Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to the Chinese Language Club. This semester you will learn how to read, write, and speak Mandarin Chinese! Our first meeting is Monday, September 14th from 8:00-9:30 pm in CUB 316. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. We will be meeting every Monday of the semester at the same location and time. If there are any changes made to either the location or time you will be notified by me.

 

I congratulate all of you for signing up, showing the interest and desire to learn a language is the first step. Chinese is a difficult language to learn but we make it enjoyable for everyone. Old members will tell you that meetings are fun and structured, in that once everyone arrives we jump right into learning. We also incorporate Chinese cultural into the learning experience as the language and cultural are connected.

 

Please bring a piece of paper/note pad and a pen/pencil. The Club will provide handouts for everyone. Also, if you know of anyone who is interested and is not attached to the email list please forward this message to them and send me their contact information.

 

I look forward to seeing everyone! If anyone has suggestions, concerns, or comments please email at your convenience.

 

Best regards,

 

JohnPaul Bennett

717-645-2464 (I do not receive texting so if you need to contact me call me, thanks)

 

From May 5-29 I traveled to Beijing, China to conduct field research and present a paper completed during last semester (08-09) at the International Trade and Finance Association conference. Unfortunately, the conference was cancel due to the threat of swine flu. Also, I met with universities in Beijing to discuss a possible exchange program with Shippensburg, they meetings were successful to making Shippensburg a known university abroad. Returning to Beijing was refreshing and the familiarity of smells, foods, and language came back instantly. I was able to meet with friends and colleagues from the previous trip. The objectives of going to China were different from studying abroad so I dealt with new challenges and was on my own. Surprisingly I retained most of my language ability. The first time I was in a frustrating situation I relied on my language ability to get me out instead of doing charades. The value gained from the experience was priceless. I departed late May and returned home for about 10 days.

I was accepted into the National Science Foundation/Central Washington University Undergraduate Research Program. The program focused on conducting field research on the Great Western Development, rural peasants, and water policy across China's Loess Plateau. There were 12 undergraduate students in the program, divided into 4 teams of 3. Our team, the Economists, studied the Great Western Development Strategy.

 

The exposure of being in western China was extremely beneficial to my understanding of China as a whole. I was very humbled by what I witnessed and gained a sense appreciation. I am very thankful for those who made it the experience possible and everyone who supported me during the semester.

I was accepted into the National Science Foundation/Central Washington University Undergraduate Research Program. The program focused on conducting field research on the Great Western Development, rural peasants, and water policy across China's Loess Plateau. There were 12 undergraduate students in the program, divided into 4 teams of 3. Our team, the Economists, studied the Great Western Development Strategy.

The exposure of being in western China was extremely beneficial to my understanding of China as a whole. I was very humbled by what I witnessed and gained a sense appreciation. I am very thankful for those who made it the experience possible and everyone who supported me during the semester.