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WLE Newsletter December 1999 - January 2000
Inside this edition:
 Feature Article: Christmas in China
Student composition
Staff News
Y2K
Other Christmas Activities
Language Studies
Cultural Immersion Electives
Weekend Trips
Social Events
WLE Rep News
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WLE CHRISTMAS PARTY
On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, the elves were very busy decorating the WLE student room in preparation for the Christmas party of snacks, drinks and present giving. Glasses clinked, cameras flashed and conversation flowed along with the Dragon Seal Chinese French-style red wine.
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STUDENT COMPOSITION - September 1999 to January 2000
Our most recent student intakes have been truly multi-cultural.
Countries represented have been England, America, Belgium, Australia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, France, Denmark, Canada, Indonesia, Italy and Germany. Along with the learning of Chinese language and culture, there has been a lot of sharing among this diverse group of WLE students themselves.
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STAFF NEWS
In December, the World Link Beijing Office team welcomed two new part-time staff members, Lydia Li and Junko Nakamura. Lydia, a local Beijinger, is a senior student at BLCU majoring in English. In her role as Student Co-ordinator, one of Lydia's main responsibilities is to supervise the WLE Language Exchange Partner Programme. Junko was born in the United States then moved to Japan at the age of two. After completing High School there, she returned to the States for her College education. Junko is here in Beijing for a year to study Chinese language. In her role as Student Co-ordinator, one of her responsibilities is to organize the weekend sight-seeing trips.
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Y2K
We are happy to report that the arrival of the New Year, 2000, was ushered in fine style in China as in all other parts of our global community. World Link staff and students, experienced no difficulties with the transition from the old to new millenium.
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OTHER CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES
SINGING STUDENTS SPREAD CHRISTMAS CHEER
From mid-November, the WLE student room rang out with the sounds of Christmas as a group of spirited singers practiced for the forthcoming trips to share the meaning and spirit of Christmas through carol singing with some local Beijing schools, a hospital and a new university. Under the able direction of Amy, the group prepared Jingle Bells including a chorus in Chinese, Silent Night, White Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy and a We Wish you a Merry Christmas also with a chorus in Chinese. The group comprising of students from Australia, Japan, America, Italy, Holland and Malaysia shared Christmas greetings in their own languages. Sponsored by Cadburys Chocolate, audience members were delighted to receive delicious chocolates to top off the event. The festive season had begun in Beijing! News of the Carol Singers reached an audience of 50,000 when they were featured in an article published in the Beijing Municipal Government magazine, Beijing This Month.
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TOP HOSPITAL HOSPITALITY
World Link students were invited to visit the Peoples' Liberation Army Hospital for a get-together with medical staff and doctoral studies students. The hospital staff meet weekly for an English Corner where language and cultural exchange are the order of the day. This event, planned to be the first of many, began with carol singing followed by conversation and ended with the much loved local past-time of Karaoke.
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New University Offers Old-fashioned Welcome
Braving a cold December day, a group of newly arrived and 'old' WLE students combined to form the choir of carol singers for a visit to Beijing's new private university, IBUB - International Business University of Beijing. An hour's drive from the busy city area, the university is housed in magnificent traditional buildings. The winter scene with bare-branched trees and the frozen lake added to a spectacular campus tour.
Student comment:
The trip to the International Business University of Beijing was a great introduction to Chinese hospitality. What our group of singers lacked in melody, we made up for with great Christmas cheer. I was impressed with the talent that was presented to us by the Chinese students, though. For me, the highlight of the trip was being taken "skating" on the university pond with some enthusiastic first-year students.
Deborah Edwards - CL6w:12/99 (Student, University of Sydney, Australia)
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LANGUAGE STUDIES
World Link students continue to enjoy the rich experience of studying the Chinese Language with the professional and experienced teaching staff at BLCU combined with the extra-curricular WLE activities.
Student comment:
I studied in the six week Mandarin course at BLCU from December '99 to January 2000. The lessons, the sightseeing and the culture classes have been extremely exciting and great fun. Even the cold, gale force winds from Siberia were an experience to be had. I have made new friends from all around the world through our common interest in Mandarin. During this short time, not only have I improved my Mandarin - in leaps and bounds - but also I have gained a strong interest in Chinese lifestyle and culture. I will never forget my stay here in Beijing.
Albert Yung - CL6w:12/99 (Student, University of New South Wales, Australia)
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CULTURAL IMMERSION ELECTIVES
SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS:
WLE seminars and workshops over the last couple of months have included Singing, Painting, Calligraphy, Massage, Jiaozi making and Mahjong.
Student comment:
I have really enjoyed the seminars on Chinese Massage taught by Dr Lan. It is a fascinating subject and Dr Lan's wonderful personality makes the classes truly enjoyable as well as informative. It is really nice to have the opportunity to learn about this aspect of Chinese culture in such a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
David Kohl - CCB1s:9/99 (Entrepreneur, China West Inc, USA)
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WEEKEND TRIPS
WLE December-January trips have included sightseeing at the Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, The Minority Peoples' Park and shopping at the famous Silk Market and Antique Market.
Student comment:
World Link organized a student trip to the Summer Palace during the first week of the new year. Situated in the north west of Beijing, it is the largest preserved Imperial garden in China. There are some beautiful places such as the 728m long corridor, the Garden of Harmonious Interest and the Tower of Buddha Fragrance. The Kunming Lake, that houses the marble boat, was frozen during our visit and provided us with an amazing white backdrop to palace itself. We spend a wonderful time there and I would recommend to anyone coming to Beijing to visit the Summer Palace.
Dedy Setiawan - CL6w:12/99 (Student, RMIT University, Australia)
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SOCIAL EVENTS
WELCOME AND FAREWELL PARTIES
WLE bid farewell to the 12-week students at Afunti's Xin Jiang restaurant where the entertainment began with a breath-taking performance of traditional singing and dancing and finished with somewhat less spectacular dancing by customers on tables. The six-week students were welcomed with a dinner of Beijing Roast duck and joined the combined farewell party at Asian Star for their group and the one semester students. Following the wonderful food, a combination of Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai and Chinese, everyone joined in the Karaoke singing favourite Chinese songs learned during their stay, Japanese and English songs. A good time was had by all!
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WLE REP NEWS
WLE UK representative, Oliver Steeds, has just returned from leading a three month charitable, historical research expedition to rediscover the Grass Silk Road (a trans- Gobi communication highway) between the capitals of the Mongol Emperors, Genghis (Karakorum-Mongolia) and Kublai Khan (Xanadu-Inner Mongolia, China). The team of four young adventurers traveled the 1400 miles between the two ancient capitals in the traditional Mongolian manner - horses in the steppe and camels in the Gobi, to experience the same elements the merchants, envoys and travelers did in the time of the Great Khans. In the spirit of 21st century Nomads, Karakorum to Xanadu '99 has been an on-line expedition breaking into the new realms of info-tainment. Combining cultural and historical insight with the full adventure stories that include arrest by the Mongolian military, walking 900Km across the Gobi, tent-arrest, a potential hostage situation and freak Gobi sleet storms, their website can be found at
http://www.e-nomad.org.
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