Congratulations to our new scholar Sian!
Sian has spent the first semester of her third year working in Strasbourg, France. She is studying a 4 year undergraduate degree in French, Spanish and European Union Studies.
From September 2014 Sian has been working as a Marketing, Communication and Translation Intern for Decantala (a Barcelona-based wine merchant).
We will keep you posted on Sian’s progress over the coming months!
Congratulations to our new scholar Phoebe!
Phoebe will be travelling to Germany in March 2015 to study German at the University in Jena.
In July 2015 Phoebe plans to start work in Germany
We will keep you posted on Phoebe’s progress over the coming months!
Although I have not been to every province in China, I honestly think Yunnan is one of the best provinces to visit in China. I started my journeyby flying into Kunming from Xiamen and then took a 7 hour sleeper bus to Yuanyang to see sunrise over the rice terraces. The sunrise was very beautiful (photo below). I wish I would’ve been able to see sunset, but due to bus timings this wasn’t possible
My next destination was Jinghong city in Xishuangbanna region. This area borders Laos and Myanmar, and the cultural influence is obvious. In this region the main ethnic group are the Dai people. Their accents when speaking Mandarin were extremely difficult to understand! Jinghong had some strange huge elephant statues all over the city (rather tacky), but the highlight of Jinghong was the night market they had all the ‘chuanr’ (kebab-like food) anyone could ever want.
今年二月我和我男友Nick在渔村过春节了。那边就是我朋友丈夫的家乡。那个渔村坐落在 福建省泉州市的附近，离厦门市开车要两个小时。这个渔村里的人都姓肖，在村里一喊出 “小肖”来，周边所有的人会回头看你。
在中国不能两手空空的去别人家，提前准备礼物很重要的。在厦门一个德国男人劝我们买一条当地特色的鱼送给他们，因为“鱼”与“余”谐音，所以鱼象征着富贵，但是到了与市场 我们俩决定自己在袋子里带还活着的鱼是受不了的，还是送一蓝水果、一瓶马莎红酒、一朵兰花吧。
肖厝村的渔民都靠天气吃饭，所以他们很看重祭祖、拜佛等。我们开进小村时，家人和邻居都去“拜拜”了(闽南话）。在这种安安全的社区，家家户户都没装门，路上能看到里面的“拜家堂”， 他们摆了美酒、佳肴、时令果品，供列祖列宗享用，还点燃香纸蜡烛。拜天地带来好运气，保证渔民在海上的安全。
在渔村天天都吃新鲜的海鲜，年夜饭满桌摆上了大螃蟹，大虾，牡蛎，干慢鱼汤，鱼头，海带，海参，海鲜面线。厦门这边也有很多奇怪的水果，比如杨桃、鸡蛋果(本地人用吸管喝这个！）、莲雾。大让我吃惊的是这边的人最爱喝的是红酒。红酒这个外来就在这么小的村里红了！好像是因为白酒味道很强，南方人受不了，而啤酒配海鲜对身体不好。
据风俗初一初二不能走离家远的路，所以我们在附近玩了两天。我们坐大爷朋友的海船出了海，海上波涛汹涌，让我朋友小女儿很开心，能看到本地人海网里养的牡蛎海带等。白白的海鸥在风飘飘，寻找小鱼。对面的岛屿，那边的人一直都放鞭炮，吵得不得了！那天我们还去了明朝的老房子。房子都是用黄石头一块一块扣在一起。有的用糯米代替那个时候没有的水泥
他们肖家庭的房子有屋顶，除夕那天的晚上我们就站那里看着小港上面的烟花，鲜艳的大火照亮蓝黑的天空。中国大城市，比如北京上海不能放鞭炮的，因此在乡下过春节味道要浓多了。周边邻居都互相认识，随便去隔壁家祝福新春快乐，享用年夜饭，互相敬一杯
在他们肖家我认识了一个小妹妹同我一样叫“小白”，阿姑告诉我们她可怜的故事，她父母早就走了，现在只有她爷爷还在呢，父母把她给保姆家养，可是保姆家不管，阿姑第一次见到她大为吃惊，妹妹还不能自己走路。妹妹现在在他们肖家里，可是大家都很忙所以大时候小妹妹就自己玩，自己也去睡觉，就抱抱她的小兔子和娃娃。这个小妹妹很活泼，也很独立，年龄才三岁。话也都是她自己学会的。这个天天高高兴兴的小女孩让我很感动，也让我想起在乡下女孩地位低的问题，很都女孩是不要的，父母也不管，中国乡村有很远的路要走 才能有城市一样发达
在他们渔村里，一个房子有几层楼代表那户家庭有几个儿子。他们肖家有两个儿子，所以房子三楼高。大姐哥哥妹妹弟弟四个孩子都带自己的家庭回家乡看大爷和奶奶。大家团聚了气氛很热闹！中国春节像是英国圣诞节和元旦的习惯混在一起。我永远会很珍惜这个在中国家庭里过春节的回忆。
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
This February I spent Chinese New Year in a fishing village with by boyfriend Nick. The village is the birthplace of my friend’s husband, and is located near Quanzhou in Fujian Province. It’s only a two hour drive from Xiamen. Everyone in the village has the same surname, so if you call out “Xiao” there then everyone around you will turn around to look.
In China you cannot visit someone else’s home empty handed. Preparing gifts in advance is crucial. In Xiamen a German resident urged us to buy a local fish, because fish sounds like surplus in Chinese, and so fish symbolises wealth and fortune. However we decided after we got to the fish market that carrying a live fish in a bag was unbearable, so instead we settled on a basket of fresh fruit, a bottle of red wine (from M&S in Suzhou) and an orchid.
In Xiancuo village the fishing people rely on good weather to survive, so sacrificing to their ancestors and Buddha is very important. When we drove up, the rest of the family and their neighbours had gone to “bai bai” (Fujian dialect for going to pray in front on the offerings). In this peaceful community, no house had a front door, and so on our way we could see their red shrines inside decorated with good wine, delicious plates of food, seasonal fruit, all lined up in front of the ancestors. Candles and incense were burning around them. Sacrificing offerings to the heavens and earth can also bring good luck, keeping the fishermen safe at sea.
In the fishing village they eat fresh seafood every day. On New Year Eve the dinner table groaned under the weight of crabs, prawns, mussels, eel, fish heads, seaweed, sea cucumbers and seafood rice noodles. In Xiamen they also have many strange fruits such as star fruit, wax pears, and passion fruit (which people here suck out with a straw!).
What surprised me on New Year was that the people here most favoured alcohol is red wine. How could this foreign imported alcohol be popular here! It seems to be white spirits which are popular in the North are too strong for southern palettes, and beer is not good for you when accompanying seafood.
On the first and second day of the New Year you cannot travel too far from one’s home according to custom, so we explored the local area for two days. We took the boat of the grandfather’s friend out to sea, which was very choppy, much to the amusement of my friend’s little daughter. You could see the mussels and seaweed they grew out there in nets. White seagulls floated on air currents looking for small fish. On the opposite island, people constantly let of firecrackers, which was deafening!
We also went to see some old Ming dynasty houses that day, which were pieced together out of yellow stone. Some were held together with ground rice paste, because at that time cement was non-existent in China.
The Xiao family’s home had a roof which we stood on New Year’s Eve to watch the fireworks over the small harbour. The colourful lights lit up the dark navy sky. In large cities in China such as Beijing or Shanghai, they are not permitted to set off firecrackers, so it is much more authentic to spend New Year in the countryside. Everyone knows one another, and goes round each other’s house to share the New Year meal and cheers one another.
There was a little girl in the Xiao family called “Little White” (the same nickname as me). The younger auntie told us her sad story. Her parents had left long ago, and now only her grandfather remained. She had been given to a nanny’s family to be looked after, but they had not looked after her properly. The first time this auntie had seen her, the little girl had not been taught how to walk. Now Little White lived in the Xiao family household, but as everyone was very busy she often played alone and even slept by herself, with only her little toy rabbit and doll to cuddle. The little girl was very lively, and independent, even at the age of three. She had learnt to speak by herself. This happy little girl really moved me, and made me think of the low social status of women in the countryside. Lots of new-born girls are unwanted, and parents don’t look after them. The gap between the countryside and the cities still remains large.
In this fishing village, how many floors a house has represents how many sons that household has. In this household there were two sons, so the house was three stories high. The two sisters and brothers had all come back with their own families to see their parents. With everyone reunited back together there was a great lively atmosphere. Chinese New Year reminded me of our Christmas and New Year traditions mixed together.
I will definitely remember spending Chinese New Year with a family forever.
There was a little girl in the Xiao family called “Little White” (the same nickname as me). The younger auntie told us her sad story. Her parents had left long ago, and now only her grandfather remained. She had been given to a nanny’s family to be looked after, but they had not looked after her properly. The first time this auntie had seen her, the little girl had not been taught how to walk. Now Little White lived in the Xiao family household, but as everyone was very busy she often played alone and even slept by herself, with only her little toy rabbit and doll to cuddle. The little girl was very lively, and independent, even at the age of three. She had learnt to speak by herself.
This happy little girl really moved me, and made me think of the low social status of women in the countryside. Lots of new-born girls are unwanted, and parents don’t look after them. The gap between the countryside and the cities still remains large
C’est incroyable que ces derniers 6 mois ont passés tellement vite; comme j’écris ce report, il reste juste 5 jours jusqu’a je pars le mercredi soir. Je pense que ce mois a été le plus bénéfique pour moi en termes de mes compétences de français; au travail j’ai été déterminé de parler et d’améliorer le français autant que possible, en sachant que quand je pars Montpellier et aller en Espagne, je ne pourrais pas avoir l’occasion de parler français très souvent. Mon amie, Zoe, qui je travaillais avec, a terminé son stage à Capifrance un mois avant moi, donc il y a beaucoup plus de travail à faire pour moi en raison de son absence.
Il y a deux semaines, je suis allée à Bordeaux pour célébrer l’anniversaire d’un des mes amies. Elle habite dans une ville s’appelle Périgueux qui est situé très proche à Bordeaux et on a des autres amis qui vivent dans le centre-ville, donc nous sommes restées avec eux pour le weekend comme il était beaucoup moins cher que réserver un hôtel pour deux nuits. Bordeaux est une très grande ville et c’est aussi très jolie, elle ma rappelle un peu de Paris. Nous avons mangés dans un restaurant s’appelle entrecôte ce qui est bien connu partout en France; ils offrent un menu fixe, qui comprend d’une entrée de salade, steak cuit exactement comment vous souhaitez dans un sauce spéciale et des accompagnements illimitées de pain et des frites. C’était un très bon weekend, nous avons fait la fête, nous avons fait du shopping, nous avons visitées le Cathédral de Bordeaux et nous sommes montées les 231 marches de la Tour Pey-Berland qui vous permet de découvrir une vue panoramique sur toute la ville.
Je voulais de profiter de mon dernier weekend à Montpellier, donc j’ai pris le tram pour aller en centre-ville le samedi matin, comme j’habite aux portes de la ville. J’ai marché autour de la ville et j’ai visite touts de mes lieux préférés tels que; Le Promenade du Peyrou, La Comédie et L’Esplanade Charles de Gaulle. J’ai pris beaucoup des photos comme il sera la dernière fois que j’irai de le faire. Il faisait un peu nuageux mais il ne faisait pas trop froid; j’ai passé trois heures dans le centre et j’ai décidé de prendre le déjeuner au Brioche Dorée; enfin c’était un après-midi agréable.
Montpellier va me manquer beaucoup, c’est une ville tellement jolie, en été et en hiver; je suis reconnaissante que j’aie décroché un stage ici et je vous recommande de la visiter si vous avez l’occasion.
English Translation:
It’s unbelievable how fast these last six months have gone, as I’m writing this report, there’s just 5 days left until I leave on Wednesday evening. I think this month has been the most beneficial in terms of my French skills; at work I have been determined to speak and improve my French as much as possible, knowing that when I leave Montpellier and go to Spain, I might not have the opportunity to speak French very often. My friend, Zoe, who I worked with has finished her internship at Capifrance a month before me, so there has been a lot more work for me to do as a result of her absence.
2 weeks ago, I went to Bordeaux to celebrate one of my friends birthday. She lives in a Town called Périgueux which is situated close to Bordeaux and we have some other friends who live in the city-centre so we stayed with them for the weekend as it was much cheaper than reserving a hotel for two nights. Bordeaux is a huge city and it’s also really pretty, it reminds me a little bit of Paris. We ate in a restaurant called Entrecote which is well known all over France; they offer a fixed menu, which includes a salad starter, steak cooked exactly how you like in a special sauce and with unlimited side orders of chips and bread. It was such a good weekend, we went out partying, we did some shopping, we visited Bordeaux Cathedral and we climbed up the 231 steps of the Tour Pey-Berland, which allows you to discover the panoramic view of the whole city.
I wanted to make the most out of my last weekend in Montpellier so I took the tram to go into the centre on Saturday morning, as I live on the outskirts. I walked around the city and visited all my favourite places such as, Le Promenade du Peyrou, La Comédie and L’Esplanade Charles de Gaulle. I took lots of photos, as it will be the last chance I have to do so. It was a bit cloudy but it wasn’t too cold and I decided to have dinner at Brioche Dorée, in the end it was a really nice afternoon.
I’m going to miss Montpellier a lot, it’s such a beautiful city, in summer and winter; I’m grateful that I got an internship here and I recommend you to visit if you have the opportunity.
一般说和在国外学习中文比起来，在北京纯粹的汉语环境中练习中文有好多好处，特别是无限与当地人聊天的机会。我觉得这样的道理辩解我常常坐出租车的习惯。虽然很多与司机的闲谈有点儿像，但是我几次有过很有趣的对话。比如，有一次我遇到了一位对国外非常感到好奇的司机。我告诉他我来自英国以后，他先问我是否在英国每一天都有24个小时。我向他保证在英国每一天的确都有24个小时。接着，他想确认在英国每个星期都有七天，星期一到星期日。我又使他能够放心。然后他问我英国有没有四个季节。这次我开着玩笑说，英国只有两个季节—一个很长的雨季和一个很短的阳光灿烂的季节。不过，我意识到他可能会相信我，所以我决定通知他英国其实也有四个季节。顺便一提,他是一位能够的驾驶人。我向另外一个司机学习，在北京所有开出租车的司机都要考上一个包括英语部分的考试。这个消息让我吃惊，因为大多数外国人对北京司机的英语能力没有很好的印象。她笑着解释她什么外语都记不住。最后，有一位司机敬烟给我，但我不抽烟；并不是说这个事提高了我的口语水平。
过去一个月我旅游到了很多不同以前没去过的地方。其中，云南是我最喜欢的省份。这不仅是因为那里的气候一直很宜人，还是因为尽管我不常欣赏自然风景，在大理和丽江的风景仍然给我留下了很深的印象。一个特殊的亮点就是在大理的山上，在一个茶园做普洱茶。在云南我甚至抽空锻炼：我在丽江的虎跳峡爬了几个小时的山，在大理的洱海骑了七个小时的自行车（我迷路了）。上个月我也享受在日本一边放松一边吃太多日餐。
我最近从河北的石家庄回到了北京。为什么会有人要去河北呢（在中国污染最严重的省份）？当然是为了参加一场国际象棋比赛！我参加了中孚杯的公开组，通过5.5/9的表现得到了个奖金。排在前10名的棋手都很厉害，我认可了几位代表中国的特级大师。除了主要的公开组以外，还有各种年龄组—大概300多个孩子参加了这样比赛—对中国国际象棋的未来看来令人鼓舞。
最后,春节的时候，我和几个朋友从我们位于27楼的房子里看到了成千上万的烟花无休无知地燃放。在北京的表演真壮观，我们一时甚至以为世界毁灭开始了。而且春节时北京几乎没有人，所以使用公交时不用担心人太多。不幸的是，现在我没有坐出租车的借口。
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
It’s said that compared to studying Chinese in England, practising one’s Chinese in a pure Mandarin speaking environment confers a great many advantages, in particular the limitless opportunities to have conversation with locals. For me, this kind of reasoning justifies my habit of frequently taking taxis. Although much of the small talk I’ve had with drivers has been a bit samey, I have had a number of interesting exchanges. For example, I once came across a driver who was particularly curious about the world abroad. After telling him I was from England, he first asked me whether the English day has 24 hours. I assured him that English days do indeed have 24 hours. Following that, he wanted to confirm that the weeks back in England have 7 days – Monday to Sunday. I reassured him they do. Then he asked me whether we have four seasons in England. I joked that we only have two seasons – a long rainy one and a short sunny spell. But realising he would believe me, I decided to inform him that we do actually share another similarity in the form of four seasons. He was, by the way, a very competent driver. I learned from another driver that all Beijing taxi drivers have to pass a test that includes an English language section. This surprised me, as most foreigners’ impressions of Chinese drivers’ English are not very positive. She smiled and explained that she’d already forgotten any English she’d ever known. Finally one generous driver offered me a cigarette, but I don’t smoke; not that this exchange contributed much to my spoken Chinese.
This past month I travelled to a number of places I’d never been before. Yunnan province was my favourite among them. This is not only because of the perpetually pleasant weather, but also because of the beautiful scenery in Dali and Lijiang, which is normally the kind of thing that doesn’t affect me very much. A particular highlight was making Pu’er tea at a plantation in the mountains in Dali. In Yunnan I even managed to find time to exercise: I went hiking in Lijiang’s Tiger Leaping Gorge and cycled for seven hours by Erhai Lake in Dali (I got lost). Last month I also enjoyed a week in Japan, relaxing and eating too much Japanese food.
Recently I returned to Beijing from Hebei’s Shijiazhuang. Why would anyone want to go to Hebei (China’s most polluted province)? To play in a chess tournament obviously! I entered the tournament’s open section, where 5.5/9 was enough to win me a modest cash prize. Those finishing in the top 10 of the event were all serious players, a number of whom I recognised as top Chinese grandmasters from before. Apart from the main open section, there were also various age group categories where around 300 juniors were playing – an encouraging sign for the future of Chinese chess.
Finally for New Year’s, a few friends and I, from our apartment on the 27th floor, watched an endless display of thousands upon thousands of fireworks being set off all over Beijing. The scene in Beijing was truly spectacular, and it even felt at times that we were in the middle of an apocalypse of sorts. During the spring festival in China, Beijing becomes relatively empty, so one does not need to worry about it being too busy on public transport. Unfortunately that means I presently lack an excuse to take a taxi.
Cet mois, j’ai eu la chance et acheté des billets pour le match des 6 nations entre la France et l’Ecosse. Je suis allé au match avec deux amis de l’université, Alastair et Tristan et nous avons brièvement rencontré avec Jeremy, mon coéquipier de rugby, et sa copine (J’ai oublié sa nom) avant le match. Jeremy n’avait pas de confidence sur le match et il se plaignait de la composition française. mais heureusement pour nous- Angleterre avait gagné la veille donc notre seul souci était notre vue parce que nous étions sur la rangée arrière de la tribune haute! Nous sommes entrés dans le stade environ une heure avant le coup d’envoi et nous avons été vraiment surpris à la qualité de la vue, même si nous étions dans les places les moins chères en haut du stade, nous avions une vue exceptionnel. L’atmosphère était incroyable et me donnait la chair de poule quand La Marseillaise a été chanté. Malheureusement, le jeu n’était pas au même niveau que l’atmosphère avant le match et le score final était 15-8 en France sur un match très décevant. Après le match, nous sommes allés chez nous, je dois dire à quel point je ai été impressionné par la rapidité des transports publics. Le réseau de transport est beaucoup plus efficace que ceux autour de nos stades au Royaume-Uni. Ce mois à venir, la France joue contre l’Angleterre et je vais à mon club de rugby et le regarder avec mes coéquipiers -J’espère bien que nous allons gagner
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
This month, I was lucky enough to get my hands on some tickets for the 6 nations rugby game between France and Scotland. I went to the game with 2 friends from university, Alastair and Tristan and we briefly met up with Jeremy, with whom I play rugby, and his girlfriend (whose name I have forgotten) before the game. Jeremy wasn’t very confident about the game and was complaining about the French team selection, but fortunately for us- England had won the evening before so our only worry was what the view was going to be like as we were on the back row of the top tier! We went into the ground about an hour before kick off and we were really surprised at how good the view was, even though we were in the cheapest seats at the top of the stadium- we had an amazing view. The atmosphere was incredible and I got goosebumps when the French national anthem was sung. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t up to the same level as the pre-match atmosphere and the final score ended 15-8 to France on a very underwhelming match. After the game we headed home, I have to say how impressed I was at how quickly the public transport moved the crowd away from the stadium, it really showed us how poor our transport networks are around major stadiums. This coming month, France play against England and I am going to go to the rugby club and watch it with my team mates- I really hope that we can win otherwise I wont hear the end of it!!
新年快来了，我决定尝尝中国文化最普遍，最陈词滥调的方面之一：旅游团。我趁北京大学的大量补贴来订票去风景美丽的南方城市苏州和杭州。并且，南方的温和气候比北京的凄冷冬天顺意得多。
我们坐子弹火车所以5个小时以后我们达到苏州。 我们的引导员自己对我们介绍， 他叫李叔叔。李叔叔和热情老师十分相似，全旅行和小学旅行十分相似。我们吃饭，睡觉和如厕的时候都在时刻表。我们不能偏离李叔叔用红旗帜表明的路线。更好的是李叔叔介绍每个旅游景点，从早到晚我不操心安排自己旅游。
最有意思景点之一是朱家角 —有几百年历史，为运河著称的集镇 ， 有人叫这个城市‘中国的威尼斯。’虽然朱家角的风景很漂亮，虽然杂技表示 ， 一位‘蚕男’爬上被风摇晃的高竹子，很好玩儿，拥挤在接到的大量人是最扣人心弦的方面。我一辈子只经验这么多人圣诞前夕那天在伦敦购物。对我来说， 最好玩儿的景点是在千岛湖包一只小船以参观几个小岛。在这个大湖上是一前多小岛，那个湖的面积约为573平方公里。居然， 千岛湖完全人造， 建立在水坝后面。
在我的看法，在旅行团观光比看苏州和杭州的景点本身有趣。虽然景点很古色古香，挤挤插插地观光在历史性城市的街道刻骨铭心。这个经验完美地表示现代中国的重要方面之一：人口增长。
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
With Chinese New Year just around the corner, I decided to try another common (and much stereotyped) aspect of modern Chinese culture: the group tour. Taking advantage of Peking University’s generous subsidies, I booked a place on an organised trip to the scenic southern cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou. Furthermore, the mild weather in the south gave me a much needed break from Beijing’s bitterly cold winter.
After a 5 hour journey on the bullet train, we reached Suzhou and were introduced to our guide, ‘Uncle Li.’ Uncle Li was reminiscent of an enthusiastic teacher and the whole tour was reminiscent of being on a school trip, all our meals, bedtimes and even bathroom breaks were timetabled and deviating from the route marked by Uncle Li’s red flag was frowned upon. On the upside, we were given a full introduction and historical tour of every attraction and I barely had to think for myself for the duration of the trip.
One of the main attractions was Zhujiajiao – an historic water town nicknamed the Venice of China. While the water town was very pretty, and the organised show – an acrobatic ‘silk worm man’ climbing up an enormous bamboo pole swaying in the wind – very entertaining, it was the sheer number of people lining the streets that was breath-taking. I’ve only ever experienced the same level of crowding on a misguided trip to Oxford Street on Christmas Eve. For me, the best attraction was a boat trip on the Thousand Island Lake (Qiandaohu). Aptly named, this lake has over 1000 islands, and covers an area of 573 km². Remarkably, it is completely man-made, built as part of a dam project for hydroelectric power.
In many ways, the experience of going on a group tour was more interesting than the sightseeing itself. While the attractions were good, the experience of shuffling through the streets of an historic town packed in like a sardine is unforgettable. This was the perfect illustration of an important element of modern China: population boom and overcrowding.