Newspapers / St. Andrews University Student … / May 3, 1990, edition 1 / Page 6
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Greetings from Beijing! All of us hope that Spring Se mester is going well. It is hard to believe that we have be in China for over a month and have managed to sur vive without Jim's barbeQue or our daily pizza! We have settled into our classes and have been to some of China s most historical sites - The Great Wall, Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City. While learning about Chi nese language and culture, we are learning about our selves and making friends everyday. While at times our lives in China seem to make life at St. Andrews seem like that of royalty, the experi ences we are gaining here wil be with us the rest of our lives. No two people are experi encing China in the same way. While we all agree that it is a little dirty, cold and hot showers in the dorm would be nice, ourf eelings on China are being molded by our own personalities. It is, therefore, almost impossible to sum up a group feeling other than stealing last year's group motto, "Only in China!" So each one of us decided to write a little akx)ut our own views on China and our roles here . . . m Spring In the Western Hills What interesting roles I'm playing! For a part of each day I am a staiggling student stumbling through the gram matical structures of Chinese and trying to formulate an answer to a question our "laoshi" has asked. Then, suddenly I become ateacher of politics and my students struggle with my questions. For breaks from studies I am enjoying my bike ridesto museums, markets, and just getting lost in the narrow, winding "hutongs." I^y wild est ride was the one with "Scooter" and Scott (Gre gory) through the crowded, darkened streets to a rock concert. I'm looking forward to warmer spring weather and a chance to bike to such places as the Summer Pal ace, for exercise, andagood mental workout I do "taigiq- uon" ( Chinese "shadow- boxing"/meditation) four mornings a week from 6:15- 7:15 a.m. For those who know me well, this is noth ing short of a miracle! Larry Schulz SA in China -X China is not a soft place. Beijing is a mammoth city of concrete. Everything, includ ing the grong seems to be hard and angular. Inourdorm our rooms are four wall, ceil ing, andfloorof concrete with hard desks, hard chairs, and very hard beds. When the wind blows, it is hard and the smells you can almost touch. The red flags glying every where are hard beacons in the brown sky. This seems to be a bleak pictures but it is this bleakness which makes China so special to me be cause it is the bleakness that gives such life, vitality, to the people of China. I expected to find a sub missive people; whin I ar rived in Beijing. Instead 1 found the people who are friendly, curious, and driven by a force that seems to be lacking in America. Mao Zedong wrote once that "human will is the way to a better world" and that even simple people possess vir tue and wisdom. This is so true of the Chinese. Riding on my bike, I pass faces of cold street vendors and the kind bicycle repairman and the old woman in the alley and while they are all from different walks of life, they possess a spirit that can be seen in the eyes. A seem ingly love of life - not the need or desire for success - but the simple desire to keep on surviving that 1 hope 1 can acquire before returnmg home Lisa Rich Bikepath to local market
St. Andrews University Student Newspaper
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May 3, 1990, edition 1
6
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