'Tis the season to be jolly! During the month of December, all WLE students were invited to decorate our campus for Christmas: a huge Christmas tree, poinsettias, tinsel, baubles, stockings, snow flakes... it was a wonderful time sharing this Christmas experience with our Language Exchange partners! We all felt the warmth of Christmas inside the school spending time with our classmates and teachers, which was certainly a welcome respite from the cold of Beijing's winter.

Our Chinese teachers	Singing carols in Chinese!	Mariana (US), Dan (Australia) and AJ (US) playing the traditional story "Yugong Yishan"

With such a festive atmosphere, WLE organized a wonderful Christmas Celebration on the Friday before Christmas where all the students, teachers and Language Exchange partners were invited to attend. It was an amazing evening full of happiness, warmth and fun... we were even lucky enough to have a visit from Santa, and every student had the opportunity to take a picture with him. The perfect souvenir of a WLE Christmas in China!

During the evening, Mariana, AJ and Dan showcased their theatrical talents by interpreting the traditional Chinese story of Yugong Yishan, for their performance entirely in Chinese. They certainly earned the raucous round of applause they received from their enthusiastic audience! Then a chorus of intermediate level students accompanied on the saxophone sang Christmas carols in Chinese with the help of all the WLE teachers. Other students taught their Language Exchange Partners how to create Christmas cards, a must during the holiday season for spreading the all important Christmas cheer.

Annika (US) with Santa!	Usa (Thailand) caught the parcel!	Shanghai students around their Christmas Tree

A celebration can't finish without games! With a round of pass the parcel and a milk and cookies eating competition we certainly all had our fill of fun. It was great to spend our Christmas time with our WLE family.

As Buddhist Temples are a very important part of the Chinese culture, during the months of December and January, the students had the chance to learn more about Buddhism and its influence on Chinese culture through a visit to two of Shanghai's famous Buddhist Temples - the Longhua Temple and the Jade Buddha Temple.

Students praying for good luck... maybe for their final exam?	One of the magnificent Jade Buddha statues	Group photo at the entrance door of the Temple

During our visits, Mr. Alex Xue shared with us the very interesting background of both temples. The Longhua Temple, literally "Lustre of the Dragon Temple" is a typical Buddhist Temple, which is the largest, most authentic and complete ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai. The Jade Buddha Temple was first built in 1882 to keep two Jade Buddha statues which had been brought from Burma by a monk named Huigen. Alex was an amazing guide who not only told us the history of the Temple, but also gave us a great cultural lesson on Buddhism in China.

The splendor of the Longhua Temple	Jacob (Australia), Chen laoshi, Juan (Colombia) and Helene (Cyprus) posing	Torsten (Germany) and Juan (Colombia) listening to the stories of Alex Xue

All our students were really keen to learn about this fascinating Asian religion which attracts more and more faithful from around the world each year with its own philosophy of living. We had a great time wandering around these two temples and witnessing all the people praying for good luck.

I have already been studying Mandarin with WLE for a couple of weeks now. I'm so happy to realize that since I arrived in Beijing my speaking and listening skills have increased ten fold! One of the major reasons for this marked improvement has been the many opportunities to meet with Chinese native speakers. Alongside the Language Exchange Program, the International Students Club has been organized by WLE to create interactivity with Chinese native students outside of the classroom.

Mahjong Night with our students in full action!	AJ (US) and Johan (Sweden) learning the basics of Mahjong	Cindy, Rodney (France) enjoying their game!

During the month of December, we were invited to participate in the International Students Club, where we have been introduced to the basics of Chinese traditional games such as Mahjong, Chinese Chess and Chinese Go. I had never played any of these games before but after a couple of practice rounds I even managed to beat my Language Exchange partner at Chinese Chess! I was pretty pleased with myself but I must admit that if it wasn't for my partner who took the time to teach me the basic rules of this strategic game, I would never have understood it at all.

Then when Mahjong night came along I thought, “this looks like an easy game.” How wrong I was! I certainly learnt that looks can be deceiving as this game is a little more complex than I had first imagined as each player needs to learn how to guess what the other players have in their hand in order to win. But it was so much fun to learn through first hand experience how to play this game that requires a combination of skill, observation and a healthy dose of luck. No wonder it is played in Chinese households all year long!

Cvetanka (Macedonia) learning to play the game of Go with her personal Chinese teachers	Kathrine (Australia) with her Language Exchange Partner	Patricia (US) learning the rules of traditional Chinese Chess

The International Students Club has been a great way for me to continue my studies outside of the classroom and it has taught me that learning the culture is an integral part of learning the language. Thank you to WLE! I have already bought the games to take back home and introduce to my family.

WLE electives are aimed to enhance student's language learning, by offering an introduction to a variety of language focused and cultural areas of study. As a part of our Winter Elective series, WLE Shanghai invited renowned paper cutting professionals to join us and demonstrate their expertise in this art to our students. During this elective, students were introduced to this traditional art with a history stretching back over more than 12 centuries.

China has a long history of designing and crafting intricate paper works. The popularity of this tradition has not faded over the years largely due to the commitment of its devotees to preserving Chinese culture in this form. Skilled artisans use knives and scissors to depict beautiful scenes from traditional Chinese folk festivals and tales.

Helene (Cyprus) and Jacob (Australia) cutting their piece of art carefully	Students enjoying the traditional art of Paper cutting	Classroom walls decorated with student's Christmas paper cutting

During the four sessions, the students had the opportunity to test their own precision with a knife, scissors and paper in learning how to create Chinese characters, butterflies, Christmas decorations and so on. It was a pleasure to see the students so eager to learn about this traditional art and manage to create such beautiful art works which have been displayed on the wall of all the Shanghai campus throughout the holiday season.

Kung Fu means "skill and effort" and can describe anything that one needs to spend time training in and becoming skillful in. When using this term in talking about "martial arts", Kung Fu refers to the hundreds of styles of martial arts in China, all of which are different. However, there is one thing that all Chinese martial arts have in common and that is the idea that Kung Fu itself is merely skill.

The real value of Chinese martial arts goes beyond self defense. It lies within the strong traditional training that all Kung Fu styles emphasize: training that teaches the student to respect the teacher and the teacher's advice; to be respectful towards other Kung Fu styles and to only use Kung Fu in a morally correct manner.

Introducing our mighty WLE Warriors!	Our students striking a pose at the Shaolin temple	Shaolin monks meditating

Northern style of Kung Fu developed in the most famous monastery in China called Shaolin (Young Forest). This is where all Kung Fu first developed in about 500 AD. The monks developed and catalogued techniques based on the movements they studied from the Tiger, Crane, Leopard, Snake, and Dragon for health and self defense.

Practice makes perfect - our students engaging in rigorous Kung Fu training	A group photo with Shaolin monks!	Our WLE Warriors are ready for action!

Kiao Yuan expanded the Shaolin movements to 72, and later he extended them further to 172. He classified them into the five formed fist: tiger, crane, leopard, snake, and dragon. Each of these animals symbolized something from a corner of man's mind or spirit as well as his physical self, which also had to be developed. Tiger – emphasis on the use of the hands (claws) and man's intention. Crane - punches and strikes and man's concentration. Leopard - footwork and agility and mentality. Snake - hard work and development of chi. Dragon - the twisting and turning of man's movements and of his spirit. From these theories developed three other concepts: man's natural strength; man's refined force or chi; and the center point at which originated from tan tien, the sea of chi.

Nearly two-thirds of the Shaolin systems seem to have come from these animals.

(Next newsletter: Part 2 The benefits of studying Wu Shu.)

WLE's Winter China Business Program included an onsite visit to learn from one of China's leading art gallery entrepreneurs Mr. Brian Wallace, owner of one of the first and most famous contemporary art galleries in Beijing, the Red Gate Gallery.

Following a guided tour of the impressive gallery, Mr. Wallace shared his professional perspectives on entrepreneurship in China discussing issues such as operations, production, quality and management systems, and staff training. Taking us from topics of concept and design to construction we listened intently to the nuances of developing a successful business.

Brian Wallace discussing entrepreneurialism in China with the students	Group photo outside the Watchtower	Dino (Germany) inside the Red Gate Gallery

As a foreigner who has had great success in doing business in China, Brian's Chinese odyssey started 20 years ago when he arrived from Australia as a back packer and decided to stay in China first to study Chinese language and then to start his own business in the art industry. Through the stories he shared with us and his extensive experience in China, Mr. Wallace passed on to our business students some very valuable advice and tips concerning business in China.

Thanks to this candid talk inside the Beijing Watchtower, we certainly learnt more about how business operates in China from a foreign entrepreneur's perspective.

Name:

Have they been what you expected them to be?
They have exceeded my expectations. I didn't believe that I would be able to speak and write so much in such little time. I also didn't expect to like it as much as I do now.

How do you like Shanghai?
I have really enjoyed living in Shanghai for a semester. The people are friendly. The food is good. It is a city that never sleeps and there is always something to do or see!

What do you find most interesting in Shanghai?
How even though it is very modern, you can still get a feel of Chinese culture and tradition. You can visit a temple that represents thousands of years of history one day and dine at a rotating restaurant at the top of a tower the next.

Tell us a few memorable experiences in Shanghai/China?
There are so many that I would not know where to start! The whole experience is unforgettable. I have met some great people here and made some very good friends.

How has your experience in China changed you?
It has motivated me even more to learn Chinese and learn more about China's people, culture and history.

What is the thing you like best about Shanghai/China?
The food! Especially the Xiao Long Bao.

Will you come to China/Shanghai again?
Absolutely! I am actually looking into staying here for at least one more year! I just re-enrolled with WLE to study a second semester in Beijing to learn more about the diversity of China.

What advice/tips would you give to others who plan to come and study in China?
I would say keep an open mind, don't be afraid to talk to the locals in Chinese and enjoy!