China Center

Photos Galleries / Blogs/ Videos

The students from the Middle Kingdom trip in May 2007 with Dr. Wenxian Zhang put together a blog for follow travelers to share their personal observations/reflections and learn from each other.

We would like to share the the blog with you at: http://rollinschinajourney.blogspot.com/

June 2007

Allen H. Kupetz is the Executive-in-Residence at the Crummer Graduate School of Business where he teaches international business and technology courses. He also takes many students abroad each year for courses (INTL 604, 605 and 606) with an experiential learning component. Recently these trips have been to Argentina, Singapore and South Korea.

Professor Allen Kupetz is teaching Management Consulting for a week at East China University for Science and Technology in Shanghai.

(http://www.ecust.edu.cn/_siteId/2/pageId/10/Main.htm).

The syllabus and content can be found at: http://web.rollins.edu/~akupetz/ecust.htm

His blog is below:

http://allenatecust.blogspot.com/

Sean Graham is a recent graduate from Rollins College who majored in Anthropology and studied Chinese Culture with Dr. Wenxian Zhang as well as Chinese with Dr. Li Wei. Sean is now living in Beijing and has put together an excellent website and blog of his life at:

http://web.mac.com/xiao102

Ni Hao!

I hope Rollins is treating you all well. I just wanted to send you all a quick e-mail to let you know how I am doing in Beijing. I arrived on September, 12 and started my classes on the 14th. I have three hours of Mandarin a day, Monday thru Friday, one on one. It is pretty intense. They do not speak any English to me at all, unless I am completely lost in which case they just throw out an English word or two to help me. So far I have had about 5 weeks of classes. We go through about a lesson every day and a half, so my vocabulary and grammar is growing rapidly.

While the school and the instruction is very good, I feel that my true perfection of the language comes from my daily use. Fortunately for me my lodging is located in the middle of a hutong in east Beijing, one block away from Wangfujing and two blocks away from the Forbidden City. I have had many opportunities to practice my conversation skills, some more successful than others. I am constantly surprised at the hospitality of the Chinese people.

One day while at a near by restaurant, a man came in and sat at the table next to me. Once he realized I was by myself he asked if he could join me. I didn't notice him when he came in, but from the sound of his voice he sounded like a heavy set American tourist. I was quite surprised when I looked up to see a Chinese face. We sat and talked until they closed for lunch. He was quite an interesting man. His mother was Manchurian, father a Guomingdang officer. After the liberation, his family fled to Taiwan where he studied international trade. He received a scholarship to study in California, which is where he perfected his English. His pronunciation was so flawless, I truly thought he must have been an American born Chinese. He insisted on paying for my lunch as well as a few other dishes he ordered for us.

These little meetings as well as the local bonds I have created with some members of the community here, like the local dumpling restaurant owner, have truly made me appreciate and grasp the culture better. However, I feel that a large proportion of that appreciation comes from the tutelage I received from you all.

In addition to my language study, I have had time to read more about anthropology, Chinese culture and history. I have also visited some more local Beijing sites that many tourists do not go to. Finally, I have a website to keep friends and family updated about my 'adventures'. If you would like to take a look the website is:

http://web.mac.com/xiao102

Once again, I hope you are all well and I look forward to seeing you soon. Hopefully in China!

Sean