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WLE Newsletter April-May 2000
Inside this edition:
 Feature Article - WLE supports Special Olympics Torch Run
May Day Break
Staff News
Student Composition
Airport Reception
Language, Business and Martial Arts - student perspectives
Electives
Weekend Trips
Monthly Trip
Social and Sporting Events
WLE Rep News
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Feature Article: Special Olympics Torch Run
Arnold Schwarzenegger visited Beijing recently to raise money for the Special Olympics. Among other engagements including formal dinner receptions in Beijing and Shanghai, Arnold and his wife, Maria Shriver, participated in the China Millenium Torch Run at the Great Wall on Saturday 20th May.
World Link staff member, Patrik von Rosen was a member of the organizing committee encouraging volunteers to participate in the fundraising event. He was joined by staff member, Samantha Zhang and some WLE students.
The Torch Run included a three kilometre jog up the Wall at Ju Yong Guan, one of the steeper parts of the ancient structure. It started at 7.00a.m. with buses leaving Beijing at 5.30 a.m. The fundraising walkers joined the Opening Ceremony at 8.00a.m. which included speeches from Chinese and American officials as well as Schwarzenegger, Chinese drummers to herald the event and the release of thousands of balloons. This was followed by Arnold's run up the wall to light the Special Olympic fire.
"I was surprised at how many people joined up to support this charity event. It made all the preparation worthwhile and raised a lot of money for the Speicial Olympics", Patrik said.
Samantha added: "I feel very grateful to all the foreigners who joined the event to support this Chinese cause."
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MAY DAY BREAK OFFERS TIME TO TRAVEL
The May Day break has been extended to three days holiday in China. But many organisations chose to work the weekend prior to May Day thus giving staff (and students) a whole week's holiday. Many of our World Link students along with local people took advantage of the break in classes to go travelling.
Tracy Mueller (CL1s:2/00) from Switzerland travelled with her Chinese friends to three National Parks in Hunan Province.
The May weather was perfect for the beach at Qing Dao, Shandong Province. Photos show the shoreline and fishing boats.
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STAFF NEWS
We have been delighted to welcome two new part-time staff members to our Beijing team recently. Cindy Wu has been associated with World Link since she was a fourth year student of English at BLCU in l998. In her role as WLE Support Services Co-ordinator, Cindy attends to student needs as well as interpreting and liaising with other companies and organizations.
Patrik von Rosen has joined the team as our Student Services Co-ordinator. Patrik achieved his Masters Degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Stockholm in l999 and is studying Chinese Business at UIBE. Patrik's work role includes Email contact with WLE prospective students, assisting students while they are here and co-ordinating the China Business Studies program.
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STUDENT COMPOSITION
Our April and May students arrived to mild Spring weather but it is rapidly becoming obvious that Summer is almost here and will be very hot. These students are from America, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
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AIRPORT RECEPTION
As part of our service, a World Link representative meets each new student at Capitol Airport on their arrival in Beijing and settles them into their chosen accommodation. Our photo shows staff member, Chen Lei, preparing to leave for the airport to meet our first May 2000 student, Anthony Berno, from Canada.
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LANGUAGE, BUSINESS AND MARTIAL ARTS
Studying in China is a great experience. There are so many new things to discover. World Link Education gives me the opportunity to absorb Chinese culture as well as to study the language.
The trips organized at the weekends make it much easier to visit different places in China. Traveling within a group and a tourist guide is very
informative. It helps me a lot to get the meaning of all the little details, so I can finally understand what is China. The variety of electives in the afternoons brings a change to the normal morning routine program of studying Chinese. I attended Calligraphy for the purpose of understanding the meaning and characteristics of the different styles. I didn't have any idea how important and meaningful the characters are. Other electives I attended, were Listening/Speaking and HSK, which also were very interesting. Many thanks to World Link Education!
By Tracy Mueller (CL1s:2/00) from Switzerland
G'day Comrades,
Here's hoping I can answer a few questions on general student life in Beijing if you're planning a study trip here. My Chinese classes run from 8-12 daily and it is a bit of a shock to the system upon finding out on the first day that lessons are conducted almost entirely in Chinese. A real challenge to begin with if you come from a 'know-next-to-no Chinese background. However before long you do cope with it.
Although teachers can be heard to say, "speak less English , this is a 'sucheng xueyuan' " (short term studies department) accelerated learning course, you can breathe a breath of relief as they generally have a good grasp of English which is only used frugally on an as needed basis.
Smallish sized classes are the norm, usually no more than 20 students who come to China from all around the world. It's given me a great chance to network with interesting travellers from places like New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Denmark, Germany , UK, etc. There are 3 ten minute intervals to break up the 4 hour long classes to get some rest, have a fag or join the swarms of hungry students at nearby canteens to grab spring rolls or steamed buns. When nature calls during classes, don't worry, toilets can easily be located within classroom blocks by following your nose.
Choosing a place to eat for lunch and dinners can be a pretty tough decision in the face of so many restaurants, food stalls and courts and canteens to choose from on campus. Eating well is an important part of the Chinese culture and the good news for many foreigners is that it can be done relatively inexpensively. Spend USD $1-2, get a basic local meal. Up to USD $5 will get you a very filling meal. Spend USD $5 - $10 -- Eat like a king!!.
Life based completely within campus or neighbouring roads is possible with many convenient facilities around. Internet, health, banking services, sports recreation centres, grocery stores and of course a few bars are amongst the many services available. As for my accommodation, I am very happy 'wimping it out' in the more comfortable surroundings of the Xijiao Hotel. The extra cost over living in dormitories is well worth it if you value having your own bathroom , ready running water at constant temperatures and the freedom to return home without a curfew.
The Beijing Language Institute is a very friendly and hospitable place, probably due to the shared interest in language studies by local and foreign students alike. In the interests of improving language skills it is widely encouraged for both local and foreign students to form language partnerships for mutual benefit or pleasure. The meetings can be fun, help you develop a better understanding of the culture and as a few amicable co-students have discovered they are not difficult to find.
By Stephen Chee CCB4w:4/00 from New Zealand
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MONTHLY TRIP - ZHENG ZHOU AND SHAOLIN TEMPLE
Report by staff member Cindy Wu
Our group set off from Beijing West Railway Station on Friday night at 10.30 and arrived in Zheng Zhou at 6.30 the following morning. We were welcomed at the Railway Station by our tour guide, David Lee. Following breakfast at our four star hotel, The Xinya, we visited the Yellow River. First we took a cable car to the top of the mountain for a wonderful view of the river. After that we took a boat ride on the river which was both scenic and fun. We returned to the downtown area for lunch and then drove to Kaifeng city for sightseeing at the Xiangguo Temple and Dragon Pavilion. Following dinner in a very nice hotel restaurant, some students went out to see more of the city by night.
Sunday morning, we visited the Shaolin Temple said to be China's Number One Temple. After lunch we watched a very impressive Shaolin Kung Fu performance. While our World Link Martial Arts students stayed for their personal Wushu training with a Shaolin Temple Monk, the rest of us visited the Longmen Caves in Luoyao. We enjoyed another very good dinner in Zheng Zhou before leaving at 10.30 to return to Beijing.
Celia Wong (CCB12w:4/00) writes:
Travel around China is always fascinating and my weekend in Zhengzhou was no exception. The sights outside the gates (hawkers selling plastic soccer balls, live squirrels and a myriad of foods) are often as interesting as those inside.
In two jam-packed days we managed to see:
The Yellow River - more a dirty brown colour but still incredibly busy with local tourists clamouring to ride the cable and have their picture taken with any of the statues in the park.
Kaifeng - my idea of what a Chinese city used to look like with people taking leisurely boat rides, flying kites in the breeze, shopping at the street stalls and gathering around games of Chinese chess all around one of the main lakes.
Shaolin - home of Kungfu and the Shaolin monks. As well as performances of students bending spears with their necks, we could watch dozens of children practise their sommersaults on the (Martial Arts) school grounds.
Longmen Caves - my favourite of the trip, these caves have thousands of Buddhas carved into the side of a hill, ranging from a centimetre to dozens of metres tall.
The countryside around this province is very beautiful - lush green wheat fields dotted with the odd tree or hut. We really knew we weren't in the city when we had a traffic jam
in a small village en route to Longmen Caves due to the main road also acting as the venue for the Sunday market!!!
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SOCIAL AND SPORTING EVENTS
TOUCH RUGBY
For the last three seasons, World Link has fielded a team known as the World Link Warriors, in the Beijing Devils Touch Rugby League. The weekly games are played on an astroturf hockey field at the National Olympic Sports Centre. There are two seasons per year, Spring from April to June and Autumn from September to November. Team players include members of the local and ex-pat communities. At the moment, WLE's Warriors are in the lead for this season with three more games to go before the final struggle for the Trophy. The league provides players with a chance to exercise while having fun and the opportunity to meet others socially after the game.
BIRTHDAYS
The month of May was a busy time for World Link birthday celebrations. Four students and two staff members celebrated their special days. Bill Shia on May 5th, Danielle Szabo on May 7th and Tracy Mueller on 25th May and Su Bin Yeap on 28th May. The two staff members were Denise, also on May 25th and Patrik on May 27th. Rich cream cakes were the order of the day on each occasion.
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WLE REP NEWS from Tilman Pohlhausen
World Link Education in Germany
The number of people in Germany who are interested in China is growing rapidly. Chinese culture and history become more and more popular. One of the reasons is the economic developments in China that lead more and more people to the conclusion that speaking Chinese and understanding the culture could broaden their horizon and eventually help their careers. Forecasts that China is going to be the biggest internet market in the world in a few years boost these developments - the research firm Yankee Group estimates over
40 million online users at the end of 2001 in China.
World Link Education is assisting more and more People whose aim to make study and gain work experience in China. Most requests for WLE courses come from business students - due to WLEs integration
of language courses with business seminars. Secondly, are students studying either Chinese or Asian culture and business. We also note increasing requests by Chinese immigrants living in Germany for many years, if not generations who want their children to learn Chinese and study in China - at least for some time. Having visited various events organized by Chinese people living in Germany, it can be said that this growing community is very interested in the opportunities WLE offers young people.
The biggest problem for students or young professionals wishing to study in China short term is the lack of available information. The traditional state programs between China and Germany do not serve the needs of this growing group. Therefore it was our aim here in Germany to make it very easy to find WLE. You can go there by clicking www.worldlinkedu.de.
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