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WLE Newsletter February-March 2000
Inside this edition:
 Feature Article
Student composition
Electives - Hanzi, Painting
Weekend trips
Monthly trips
Sporting and Social Events
Language and Martial Arts Studies
WLE Rep News
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CHINESE NEW YEAR
Saturday February 5th was the official beginning of the New Year in China. It is also known as Spring Festival. This is the most important festival for families in China. It is a time for family members to travel great distances if necessary to celebrate together. New Years Eve has long been celebrated by eating specially prepared dishes including Chinese dumplings (Jiaozi) and lighting fireworks. This year, the Chinese people welcomed in the year of the dragon.
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STUDENT COMPOSITION
The students in our February/March intake are enrolled in the five week, one semester or one year Chinese Language Studies and in the one semester Chinese Martial Arts Course. They come from Australia, America, Canada, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Photo shows the Orientation Day briefing.
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Painting class
Su Bin (CL1s:2/00) expressing her artistic talents under the guidance of Teacher Zhong during the painting elective session. Su Bin said these introductory classes gave her an insight into Chinese Painting and Calligraphy and she plans to continue studying them.
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Hanzi class
In February and March we have been joined by students from many countries around the world who are here to study Language, Business or Martial Arts.
Under the guidance of Zhang Laoshi (Teacher Zhang), these students are enjoying their first Hanzi (Chinese character writing) session in the WLE Conference room. From left to right are Hendra (Indonesia), Iris (Germany) and Su Bin (Malaysia).
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WEEKEND TRIP - Summer Palace
A beautiful sunny day set the scene for a perfect visit to The Summer Palace. Just a twenty minute bus ride from the Xi Jiao, Our students enjoyed the excursion with their English speaking guide, Chen. Despite the recent warm weather, Kunming Lake was just beginning to thaw around the edges after a long and bitterly cold winter.
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The famous Long Corridor is listed in the Guiness Book of Records as being the longest painted corridor in the world. The paintings feature scenes from ancient Chinese tales. One can imagine past emperors strolling along the corridor, along the edge of the lake, to escape the scorching Beijing Summer heat.
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Most of the Summer Palace area is actually covered by Kunming Lake. The soil that was excavated to create the lake was then piled high on one side to create Longevity Hill. Several Buddhist temples were then built on the hill top.
Student comment:
The Summer Palace is one of the most historically significant sites in China, dating from the Qing Dynasty. Although this was my second time there, I still enjoyed it. There are a lot of incredible, ancient buildings to be seen. The World Link team made the right choice in arranging for us to go there.
Listya Sieny (Indonesia CCB1S:2/00)
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Weekend Trip to Xi'an
Xi'an , known as the starting point of the Silk Road, is one of the most famous places in China. Since it was the center of both business and government in ancient times, it developed uniquely. The city has its own spirit, and it was great to go there to see its history and people.
We left Beijing Train Station at 5:10pm on Friday 17th. All of us were in the same carriage, so it was great fun. As soon as we got on the train, we started playing a card game. Since we were not all from the same country, rules were also not exactly the same. Players shared with one another the rules from their country, and people who didn't know how to play a certain game listened to others. While playing, we chatted, ate snacks, had drinks, and laughed. Taking a train for 14 hours straight is not always a fun thing to do, but this time, it was.
On Saturday morning, we got to Xi'an . We were all sleepy, but excited about sightseeing. We first went to the hotel to put our luggage away, and had breakfast there, a Chinese buffet. By the time we left the hotel for sightseeing, none of us looked sleepy. The first place we visited housed the Terracotta Warriors. There were a couple buildings that we could go in, and we saw not only the statues but also learned how they were discovered and how it has affected the city.
Next, we visited a place where they make terracotta statues for tourists. They also make other things, such as Chinese classic furniture and paintings. They were beautiful, but pretty expensive. Maybe in the future when I have extra money, I will go back to buy some.
The last part of the day was spent visiting a Banpo village, where we could see how ancient people were living thousands of years ago. Many of us were surprised by the fact that women living in the village could have many husbands. Since the weather was very nice, much warmer than Beijing, the students enjoyed being outside.
On Saturday night, about half of us went out to see what the nightlife of Xi'an was like. We ended up going to a bar, and played games, listened to the music, danced, etc. We also made friends with the local people at the bar, and had a fun time with them.
On Sunday, we visited the history museum and the city wall. The museum was big and had many interesting historical things from the beginning of Chinese history to the last dynasty. The city wall was to protect the city from outsiders, like the Great Wall was to protect the whole country from outsiders. From the top of the city wall, students enjoyed the view of the central city.
The two days went very quickly but everyone had a wonderful time in Xi'an.
By Junko Nakamura WLE Student Co-ordinator
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DOWNTOWN SOCIAL NIGHT
Following a delicious Beijing Duck Dinner, WLE staff and students boarded the bus for a night downtown. Sponsored by AHA, we were greeted by the president, John Harkness, who had arranged free first drinks at three nightspots, the Goose and Duck Pub, Schillers and The Big Easy. At the Goose and Duck we were entertained by Canadian comedian, fluent in the Chinese language. Schillers provided for the rock music fans while The Big Easy catered for the jazz enthusiasts. Photo shows WLE students at The Goose and Duck Bar.
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Birthday news
Iris, from Germany, turned 20 on the 9th March. Surrounded by new World Link friends, she is about to cut the cake and make a wish!
Student comment:
Why I chose World Link. I came here without any personal experience of China, let alone being able to say more than 'hello' in Chinese. I expected World Link to be of assistance if problems arose and I am very pleased to find that this organization has much more to offer, including friendly staff.
I am greatly enjoying my stay with new friends from all over the world.
Iris Mucha (CL1s:2/00)
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WLE Overseas Rep News
World Link Education warmly welcomes Mike Lloyd as a new overseas representative. Mike came to China as a World Link student in February 1999. Mike was enrolled in the one year Chinese Language Studies course, CL1y:2/99. Now that he has returned to live in Oklahoma City, Mike has offered his services as one of our USA reps. Photo shows Mike on the left with his comrade Gary Sexton who is also a past World Link student.
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Martial Arts
Martial Arts students, Lyndi Ma and Chris Hanson, have the opportunity not only to learn the fundamentals of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) but also to share their interest in Wushu with Dr Paul Lan.
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