant stimulation of city living. I very much felt at home. I was though very surprised at the salinity of the water. When we left the ocean we had a layer of white salt film coating our bodies. It felt amazing to submerge into the hotel pools afterwards. It felt cleansing of all of the salt of the Red Sea.
The following day we decided to snorkel before I had to head back to Amman for classes the following day. I was expecting to have to take a boat out to a farther point to be able to see the infamous coral reefs and fish of the Red Sea but fortunately we were able to just take out equipment and walk right out to into the ocean! I put my mask on, walked about forty meters and saw a swarm of fish feeding on coral. The coral was beautiful, it was colors of soft yellows and red-orange. There were bits of light blue and very faint purples. In niches there were burgendy colored sea urchins and when the sun-light twinkled through the small ripples of the sea, the urchins appeared to be moving with the current. As I sat there floating and watching the fish I found myself enveloped in a school of small minnow looking fish. They were golden, just like a goldfish, and very small. I was surprised at how close the fish came to me. I was mesmerized by the colors of the fish. There were fish of electric purple color. Some were half black and half white-gray with a neon orange yellow streak. Others were black and tan striped. Some were bright red and small, feeding on the color or swimming on top of other larger fish. It was so interesting watching the fish swim around each other, nibbling on the coral without a care about these large lurking bodies watching them from above.
On Thursday night we left for Petra since it takes three hours to get there because of checkpoints. Due to recent protests in Southern Jordan we had to take a different route to get there that took even longer! Nonetheless the entire bus was filled with excitement and anticipation to see the seventh wonder of the world. I went up to the rooftop of the Petra Moon Hotel and looked out on all of Petra. It was incredible. The landscape was just like Amman, crowded hotels and homes built into the mountain, lining the skyline.
The following morning we left early for Petra to try and escape the heat. As soon as I walked passed the gates I was mesmerized by the carvings on the pale white, limestone rock. As the guide taught us about the history of Petra my mind began to wander and think about how the Nabateans might have used this site as a trading hub. As we approached the Siq trail I felt so small compared to the towering rocks. As I walked through the canyon-like opening of the Siq trail, it seemed as though the rock was stretching above and on both sides of me for miles. I sawfossils of wheat on the walls of the rock and different niches for gods engraved into the rocks. After completing the trail we came to the infamous Treasury. I was speechless. The size and detail of the Treasury building was unfathomable. I still cannot comprehend how these tribes were able to carve and construct this magnanimous building. It took 100 men ten years to carve this magnificent structure. The rock was incredibly smooth and the color was uniform which was surprising. It was a vibrant rust colored building with clear Roman and Greek influence.
Next to the Treasury was a Roman forum and amphitheater and tombs! The Nabateans carved ornate tombs for the dead at the top of the mountain and today they stand as large cavernous rooms. It was beautiful to walk through the cold stone and through the laid archways. It is still unfathomable that these structures were built in 312 B.C. andthat these ancient tribes were able to construct such a development with seemingly primitive and inferior materials.
We were supposed to go to Wadi Rumafter Petra and we were on a strict time schedule so our leaders decided to call in donkeys for us to be able to reach the monastery, the farthest part of Petra. As forty donkeys came to pick up all of the students, I was placed on the last and smallest donkey. As soon as the donkey started to walk forward I was lurched. As the donkey started to scale rocks and climb flights of carved and rocky stairs, I was falling left and right. As I leaned left and right and ducked under rocks I realized why I was originally told that the donkeys were an incredibly dangerous way to get to the monastery. When I finally reached the top of the mount, I released my grip on the donkey’s metal saddle. As I climbed to the top of the mountain, completely out of breath, the monastery loomed in-front of me. It was similar to the Treasury in design and had ornate detail along the columns. It was incredibly large and cavernous inside. It was interesting to see that the Nabateans carved out the inside of the mount as well. I decided to follow the signs up to another mountain that was acclaimed to hold the “best view in Jordan,” where a small puppy lived and a merchant stall was set up with homemade metal jewelry. At the top of the mountain I looked out on all of Petra and the unchartered rock on the other side. The stark contrast of this underdeveloped and natural land to the American landscape is indescribable.
