Weber State Student Connects With Chinese Students And Culture

There are political and geographical divisions in this world that sometimes prevent people from connecting closely with one another.

At Weber State University, however, there is a mixing of cultures and people.  Among the many students that come from a variety of countries, there are many students from the People's Republic of China who are going to Weber State right now.

As I was coming up with an idea for this blog, I was eating my lunch with three Chinese students during my lunch break in the Shepherd Union Building on Thursday Nov. 17, 2011. They knew how to speak some English.  I was able to carry a conversation with one of the Chinese girls about languages, like Spanish and Chinese, and how we learn languages differently.

My experiences during my lunch break gave me an idea for my blog.  I wanted to write about how I got to know the Chinese students through their experiences in the United States compared to their homeland.  

The Weber State Chinese Club finally hosted a potluck dinner on Friday Nov. 18, 2011 at the University Village Community Center.  I made some chocolate chip cookies in the hopes of sharing the popular American dessert with my fellow Chinese students.  Two of the Chinese students told me that the cookies tasted really good.  I also enjoyed eating most of the traditional Chinese dishes like fried rice and seeing fried eggplant for the first time.

I was able to conduct an interview with Ellen Guo, one of my fellow Chinese students.  I asked her questions about how the American culture was different from the Chinese culture.  Her answers really opened my mind.  I wanted to know more about Chinese culture as the interview progressed.

Guo mentioned that she went camping for the first time two months ago.  During the trip, she enjoyed eating s'mores, shooting shotguns, and seeing the stars clearly in the sky.  Guo mentioned that in China, she never saw the stars as the cities like Shanghai are so bright, shiny and polluted.   There was no concept of "s'mores" and it was actually illegal for a Chinese civilian to carry or shoot a gun in China.  She also said that seeing the sports of American football and ice hockey were a new experience for her.

When I asked Guo about her experiences at Weber State, she told me that if she had the chance to stay at Weber State for four years, she would've joined more clubs and made many more friends up there.  At that moment, I realized that even if Ellen Guo and I came from different countries, we shared a strong passion for being Weber State students. 

Some of the traditional Chinese dishes served at the Potluck Dinner in University Village
on Friday Nov. 17, 2011.  The dishes included fried eggplant at the bottom right-hand corner,
eggs and tomato juice, and a potato, onion, and meat toppings for the steamed or fried rice. (Photo/Austen Snow)

One of Weber State's Chinese students, Ellen Guo, smiles for the camera at
University Village on Friday Nov. 17, 2011.  This photo was taken
with her permission for the purpose of this blog.  Guo and several other
Chinese students are attending Weber State University for two years on
an exchange program from Shanghai Normal University in Shanghai, China. (Photo/Austen Snow)