Misty Sirine

Year in School: Senior
Major: International Studies
Hometown: Fayetteville, N.C.
Current City: Tianjin, China

April 14, 2011 | Entry No. 6

We had an extended weekend this past week because of the break for Tomb Sweeping Day. It is the day in which the loved ones who have passed are honored. I took advantage of the break by travelling to the Tianjin portion of the Great Wall. I went to the Great Wall in Jixian County, Tianjin via train. While on the train I saw many mound graves covered with flowers. Even many monuments at the college had piles of white flower bouquets surrounding them. On Tomb Sweeping Day, people travel all over China to tend to the graves of their loved ones as a form of respect. I have also noticed on certain evening individuals in the streets burning papers with little holes in them. I asked my Chinese friend about it and they said it was something they do for those who have passed away. It seems like paying respect to those who have passed away is taken very serious here in China.

I went to the Great Wall with my classmate Samantha and our Chinese friend Tian Lin Wei. It is amazing how expansive the Great Wall of China is; each part of the Great Wall is so distinct. I hope to travel to the most eastern part of the Great Wall in Shan Hai Guan, China sometime in the next month. That stretch of the Great Wall reaches the sea.  Each time I visit a portion of the Great Wall I am amazed at how something so extensive and sophisticated could have been built so long ago.

Time here in China is really flying by, though I wish it wasn’t. We are almost at the midway point in the semester. My experience here this semester is going wonderful! I have made so many wonderful friendships, learned so much about Chinese culture and language as well as about myself.  

Until next time,
Misty

 

March 11, 2011 | Entry No. 5

好久不见！Long time no see! 

The Spring Festival has come to an end and my second semester at Nankai University has just begun. Now that the lakes have started to thaw out and the weather is getting warmer, I find myself much happier and more ambitious to get out and do as much as possible with the remaining four months I have here in Tianjin, China.

Speaking of getting out, just before the Spring Festival my classmate Samantha and I visited a local elementary school with a Nankai teacher. At the school we interacted with the students, teaching them about American holidays. The kids were all very excited to see us and asked us many questions about different holidays. We also played games with them outside and toured the school. The school was very nice, much nicer than the elementary school I attended in the states. The schools focus was science, so they had a huge room with fun science activities for the kids, as well as a robotics classroom. Some of the kids from the school are actually going to the U.S. this month to compete in a robotics competition, which I thought was pretty neat. Overall, it was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.

I look forward to sharing more of my experiences soon!

-Misty

 

Oct. 29, 2010 | Entry No. 4

This past weekend my class took a trip to the city of Tai’an in Shandong Province. I was extremely happy to leave Tianjin, even if it meant being stuck in a senseless traffic jam that turned a 6-hour journey into an 11-hour journey. Tianjin is a good city to study Chinese in for the obvious fact that there are a lot of Chinese people here, as every other city in China, but aside from that I would not rate it as one of my favorite cities in China. While the city has grown on me a lot, it has been just enough to get me to like the city, but not love it.

This was my second time climbing Mount Tai. I remember it being a lot harder the first time I climbed it. However, this time my classmate and I quickly made it to the top in 1 hour, 15 minutes. Once on top of the mountain, I encountered a lot of different people. My friend and I started talking with one man who was speaking to us in Shandong dialect. Sometimes I understood what he was saying and other times I was thinking, “What in the world is he saying?” Shortly after, a man who spoke standard Mandarin joined the conversation.  He was from Nanjing, so he briefly shared some of the history of Nanjing with me. It was a great refresher for some of the new vocabulary I learned while sightseeing in Nanjing this past summer.

To pass time and practice our Chinese, my friends and I also performed various performances using our Chinese on the mountain. I told a story followed by my friend singing. Both times we managed to get quite a crowd, but perhaps my friend sang too loud because the police ended up coming, and well it ended there. Although it was very minor incident, we did not understand what we did wrong because we have seen many locals perform on the streets. After spending about 2 hours on the mountain, we took the cable cars down and headed back to Tianjin. Because of another traffic jam we got home extremely late. The trip was very enjoyable, but at the same time very exhausting.

Aside from travelling to Tai’an last weekend, I have had many great experiences this past month. I was able to attend the opening ceremony of a graphic studio art exhibit at the National Museum of Art in Beijing, which featured USF students’ artwork. Following the exhibit, I also found time to visit Tiananmen Square and view the decorations for National Day. I also participated in a Chinese singing competition through the College of Chinese Language and Culture, but just being able to sing a song in Chinese was not enough for me to advance. Because it is Chinese Language/Learning month here, there are still many exciting upcoming events for students to participate in.  Overall, the semester here in Tianjin is really flying by!

Sept. 27, 2010 | Entry No. 3

Beijing and the Mid-Autumn Festival

I did so many things this past week. I am so happy I managed to get out of my dorm room to adventure around Beijing and Tianjin. My week began with a short trip to Beijing. I took the bullet train from Tianjin to Beijing. It only took 28 minutes, it was amazing! When I arrived in Beijing I met my Chinese friend. While waiting for our other friend near the subway station, we explored some Si Kou Yuan or four walled buildings which when put together consist of many alley ways forming what is like a maze. While exploring the Si Kou Yuan, my friend gave me explanations about things in Chinese. After that we stumbled upon a park and museum. Beijing is so full of history and culture that almost anywhere you go can easily be deemed a tourist attraction. Following the museum, my friend and I met up with Victor, who I joined in treating our friend to a birthday dinner. After this I returned to Tianjin via bullet train. Although my time in Beijing was short, it was none the less very enjoyable. I hope to visit Beijing more frequently when I have time.

This past week was also the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. I received more moon cakes than a person should ever eat. My friend’s mom sent me two boxes of moon cakes one from their hometown of Nanjing, as well as one from Shanghai. I never really liked moon cakes before, but I must say these were quite delicious. I ate almost all of them telling myself it is okay to eat so many moon cakes because the Mid-Autumn festival is just once a year. Leading up to the Mid-Autumn festival the weather had been cold and rainy here. However, once the festival day came along on Wednesday the weather was amazing. It was the most beautiful day I have experienced since being in China. Not only was Wednesday the Mid-Autumn festival, but it was also my classmate Samantha’s birthday. Since we did not have class that day, we took advantage of it, and decided to adventure around Tianjin. I had already explored many places in Tianjin with a Chinese friend I met when I first arrived, but I was none the less eager to revisit places, as well as discover new places. We visited Ancient Culture Street, A Buddhist Temple, The Tianjin Eye, Food Street and walked along the Hai River admiring the European architecture. The Tianjin Eye was pretty impressive. It is a giant Ferris wheel built on top of a bridge. The view of the city that you get from the top is amazing. After this we walked along the Hai River. While walking along the He River the evolution of the architecture was amazing. First we began at the very modern Ferris wheel, then we passed some ancient Chinese architecture, followed by old European buildings then Modern Skyscrapers. After all of the walking we were hungry and in search for a place to eat.

Food Street was something I had heard of, but never been to. We were not planning on going to Food Street until a man suggested it, saying it wasn’t “very far.” It was quite a walk, but once we got there it was worth the walk. Once we walked inside, there were two stories with tons of restaurants, as well as many vendors selling Tianjin specialties such as you tiao, and of course moon cakes. I did not particularly like what we had for dinner, but I still plan on giving Food Street a chance. After dinner we ended our Mid-Autumn festival outing. It was very enjoyable, and a great opportunity to explore another part of the city.

 

Sept. 16, 2010 | Entry No. 2

My life at Nankai University official begins!

I started my classes at Nankai University on Monday. I am just about finished with my first week of classes. I am very excited and feel like I am going to learn a lot of Chinese.  The classes appear to be very challenging, but the best way you learn is when you are challenged. I spent much of the past two days writing Chinese characters and sentences for new grammar structures learned. I have already learned so many new things in the first week of classes.

I am learning to do many things on my own here in China. I now feel very accustomed to the life here.  Victor and I were discussing the fact that it’s as if we have really been influenced by or taken on some characteristics of Chinese culture. Things that would normally shock foreigners just seem normal to us.  Furthermore, some of our social habits mimic those of Chinese.  Nonetheless, we are able to distinguish the difference between American and Chinese culture. I think that is the great thing about living in another culture--you learn a lot about your own culture. I always realized that there were cultural differences among people, but I always saw them as minor things. It was not until I started to learn Chinese language through culture/context at USF that I began to realize how different Chinese culture is than American culture.

On top of my in class learning, I am learning a lot outside of the classroom. I have been daily e-mailing, calling and writing Chinese friends here, so my use of Chinese language is constant. A lot more emphasis is placed on friendships/relationships here vs. in America, so staying in constant contact is an important thing.  This weekend I will be going to Beijing to spend the day with my Chinese friend for their birthday. I met this friend over 1 year ago on my first USF study abroad trip to China and have stayed in contact.  Through my study abroad experiences in China I have had the ability to meet and establish relationships with many wonderful people. Since arriving at Nankai University, I have also been able to see some of my former teachers who taught me at USF through the Confucius Institute. I enjoy having so many friends and familiar faces around. I really enjoy Chinese customs, people and the way of life!

Misty

 

Aug. 25, 2010 | Entry No. 1

Hello from Nankai University!
I have been at Nankai University for 2 weeks now. Classes have not yet started, but I have had time to find my way around the campus and city, as well as get administrative things done. Nankai University is a lot different from USF. For one thing, it is not as diverse as USF, but I think this will really help my study of Chinese language and culture because I will be immersed in a Chinese environment. What I most want to get out of this study abroad experience is to improve my Chinese language ability as well as learn more about a different culture and perspective of life.   

I am very excited and eager to begin classes here at Nankai! All of the classes I am going to be taking focus on Chinese language, which should help me a lot. Although these classes may not be the same as the ones at USF, I am excited about all of the opportunities outside of class to learn Chinese. In addition to my classes at Nankai University, I hope to study and learn a performance genre of folk tradition during my year here. 

I know that regardless of whether I pursue Chinese language or social policy in my graduate study, this experience will be beneficial to me. That’s why I decided to pursue this study abroad program because I feel that knowing a second language can only benefit you. I also enjoy studying Chinese culture. However, no matter how much I study Chinese culture, if I void the study of Chinese language from my study, then it will be impossible to grasp a deeper understanding of Chinese culture. Not everything can simply be translated; there are some things that can only be understood in one’s own language. I like this quote: "Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going" (Rita Mae Brown). Knowing someone else’s native language really bridges the gap when conversing with them. In bridging this gap you truly get to fully experience the other culture. I think this in an invaluable experience.

The ability to have this opportunity to study at Nankai is all accredited to the support of USF as well as the hard work of my Chinese language professor at USF, Dr. Shepherd. My goal is through this opportunity to be a good speaker of Chinese language upon my return to USF.

-Misty