Aug. 22, 2007

VCU hosted students from Fudan University and Beijing Foreign Studies University

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By Mike Porter

VCU School of Business alumnus David Yu discusses banking in the United States and China with visiting students from Fudan University and Beijing Foreign Studies University. The students attended lectures about American, business, history, politics and the arts as part of their four week stay in the United States. Photo by Mike Porter/VCU Office of University News Services.
VCU School of Business alumnus David Yu discusses banking in the United States and China with visiting students from Fudan University and Beijing Foreign Studies University. The students attended lectures about American, business, history, politics and the arts as part of their four week stay in the United States. Photo by Mike Porter/VCU Office of University News Services.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Office of International Education recently hosted 69 visiting students and four faculty members from Fudan University and Beijing Foreign Studies University. Their summer visit was part of VCU’s American Studies Program, which brings the students here for four weeks to learn about American culture, to interact with students and local families and to tour leading historical and tourist sites in the region.

The delegation’s visit was the result of VCU’s partnership with Fudan University and Beijing Foreign Studies University, part of VCU’s efforts to internationalize its campuses. During his presidency, VCU President Eugene P. Trani has established significant linkages with universities in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. By the end of 2007, VCU will have developed university-wide partnerships with 15 universities, most with academic medical centers, that will include universities in India, South America and Mexico.

East meets West: Visiting students from Fudan University and Beijing University interact with costumed history interpreters during a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Photo courtesy of Jiang Yingying.
East meets West: Visiting students from Fudan University and Beijing University interact with costumed history interpreters during a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. Photo courtesy of Jiang Yingying.

“The VCU student interns are the vehicle for learning about American culture,” said Julie Harris, coordinator of the Fudan/Beijing American Studies Program.  “And the student interns benefit because they are interacting with members of another culture.” 

VCU student intern Mathew Dusewicz said participating in the program opened his eyes to how other people live.

“I thought it would be an interesting experience and I’d get to meet interesting people and I was right,” Dusewicz said.  

Zhang Xiaoying is a professor of English at Beijing Foreign Studies University.  She said the students chose VCU’s program over others in California and Hawaii because it offered key advantages.

“This is a very detailed program.  The students can envision with great detail what they can do in a month.  It also includes trips to Washington D.C. and New York and perhaps most importantly, the students get a wonderful overview of American culture by studying a wide range of topics, including business, government, history, the media, poetry and the arts,” said Zhang.

The students were amazed by Virginia Beach, thrilled by the rides at Busch Gardens and very interested in the daily lectures they attended at VCU.  But they said the genuine friendliness of every person they met surprised them most. 

“We tend to think Americans are arrogant.  When I came here it turned out very nice, said 20-year-old Yao Cheng, a student at Beijing Foreign Studies University.  Cheng said the VCU interns and even passersby were kind and helpful.

Friendliness from strangers can be a little startling when you aren’t expecting it. 

“I was walking down the street and I was scared because someone said ‘hello’,” said 20-year-old Ding Xiao Xi, a student at Beijing Foreign Studies University.  Not quite knowing what to do, she said hello back and kept walking.

Front row from left: Liu Kang, Fu Xiaolei, Phuc Tran and Chai Ruoping (standing) take a break from a bus tour of Richmond. The visiting students posted blogs and pictures of their experiences here. Photo courtesy of Chai Ruoping.
Front row from left: Liu Kang, Fu Xiaolei, Phuc Tran and Chai Ruoping (standing) take a break from a bus tour of Richmond. The visiting students posted blogs and pictures of their experiences here. Photo courtesy of Chai Ruoping.

While the students enjoyed the “warmth” of the people they met, they also encountered their share of “chills” too.

“Everything is very cold.  People here drink ice water, freezing drinks, cold milk.  In China, we don’t have ice in our water and we heat our milk.  I’ve been thinking that maybe cold food takes less time,” said 19-year-old Jing Linye, a student at Fudan University.  “And the air conditioning is set very low and you really notice it when it’s so hot outside,” she said.

The students experienced their first hamburgers, tacos and pizza.  And they were amazed at the large portions of food served in American restaurants.

Several students expressed surprise at the independence of young people in the United States and the strong work ethic of American employees.

“The American people work hard and play hard. And because they work hard, they deserve to play hard,” said Jing.

Several of the students were also surprised by the amount of Chinese-made goods available in U.S. stores, which made buying American souvenirs for friends and family a little challenging.

“The first thing I do is look at the price. Then I look to see if it says “made in China.”  I don’t want to buy that,” said Ding.

The students also visited Washington, D.C., and New York City before a farewell dinner at VCU on Aug. 9.

As part of their experience, the students posted blogs and pictures of their time in the United States.  To check out their impressions of VCU and the United States, visit http://blog.vcu.edu/abroad/.