Experience in Italy

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Okay, first of all, could you briefly introduce your background of studying abroad in Europe? What were your impressions of the culture and people there?

 

I studied abroad in Italy, which is a beautiful country. I stayed in Rome, which is a rather ancient city. Italy has some of the world's best museums, such as the Vatican Museums. The whole city feels like you're walking inside a museum, but it's a bit dirty and chaotic. The city's infrastructure is more suitable for tourism, but if you want to live there long-term, it takes some time to adapt. Various procedures in the city are quite slow, like getting an ID card or a healthcare card; you have to wait a long time. It's a bit frustrating. Also, if you make an appointment for a haircut at 3 PM and arrive at 3:05 or 3:10, the barber might tell you they've gone for coffee. Italy's main industries are tourism and craftsmanship, so living there allows you to experience the beauty of life and its people. People in Italy are generally friendly, and even strangers will greet you kindly.

 

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Italian Food

 

What do you think of the food in Italy?

 

Italian cuisine is among the best in Europe. For example, pasta isn't overly refined; it has a rustic and delicious quality. There are some fine, expensive restaurants, but even in simpler ones with a history of a hundred or a few hundred years, each restaurant has its own unique flavors. However, you might encounter not-so-good restaurants if you just walk into any random place. Rome, in particular, is very touristy, filled with restaurants, cafes, and water vendors. It's best to do some research to find the good places.

 

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Cultural Differences

 

The next question is, when you first arrived there, did

you feel significant cultural differences or even cultural

clashes?

 

Firstly, Italy is one of the most welcoming countries

in Europe for Chinese people, much like France. I did

not feel significant cultural differences, and there were

​not many cultural conflicts. However, I can give you an

example. At my school, one of my teachers fell into a

bereavementbecause it was the day of his teacher’s

passing, and the day of his teacher's passing coincided

with Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. So, I

didn't feel like attending any funeral activities on that

day, as it was the Lunar New Year, and the New Year

festivities were essential for me. Even though I was far

from home, the people at my boarding school had great respect for Chinese culture. We came from various countries, even though we were studying in Italy. We came from more than 30 different countries in total. Normally, we had chefs to cook for us, but one day, I decided to make everyone dumplings because I had a craving for them. Fortunately, I knew how to make dumplings as my mother had taught me before I left. This included kneading the dough and rolling out the dumpling wrappers. I brought a rolling pin with me to Italy, and I bought the rest of the ingredients from a Chinese supermarket. That day, I made around 150 dumplings, but they were huge, like the kind you might find in a dim sum restaurant. I was in a rush, so I stuffed the fillings quite generously. Also, some people didn't eat meat, so I had to make two types, one with meat and one without. In total, there were probably nearly 200-300 dumplings. They loved them and finished them in no time. It was a day when they could feel how important a particular food was to people from a different country, a sort of cultural devotion. I didn't do anything else that day; I was determined to make those dumplings well. It was a significant cultural exchange. In our culture, we must eat a certain food on each holiday, and if we don't, it's like not celebrating the festival at all. The dumplings turned out great and we all got to experience our different cultural foods and traditions. I explained to them in Latin about China's traditional New Year, including our use of the lunar calendar. Ancient Rome also used the lunar calendar. We all lived with the wisdom of ancient civilizations, and the traditions of our ancestors have been passed down for thousands of years. We've been celebrating this festival for a long time, for over a thousand or two thousand years. We've always had the tradition of the Spring Festival, and we've kept celebrating it. However, the Romans might not have the same tradition. They've been influenced by Christianity, so they might celebrate Easter and Christmas. They follow those influences. We have our own legends, myths, festivals, and beliefs.

 

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Language Selection Experience

 

Did you major in Latin at university, and are you now teaching Latin?

 

In college, I majored in French, and now I teach Latin. This is because I did my master's in Latin. My master's degree was in classical studies, which included both Latin and Ancient Greek. However, at the time, when I was studying classical studies, it was required for us to learn two classical languages together. Learning one first and then the other would take too much time. So, learning both together was a bit challenging, but I preferred Latin. When I was studying French in college, there weren't many options for majors, so I was already quite happy to be able to major in that field. I enjoyed learning languages, and because I had prior exposure in high school, my teachers recommended that I continue. They said, "You've done well in your undergraduate studies in French. Would you like to add another language in your master's to enhance your skills?" I agreed, and it made sense to look at Latin since French has its roots in Latin. Coincidentally, a Latin Language and Culture Center was established at Beijing Foreign Studies University that year. It was the first intake, and the teacher happened to be one who had taught me before. He asked if I was interested in learning Latin, and I joined the program, which eventually led to my trip to Italy.


Difference in Education

 

Do you think there are any differences between education in Europe and education in China?

 

I can speak about the differences between foreign universities in China and purely Chinese universities. For instance, in foreign universities, like Beijing Foreign Studies University in China, they focus on more elite education. We have around 1,500 students in total for undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. In contrast, a comprehensive, fully Chinese university in China may enroll tens of thousands of students in one year. At our university, we have around 800-900 undergraduate students. Among them, there are students studying nearly 100 different languages, which has now turned into only around 60-70 languages. So, it's quite a small class for each language. We are quite intense about language learning abroad. Besides attending classes, we also practice speaking and actively seek language exchange partners. There are many international students at our university who come to learn Chinese, but they don't have many opportunities to practice. So when they make friends with us, they mostly speak the language we're learning, which is simpler for them, but it's more challenging for us. We're all under pressure to achieve our individual goals, such as pursuing further studies, scholarships, or internships. Particularly when we take interpretation and translation courses, the competition is fierce, and the instructors have high expectations. They might say that if a student can't meet the standards, they should sit at the back. It might sound harsh in a university setting, but the teacher is just trying to emphasize the importance of doing homework and working diligently before attending class. We all experienced high levels of stress. In our dining hall, we don't just eat; we study for almost 14 hours a day. Library space is limited, but because of the nature of language learning, we need to converse, so most of us go to the dining hall to study. We're quite intense. Italy also has both prestigious and ordinary universities. In prestigious schools, competition is fierce. In my field of study, many students came from top institutions like Harvard, and some of my classmates were from Harvard and had studied the Latin language for nearly ten years since middle school. I felt immense pressure when I first arrived there, especially because my school's ranking in the QS World University Rankings was among the lowest, and my classmates came from prestigious schools like Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford, as well as good schools like the University of Sydney. I came from a Chinese language university. We all learned together, and this experience was one of the most precious in my life. I made friends from more than 40 countries, and many of us still keep in touch. Bitter experiences have left sweet memories. Even though it might seem like we're ‘lying flat’, so to speak, we in reality are all working hard. In foreign universities, if you don't meet the GPA requirements, you won't graduate. Unlike in Chinese universities, where students can sometimes graduate even if they don't want to study much, in foreign universities, if you don't submit assignments or papers on time, there's no negotiation. China still has exams, and as long as you pass the exam, you’ll have adequate scores. However, in foreign universities, you need to complete reading lists, homework, presentations, and missing the deadlines is not an option.

 

 

BASIS system

 

Do you think that BASIS's education is similar to education abroad, or do you have any opinions on the current BASIS system?

 

This is called not knowing the full picture. Even if I knew the

full picture, I wouldn’t comment on it. BASIS's educational

system has many components. It was largely imported from

the United States but has undergone some localization and

optimization to better suit our students. Some of the students

have English as their native language, while the majority are

native Chinese speakers. The aim is to enhance the students'

English, but it can sometimes be a bit too intense, with various

challenges. English is very linguistic, and oral output is a crucial

aspect. I'm a language teacher, and I know this. However, what

matters to me more is the quality of students' language output.

If they only stick to "hi," "hello," "how are you," and "fine," even

these basic expressions in English can have grammar mistakes.

What I value is whether students can speak accurately, whether

they can express their thoughts precisely, whether their grammar is correct, and whether their sentences conform to standards. It's about the quality of their output, not just the quantity.

 

 

Western Dining in Shenzhen

 

In Shenzhen, being a big city, you can find many Western restaurants. Do you have any recommendations or favorites among them? What are your thoughts on these restaurants?

 

Shenzhen is a large city, and like any major city, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or even my hometown, Yantai, you can find a mix of Chinese and Western restaurants everywhere. Yantai, for example, has many famous Italian restaurants. Most of the Western restaurants in Shenzhen are optimized and adapted to suit the tastes of the general public because they need to attract customersfrom a large melting pot of people. In addition, they have to cater to the tastes of most Chinese people. If they follow only the tastes of Italians, they might not have as many customers because regional tastes can differ. For instance, Italians don't usually eat spicy food, but many people in our area love spicy food. We can't do without it. Italian cuisine is also known for its cheese, but when I first went to Italy, I had an upset stomach from eating cheese and couldn't digest it properly. But over time, after a month or two, I got used to it. I've come to like the authentic, original restaurants more. The ones that make changes or adaptations, like putting pineapple or durian on a pizza, I find a bit amusing. I mean, I prefer thin-crust pizzas. I've never been to Pizza Hut because I feel full even after just looking at the menu. I want to taste the fillings; I'm not just interested in the crust. If you want to try both at the same time, then you won't get the real taste. If someone asks me if there's Western food in China and if it's good, I would say yes, and it's delicious.I mean, we have durian pizza! Doesn't that sound a bit funny? My frequency of eating Chinese and Western food is about even. I mainly prefer making simpler meals for myself. Simple sandwiches or pan-fried breads are enough. I haven't really kept track of whether I eat more Chinese or Western food. I decide based on what I feel like eating that day. I think the way we perceive food is different now. We talk less about American food or French food, but rather whether something is delicious or not, whether we like it or not. We rarely talk about which country or ethnicity the food comes from.

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