2013-07-24
From June 26 to July 24, 2013, 35 students from Australia journeyed to Tianjin University (TJU) for a one-month summer program. The program was organized by the Confucius Institute at the University of Queensland (QU). During this program, participating Australian students spent a memorable summer vacation in China with volunteers from TJU.
Experiencing China's Five-Thousand Year Civilization While Learning Language
Language reflects culture and through language people can understand more of a nation.. To provide visiting students with a great platform to learn and a portal through which to comprehend Chinese civilization, TJU offered special Chinese language courses as well as a series of lectures on traditional Chinese culture, including history, calligraphy, painting, martial arts, Chinese traditional medicine, and so on. .
The lessons TJU offered stirred up deep interests in students for Chinese language and culture. In classes, UQ students actively interacted with their teachers. After class, they would practice their spoken Chinese with TJU student volunteers. Through learning, students began to appreciate the profound nature of Chinese culture. Many students were able to communicate in Chinese after one month.
Visiting Places of Interest and Tasting Traditional Chinese Cuisine
To put what they learned into practice, TJU arranged a series of visits for students to experience ancient Chinese civilization and the modern boom of development with travels to the Great Wall in Beijing, and many places in Tianjin, like the Ancient Cultural Street, which is also called "Tianjin native place", Tianjin Binhai New Area, which is also regarded as "the third pole of Chinese economy", and Italian community built by the Italians over a hundred years ago.
Through time and space, Australian students felt not only the historical and cultural background of Chinese civilization, but also modern China.
Besides sightseeing, traditional Chinese cuisine was a must. Most students were first time visitors to China, and only knew of traditional Chinese snacks from their textbooks. While holding chopsticks, they didn't know what to do with the various delicious foods on the table. With the help of TJU volunteers, they soon found themselves gorging on authentic Chinese dishes.
Campus Life Connecting Chinese and Australian Students
"I already miss Tianjin and all my friends at TJU!" "Thank all the student ambassadors, and welcome to Australia. We will take care of you!" "It is the best decision I have ever made in my life to take part in this program!!"…..These are just some samples of the comments Australian students left at the end of the summer program.
In order to enhance the exchange and interactions between Australian and Chinese students, , many TJU students sacrificed their summer vacation and organized diverse activities, including a welcome party, Chinese culture night, Australian culture night, movie night, fun sports meet, and a farewell party.
Students of QU and TJU established deep friendships through their daily time spent together. From hours of waiting in the Beijing capital airport on the morning of June 27 to Australian students’ reluctance to depart on July 24, TJU student volunteers have been stamped into their memory as not only their helpers, Chinese language teachers, or activity partners, but also as friends.
In October 2009, TJU and QU signed an agreement on establishing a Confucius Institute at QU. Since 2010, the Confucius Institute has provided funding for QU students to take part in annual cultural and academic exchange summer programs. With the support from all related schools and offices, and coordinated by the Office of International Cooperation of TJU from the very beginning to the end, this program has benefited more than 100 Australian students and has become an iconic program of the Confucius Institute at UQ.