Month: March 2018

Roommates? What?

Roommates? What?

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So, here in Beijing, we have a special program unlike the Rome Center – you have the option of having a Chinese student of the University of International Business and Economics as your roommate!

Of course, you don’t have to, you can elect to have a fellow American student as your roommate, as long as you both have specified you want to, or you can live alone – or even live in an apartment-style dorm in a different dorm. But all those options are more expensive. This semester, only one guy lives alone, and everyone else has a Chinese roommate, or CR as we call them. Trust me, you want to live with them. Not only are they incredibly useful (drag them to the bank, the restaurants – they know the area- and so on, due to being fantastically bilingual) but the TBC screening process means that they are all incredibly nice, wonderful, delightful people and make fast friends. They’re so cool, and come from all different places across China and are interested in all different things.

There’s one this semester who is captain of the alpine ski team, another who is really into Korean culture and dance, another who you can always find cooking in the kitchen, and another who you can count on to always be studying in the lounge, and so on. At first, you might be a little wary, especially you reading this if you haven’t even been to college yet first. But I assure you, the Chinese roommate experience is so awesome!

It really helps you get immersed in the Chinese culture and university life. Unlike Rome, you’re not in a bubble. For example, WeChat games (see my last post) spread like fire between the CRs and the students, since even though there’s a language barrier some games don’t even use words, so – bonus!

Plus, if you have a roommate like mine, they’ll make sure you celebrate Chinese holidays the right way, with the right food. I’m very lucky, since we’re fully in the holiday season, since sometimes I come back from a day of classes and Thea is waiting for me with some new treat or another. If/when you come to TBC, I would highly, highly suggest getting a Chinese roommate. When else will you have this opportunity? With the CRs, we do all sorts of things – from watching Mulan and laughing at the cultural inaccuracies, to walking around the Temple of Heaven area and pretending one of them is secretly famous, and so on. In Rome, I didn’t meet a lot of Romans my age, much less be able to call them my friends. These CRs, it’s only been two months, but I’m very certain that in the future when I come back to China, I won’t miss out on visiting them and seeing them when I can.

Plus, TBC also works hard to match you with a roommate. They won’t put a very clean person and a very messy person together, or if you’re a person against smoking, they won’t put you with someone who smokes heavily (none of the CRs do this semester), just like Loyola does.

All in all, I would more than recommend getting a Chinese roommate. When you’re studying abroad, go the whole yard for new experiences, and don’t be afraid to live with someone from a completely different culture!

Technology and China Living

Technology and China Living

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I wrote an article a while ago about apps you’ll need for college life, such as Venmo and GroupMe. Well, you need a whole host of other ones to really do well in China. And, pro tip, but don’t come here with a Google phone. One of my friends has hers with and it’s a huge pain!

First and most important:

WeChat, or WeiXin as they say in Chinese. It’s ubiquitous, powerful, and doesn’t just change the game – it makes its own. On the surface (and in the USA) it’s just a messenger app, like GroupMe, Viber, or WhatsApp, but it can also be used to ‘follow’ news companies with an RSS feed, and you can post ‘Moments’ just like Facebook updates. But wait, there’s more. Through WeChat, you can pay for your meals at almost every single restaurant, because you’re infinitely more likely to forget your wallet than your phone – and you don’t have to pay those pesky international cash withdrawal fees because it connects right to your card. You can pay your phone bill or order a taxi. You can rent a bike (more on that later), buy your train or movie tickets, and play games like it has a whole entire App Store (but free) inside of it. Right now, the game sweeping TBC is called ‘Tiao Yi Tiao’, or Jumpy Jump. It’s hot competition to see who can keep their jumping streak furthest without falling. It’s magic and it runs the world. Of course, it’s only so big because the Chinese government keeps a good eye on it, so you shouldn’t be spreading anti-governmental messages through it (if you’re the type of person inclined to that, which I wouldn’t advise while in China, but that’s your choice) but all in all it’s one you absolutely need while in China.

Second, ofo. Well, actually, there are a variety of apps just like ofo, and you can have one or them all, but I prefer ofo.

Why? Well, ofo is a bike-sharing app. It’s sort of like… the exact opposite of Uber. There’s probably millions of the bikes in just Beijing alone, and all you need is the app to take one. You simply scan a QR code on the bike, type in the passcode your app tells you too, and the bike unlocks – and off you go. Sometimes the bikes are not all that good, but there’s certainly another one you can take. And it’s dirt cheap – as in, I haven’t yet paid a single kuai (six-ish kuai is one USD) for all my rides, whether they’re five minutes or fifty. Plus, at the end of every ride you get a two-kuai coupon, so even if you do generate a bill of a kuai or two, you still won’t pay. They’re ridiculously convenient. I often walk to breakfast and then bike across campus to class, just because I can, or bike down to the nearest mall. It’s something that probably wouldn’t go down too well in the United States, because a huge team of people are in charge of finding wayward bikes (you can just leave them wherever you want, they require no charging stations or anything) and setting them up along streetsides so you can get to them easier. At least, I feel like people would complain in Chicago. They do take up a lot of room. Another bonus about the app is that it will tell you where the nearest ones are, so you don’t even have to look hard! Also, all ofo bikes are bright yellow. They sure stand out!

 

And third, Mei Tuan Wai Mai. If you thought WeChat and ofo sounded useful, well…

Mei Tuan combines literally every other useful American app into one. And by that I mean it will deliver literally anything you can dream of. Gone is the need to compare GrubHub, UberEats, Postmates, and the other food apps to see who has the restaurant – and the price – you want. No joke, today in class as part of our lesson, our teacher had me order cookies from Subway to be delivered. Just cookies. (They were amazing.) From places like DQ, Subway, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s to the local tiny restaurants that only recently moved to take WeChat pay, Mei Tuan will bring you anything you want, ever. And… Not just food.

My homework tonight is to make a list of summer clothing I’ll need for my spring break trip to Thailand, so my teacher can help me order it during class tomorrow (there’s only two students in the class, including me.) From an iPhone X to a rice cooker to just a roll of tape, Mei Tuan can bring it to you the same day. You can get larger things (like a box of water bottles or a Ferrari car) on a similar app called Taobao that doesn’t do fresh food, but if you hate Amazon’s two-day delivery …. Mei Tuan has you covered. My friend once ordered an iron and got it within the hour. Possibly the best thing? It connects to your WeChat, which connects to your card, so you don’t need to input your card over and over again.

 

Of course, you’ll probably want a variety of other apps, from Baidu Maps (Google Maps doesn’t work here) to Elk (a currency converter) to Didi (like Uber, but also uses the taxi fleet) but I think WeChat, ofo, and Mei Tuan are the top three. Come study abroad here and you’ll see for yourself!

 

 

Campus Diversity

Campus Diversity

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Many families and students ask if Loyola University is diverse and accepting of all people. In my opinion, there’s always room for improvement, but for now, students like myself work hard to make sure there is representation and respect for minority groups. As you all know, I am Vietnamese and I am a first-generation student to go get higher education. This topic of diversity is somewhat sensitive to me, but I’ll try to explain everything as best as I can.

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As a university, we strive to be more respectful and equal to everyone. We try to do less judging and be more open-minded to the differences and talents people have to offer to the community. Even so, we have been in multiple classes such as theology and philosophy where Jesuit values are taught and considered. We try to be living examples of Jesuit ideologies by doing good things in the community and serving God. To say in the least, Loyola has a good foundation in which we apply our learnt knowledge for the greater good of society.

Loyola’s Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (SDMA) is a wonderful safe space for all students. There are fantastic staff and there are so many programs and topics that talk about diversity. I have used this office several times and I vouch for the usefulness and helpfulness of this office.

Click here for SDMA’s link!

There are many cultural and ethnic registered student organizations on campus who exemplify a colorful and diverse community. As mentioned before, I am the Vietnamese Student Association president and have pushed for a lot of Asian awareness, representation, and respect in this school. Through large events such as the New Year Celebration and Cuisine Night, many students gain more knowledge and experience in the Vietnamese culture. I am extremely proud of my organization and the significant and positive impacts it had on people. This same idea of diversity awareness applies to any other cultural organization or especially, anyone.

Everyone deserves to be respected and treated the same way, regardless of their race, appearance, orientation, gender, and so on. Though this should seem repetitive and you already know of this, I believe it should be reiterated. Many times, we forget that we may be hurting others by the way we talk to people, discriminate, and more. Given our American history, our national has come a long way and we have become more diverse and considerate of others. We must become more progressive and represent our generation as good, open-minded people. From the major tragedies to minor incidents, we need to learn from our mistakes and put in the effort to improve. As a community we must carry on these values and be ‘men and women for others.’

 

Food Feature: Hangzhou Xiao Chi

Food Feature: Hangzhou Xiao Chi

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Last semester I told you all about my favorite restaurant in Rome, Osteria dell’Anima, with the pear pasta I dream about sometimes. Although it seems I eat out for every meal here in China, there haven’t been many times where I eat out downtown instead of around the campus, because unlike Rome, there are restaurants taking every inch of space at UIBE’s perimeter. So let me tell you about Hangzhou Xiao Chi, which is located just three steps outside of East Gate, or as we call it, Eats Gate. I really wish the internet would cooperate and let me share pictures with you, but when I get back to Chicago you betcha I’ll upload them on my first day of work. You’ll just have to trust me right now.

Hangzhou is owned and operated by one small family from, you guessed it, Hangzhou City. They’re adorable and I love them. Just like a lot of small family-owned restaurants here in China, it’s not always easy to tell how exactly they’re all related, but they usually are. Hangzhou has two Ayis, or aunties, three Mei Nus, or daughters/younger women who help out, and then four Shu Shus, uncles, who do the cooking. The restaurant is about half kitchen and half seating area, and the seating area is six tables with small stools to sit on instead of wasting space with real chairs. It’s always packed. They serve both baozi, stuffed steamed buns, and jiaozi, dumplings, as well as about a hundred (that’s an exaggeration – perhaps fifty really) dishes, although I prefer to get their vegetable noodle soup, so then I can add anything I want, or otherwise I really enjoy their Chongqing noodles, which are flavorful, with chicken and peanuts, and spicy as all get-out.

They speak no English, but they’ll teach you the proper pronunciations of whatever food you want, and they have pictures posted of their most popular foods so you can just point. And ‘baozi’ is the easiest thing to say. You can’t visit Hangzhou Xiao Chi without getting a ‘lou’, or a plate of them. TBC students are currently heartbroken because one of the Ayis went back to Hangzhou for Spring Break and won’t be coming back until next semester so she can help her daughter study for the college entrance exam that all Chinese kids have to take if they want to go to college.

Eating at Hangzhou is like eating a home-cooked meal made with love, and the staff there can recognize all, if not most, of the TBC students by now. We go there… a lot. I’m not going to lie, before Spring Festival there was a week where I went every single day for seven days straight. I can’t help it. For ten baozi and a bowl of warm noodles, it’s less than 20 kuai, which is about three dollars. Three dollars! I’m going to cry when I get back to Chicago at the prices.

You can’t, and won’t, miss Hangzhou Xiao Chi if/when you come to TBC. Did I make you hungry? I’m pretty hungry myself. Guess I know what I’m having for dinner tonight.