Ebe^uiltorbian
6
Compiled by Allison Davis
Staff Writer
London
James Green
"Where were you last semes
ter?" "I was in London." "Oh,
really! How was it?" " It was
great. I had a good time."
And that's how it goes. I get
these questions a lot lately and
that's how I usually answer. It's
pretty lame, I know, but what else
MO 15 w Jpf' am 11,1,11 .mt k ..i..
V V s !'-.
Graham Edwards, John Stevens, and Eron Block visit Hampton Court
PalaCe Photo submitted by James Green
can I say? It's impossible to sum
up my semester in London in just a
few words, yet I'm going to at
tempt to do just that in this little ol'
article. So here goes.
I lived in a flat with three other
guys: Eron Block, Graham
Edwards, and John Stevens. By
some administrative miracle we
were all assigned the same flat.
We did a lot together (including
Guilfordians return from abroac
nearly being evicted but we won't
go into that) and became good
friends. I travelled a lot in England
and I also made it to Amsterdam. I
would have liked to have travelled
more but my stomach took up most
of my wallet's contents. London
was expensive but well worth it,
although I constantly hoped the
pound would crash. I learned to
appreciate good beer (not
Budweiser) and the antics of
drunken and shirtless businessmen
in the pubs of London. I also gained
a greater appreciation for the arts
and culture of London in all of the
city's galleries, museums, and the
atres. I added new words to my
vocabulary. I got to now many
people on the trip. And, in addition
to it all, I learned a lot. It may
sound like a cliche, but I really did
have a great time.
Members of the London
program pause to pose
for a group photo.
Photo submitted by Jen Mou
Features
Page Bachman
Recently, I returned to the U.S.
after being part of Guilford's Lon
don program. Typically when I
see friends they ask, "How was
London?" A response is difficult.
How can I sum up an experience of
a life time?
There were highs and lows. I
almost got my flatmates and my
self run over crossing the street,
but I learned more than how to
cross a street. I learned about
myself, self-reliance, the English
culture, and the role the U.S. plays
in the world.
At times 1 fell proud to be an
American and at
others embar
rassed. I became
incredibly close
to some individu
als, but I felt
miles apart from
others. I don't
htink anyone in
my group is re
turning to Guil
ford uninflu
enced by being
abroad.
Through the
Guilford grape
vine I've heard
our group was
one of the worst
in the twelve
years of the pro
gram. Whether
or not that is true
is arguable. Pos
sibly next year
I'll hear the same
thing about the
new group.
If any of your friends are return
ing this semester from studying
abroad, have pity on them. Com
ing home can be overwhelming
andthe change is sometimes diffi
cult.
After living in London I don't
see the world in the same way. I
encourage anyone who has the
chance to travel abroad.
China
Philip Chou
Chinese-Americans who return
to China have quite a different
experience than most foreign
guests. This holds especially true
for Chinese Americans who spend
most of their life in the United
States as I did. Coming from a
family of Chinese parents, I spoke
j|j|^
Above: Philip Chou (third from left) enjoys a meal with his relat
Below: Philip travels on the "Lordseat" train from Beijing to Han
|
jllfiily 's> 'Mr*
Chinese fluently, but I lacked cul
tural experience. Going to China
helped me to learn about myself
and about my family.
My understanding of my par
ents has increased enormously
?anuarp 22, 1993
was able to catch a glimpse of their
childhood and late teens through
living as a member of Chinese
society and spending time with my
uncles and aunts living in Beijing
and Tianjing.
Trying to blend into the society
was fun, but was also often quite
scary. I had quite a time telling
people that I was from Hong Kong
or Shanghai while in Beijing. Most
often I got away with it, too. Luck
ily I have no detectable American
accent in my Chinese.
There used to be a difference in
clothes between our cultures, but
now some
streets in
Beijing look
like streets in
New York. All
this made it re
ally easy to go
into an identity
crisis or psy
chological
limbo.
I had
an attachment
to China be
cause I was
treated like I
was Chinese.
Atfirstl wasn't
ready for it.
That was when
things got
scary some
times. I was
asked what
work unit of
the Commu
nist Party I be-
longed to. I was asked to report to
the Public Security Bureau (po
lice) because a hotel keeper thought
my U.S. passport was fake. Some
times I got bad looks in Chinese
run hotels from foreigners. Looks