 |
A Wave From The East
Amar Georgeson
When a group of 16 exchange students came from China to study at Humboldt State University, the change in diversity was immediately apparent. In a collection of towns such as McKinleyville, Arcata, and Eureka, where 85 percent of U.S. census respondents identify themselves as “white,” introducing even a small population from other nations is noticeable.
As a lifelong student of Chinese culture, and a soon-to-be-exchange-student to China myself, I set out to introduce myself to these students and learn about their experiences with the exchange.
I met with four Humboldt State Chinese exchange students, Chinese language teacher Yan Huang ( pronounced “yan hwong”) and the program director Rui Wang (“ray wong”), all from the ancient capital city, Xi’an (“shee-an”). In connection with other faculty on campus, Rui Wang and Rosamel Benavides-Garb of the Department of World Languages and Cultures have developed a bilateral exchange program between Humboldt State and Xi’an International Studies University. The four students I met with are among the first to take advantage of the alliance. Mandarin Chinese language teacher Huang taught at Chang’an (“chahng-an”) University in Xi’an. Coming to Humboldt State due to a last minute cancellation by another instructor, she took the opportunity, arriving here the day before classes started. “I’ve always wanted to come to America, and when the opportunity came up, I decided to do it,” she said.
Geographically, the city of Xi’an is located southwest of Beijing, the nation’s current capital; roughly the same distance from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, Georgia. With a history spanning 13,000 years, it is ancient compared to America—56 times older, to be exact. Xi’an was the capital of China for 13 dynasties, and today, it is one of the largest and most diverse cities in the country.
Coming to America from Xi’an himself, Rui Wang described the city’s modernity, depicting it as a first rate metropolis. “You can find just about anything you can think of in Xi’an,” he said. “You have the ancient city wall in the old parts of the town, and then nearby you have some of the most modern architecture and equipment of anywhere in the world.”
We in the West might know Xi’an from the terra-cotta warrior statues unearthed on the outskirts of the city in March of 1974. The collection of statues is a legion of life-sized clay warriors, horses and carriages, dating back to the third century B.C. Xi’an is now the bustling capital city of Shaanxi (“shan-shee”) province, housing over twice the population of Los Angeles, with only one-and-a-half times the land space. “Xi’an is much more modern than here,” Wang explains, “It is really quite an experience for foreign students.”
Xi’an International Studies University, or XISU (“shee-soo”), for short, has a rather brief history, being that the school was founded only 55 years ago. Since that time it has come to enroll a modest but growing 12,000 students. The primary mission of XISU is to prepare young scholars for the international work environment. Yixin Liu (“ee-shin loo”) is an International Business Studies student originally from Hanzhong (“han-jong”), another large city located four hours’ driving distance south of Xi’an. “Compared with other foreign language universities, [I believe] XISU is one of the best. Many students at XISU find jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” she said.
Language instructor Yan Huang has spent most of her adult life in Xi’an, earning her bachelor’s degree from XISU in English Language and Culture, and moving on to earn her master’s in Western Economic Theory at Xi’an Jiaotong (“jiow-tong”) University. “I think Xi’an is probably one of the easiest cities for Americans to live in. The language is easier to understand there, the food is excellent, and the universities are suitable for people from all over China,” she said.PREVIOUS STORY: Soldiers to Scholars
Editor: Elizabeth Hilbig Managing Editor:Amar Georgeson Copy Editor: Christian Shields Layout Editor: Jessica Painter Web Editor: Chris Hoff
Humboldt State University- Arcata, CA 95521