Study Abroad with UNA
China
Started From the Bottom Now We’re Here
Two words: Mt. Tai. I have never seen something so astonishing in my entire life. Climbing Mt. Tai was hands down the most phenomenal experience of my twenty years on Earth. That is not an exaggeration. It was such a challenge and such a struggle to climb up 6,500 steps, but when I finished, I felt like I could conquer the world. We all encouraged each other and pushed ourselves. We even made some Chinese friends along the way! We kept asking how much further and someone finally answered us in English! She told us we … // Read more
True Cultural Experience
Call a cab in New York and call a cab in China and let me know what you think. It is quite a feat to get a cab in the middle of Tian Jin–far more difficult than getting a cab in New York City. With some help from a girl from Florida State University, we finally got a few cabs for our first night out on the town. Only four people can ride in a cab so we all had to split up. It is hard to even explain the traffic in Tian Jin. There are basically no road … // Read more
A China Tale- Chelsea Hughes
Today was our last night in Tianjin! They served us a beautiful farewell dinner, where the employee’s from TJFSU expressed their overwhelming gratitude for us visiting their university. The past couple of days have been very hectic though. Most classes were winding down and all the students were trying to do some last minute sight seeing as well. Yesterday, was also our performance of Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale.” We have been rehearsing daily for this amazing opportunity to perform in CHINA! The show started at 7:00pm and we already had students in the auditorium by 5:45pm. They were so excited … // Read more
Welcome Home!- Chelsea Hughes
This weekend I experienced Tianjin on a totally new level….I was fostered by a Chinese family! On Saturday, all of the UNA students went home to spend the night with a host family. At first, I was a little nervous to be staying with people I did not even know, but I soon gave into the idea that this would be a great story to share with my grand-kids one day. I had two girls, Mindy and Fiona, pick me up at the school. Then, by subway, met Hailey at Culture Street. After I spent the day learning the history … // Read more
Toe Up About Confucius
Confucius is one of the most well-known philosophers in history, and we got the privilege of touring different areas related to his life. It was incredibly interesting to see the history all around me. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous. Aside from the gorgeous scenery and fascinating history around me, all I could think about was the toe I stubbed the day before. My poor little pinky toe was in so much pain. (I’m a baby, I know). It started pouring down rain, and I had forgotten my rain jacket. After getting soaked, I remembered that I … // Read more
Let’s go to the Opera!- Chelsea Hughes
The past couple of days have been so fun! On Thursday night, we went on a boat right of the Haihe River. The view of Tianjin along the river was beautiful! Yesterday, we had some ladies who performed in the Beijing Opera come and speak to us. They performed famous pieces from the Opera, which included singing and dancing. They had trained since they were 12 years old to become performers in the opera. When their dreams finally came true, they were four women selected out of 2,000 others. Before the class was over, they taught some of us their … // Read more
On a Mission- Chelsea Hughes
We have spent the last couple of days truly soaking in the Chinese culture. We had a class on the development, food, language, and art of Tianjin. During the class, I fell in love with all the different types of artwork, especially the ones made out of CANDY! I was now on a mission to find this beautiful art, so the next day we ventured out to Culture Street again. While on my hunt for candy art, I came across a man who was hand painting calligraphy on to a scroll. It was so amazing to watch him effortlessly create … // Read more
Fine China
After arriving in Beijing, we took a bus to Tian Jin Foreign Studies University (TFSU). As the bus drove through the city of Tian Jin, we were all in amazement. It is like nothing I have ever seen. I immediately fell in love with the city. The university is its own little town. It is absolutely beautiful, and I felt right at home. The dorm rooms are incredibly nice, and there is even a television with a few American channels that I never even wanted to turn on and watch. There was too much fun to be had … // Read more
Tokyo Drift
After many hours of traveling, we made it to Tokyo, Japan for our 22-hour layover. We went on a bus tour of the city and got to explore some of the most popular streets. One of the most fascinating sites was the busiest pedestrian walkway in the world. There were hundreds and hundreds of people crossing the walkway when we pulled up to it. Tokyo was very similar to America’s New York–very busy and lots of shopping. It was, however, rather quiet to be such a big city. Our stay there was short-lived, but very worth it. I am … // Read more
Is Anyone Going to Dallas?!
I’m writing this while on a 13 hour flight to Tokyo where we have a 24 hour layover. We will get to go on a bus tour of Tokyo and fly out for Beijing the next morning. While all that sounds grand and simple, it was a real struggle to get here. Remember when I mentioned that stupid things like having a virus would happen to me? Well some more fun things have been happening to me all day, and all before it was even 8 am. I don’t even get up that early. Ever. After the kiosk … // Read more
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