China Picks Up Article about MBA

Chinese teacher Ying Zhang has written an article about this summer’s Wilson Chinese Language Grant winners and their experiences for the China News Agency. The article was picked up by other major Chinese news outlets, including, The Daily News, China Daily, Xinhua, and others. In her article Mrs. Zhang details the growing popularity of the study of Chinese language in the United States and focuses on the program at MBA, now in its fifth year. Mrs. Zhang also devotes a paragraph of her article to the international initiatives that MBA has developed through its various exchange programs.

 

This past summer, six MBA students traveled with two programs sponsored by the Experiment in International Living to the south and north of China, respectively. Students John Mark Bellet, Rett Hooper, Eric Walsh, John Mellow, Hayden Deakins and Andrew Karpos were recipients of the Wilson Language Grants to China. In addition to the opportunities to visit major attractions such as the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors, the students, as Mrs. Zhang relates, had the opportunity to live with Chinese families and to understand life outside the tourist experience. The article details some of the humorous surprises the students faced, such as their visit to the famous Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant in Beijing, where in typical Chinese fashion, the duck is served with the head still attached. The article highlights the cultural and linguistic knowledge the students brought back from their experience, such as Andrew Karpos’s presentation in Chinese on Confucius’s hometown of Qufu.

 

Although the article is written in Chinese, Google will give a rough-enough (and sometimes humorous!) English translation for readers to get the gist of the article. The fact that the article was picked up quickly by other main Chinese news outlets is both a testament to the value of Mrs. Zhang’s article and a nice bit of recognition for our language and exchange programs here at MBA and the tremendous opportunities the Wilson Language Grants have afforded our students. Readers who wish to see the article first hand may use the following links:

http://www.chinanews.com/hwjy/2011/12-27/3562252.shtml