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The BU Chinese program provides countless out of class opportunities for students to gain real cultural experiences and meet the Chinese department community. Hosting events like the Mid Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year events has allowed me to learn in a hands on environment. Additionally, I have loved all of my Chinese language and literature classes at BU because the faculty are so passionate about teachings, educated, and happy to help students pursue their Chinese studies.

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I think the Chinese department does an amazing job coming up with events with a wide range of topics and activities. Every year, there is a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration and Chinese New Year celebration that draws a large crowd. There are also many smaller scale events like arts and crafts that are very good at fostering a sense of community and encourages us to bond with fellow Chinese learners.

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Learning Chinese has opened up new ways of thinking for me: Chinese idioms and phrases that do not exist in English have given me the ability to express myself in ways I could not express myself in English.

Much of my family lives in India, and though the culture there is very different from Chinese culture, the two cultures share values like respect and familial relationships. Through learning words in Chinese to describe family members, social norms, etc., I have also been better able to understand and express the values in my Indian culture.

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As I had attained a solid foundation and a wealth of cultural knowledge through my coursework in BU's Chinese program, I was accepted to Tsinghua University's International Program for Chinese language. My foundations in Chinese from the BU program allowed me to excel in my coursework and make rapid progress on my language skills while in Beijing. During my time abroad, I found that both the language and content I had acquired at my BU Chinese courses was profoundly relevant. Using the language skills I developed throughout my time at Boston University, I was able to engage with native speakers about relevant cultural topics. For example, I learned about many contemporary trends in my "Chinese in Modern Society" course, such as AI, work culture, and news media. My knowledge of these subjects enable me to orient myself in discussions of modern daily life. I also visited many museums in China, which I was able to relate to my experience studying different museum exhibits in "Topics in Chinese Media." I am very grateful for the rigor and structure of the BU Chinese program, which prepared me to live and study in China at an advanced level.

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One of the ways I find learning Chinese extremely valuable is for relationships. Being able to meet new people, make new friends, and even communicating to some family members in their native language is really important to me. Learning Chinese for several semesters at BU allows me to do all of that, and I defiantly recommend the Chinese program for any students that want to add another language to their belt or try something new!

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Share a book, film, song, or specific course assignment or project from your BU Chinese classes that has had the lasting impact on you, and explain why

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BU Community and Support: Beyond the content, what is it about the Chinese program faculty, staff, or events or community at BU that has made your learning experience uniquely positive?

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How learning Chinese has changed your perspective on a global or cultural issue, or maybe even on your own culture?

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Have you used your Chinese skills or BU-gained cultural understanding in an internship, a study abroad experience, or a professional networking situation? Share a brief video or story about a time when your Chinese courses directly opened a door for you.

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Here is a link to the Chinese skit my groupmates and I performed in our first semester Chinese class (LC111). Through the skit we got to practice our Chinese speaking and also using the grammar structures. It gave me more confidence to use Chinese in real life. I had lots of fun with this project and was able to show my progress of learning Chinese to my Asian relatives.