EVER WANTED to be popular? The quickest way to be a celebrity (paparazzi included) is to dye your hair blonde and go to China. Let me tell you, there is nothing like being a blondie in China!
In April of 2011, seven NWCC students from Prince Rupert and Terrace went to China for six weeks of school. We took courses like “Business in China”and “Introduction to Mandarin”, learned about Confucius, and giggled over the Chinglish. What is Chinglish, you ask? There are occasions when the translations of certain phrases or instructions to English turn into something much more comedic than was originally intended.
We embraced the Chinese culture in every way possible. Most days between classes our hosts would take the Canadian students and introduce us to something new. Highlights included learning how to use nun chucks from a Chinese warrior (no big deal!), discovering the traditional art of paper cutting, cooking (we made and ate dumplings), exploring the Great Wall of China, and being guests at a traditional meal in a Chinese home. By the end of the trip I was able to speak just enough Mandarin so I could go shopping on my own (and I definitely did just that!).
The food was so amazing my belly smiles just thinking about it. At one of our cafeterias at school we had a man who made pasta from scratch as you ordered it, hot plates, freshly steamed buns and squid on a stick for 50 cents. Dinner cost about 80 cents and beer was a mere 30 cents for a jumbo bottle (not that I’m speaking from experience!).
The people we met will be friends forever and the trip was amazing. I’m so happy I was able to go, and thankful that NWCC gave us the opportunity to do it.
Christine Leclerc is NWCC's first ever full-time student blogger! She's a second-year Business Administration student in Terrace who took part in a study exchange to China earlier this year. Over the fall and winter semesters, she'll be giving her take on student life at NWCC. We're excited to see and read her posts and encourage you - the college community - to follow along. She's looking forward to getting your feedback and maybe some inspiration, too, throughout her blogging experience. And in case you're wondering, that's her beloved English bulldog Maddox!