Global Voices

V OLUME 2 I SSUE 3

Spring Break 2016 By Zhang Peng

was so excited for spring I INSIDE break this semester! I decided to go to Los Angeles and visit my April Fool's Day 3 friends. I booked the flight for the afternoon on March 12th. I already International Dining 3 prepared my baggage on Friday Horseback Riding 4 and was ready to enjoy my trip. The only thing that was very dis- Celebrating the Spring 5 tressing was the flight time. It was Festival 6 hours. I think it was too long for Photo Collage 6-7 me, so I used the Wi-Fi on the plane and I felt less bored during My Church Experi- 8 the trip. ence I arrived at LAX at 9pm; I real- Video Games 9 ly wanted to sleep because of the Professor Interview: 10 jet lag. My friends already waited Dr. Andrew Oros at the baggage claim area. We Calendar of Events 12 have not seen each other for one year after we gradated from high apartment to drop my baggage first, then school. After I picked up my bag- we went to the Santa Monica pier. It is gage, my friends took me to their (Continued on page 2)

Philadelphia Tour By Xu Jinge glad that I can eat the in the T his spring break, we food from my country streets went to Philadelphia, not only in the U.S. is like the fifth largest city in the U.S I had a haircut in walk- but also one of the oldest city in Chinatown and the ing the U.S. It took us one and a half barber was Chinese. It into hours to arrive in Philadelphia. is wonderful that I can green, My first sight of Philadelphia describe the haircut I it is was flourishing streets and or- want in Chinese. But really a derly high buildings which real- to be honest, my new green ly impressed me. haircut is unsatisfacto- pa- Our hotel was near China- ry. rade! everyone was wearing green town, we had meals there, Chi- The second day in Philadelphia (Continued on page 2) natown is crowded, I was so was Saint Patrick’s Day, walking P AGE 2 V OLUME 2 I SSUE 3

Global Voices, the newsletter for international students at Washington College, is published twice per semester by the students of ELL 101 Eng- Spring Break 2016 lish for Academic Purposes I. (Cont’d) Editor John Hepler (Continued from page 1) Assistant Editors very close to the Zhou Yuanqi Yang Xiaoka place where my Designer friends live. Wang Zhiqian

There is a small Reporters amusement park Cheng Yuanhui Hu Ruitu Kong Lingzi Li Jiahao at the pier. Even Wang Shufan Xu Jinge thought it was Wu Hongjun Zhang Peng already closed, Interviewer the lights were Wang Naihui still on and it was so beautiful. When we walked to the morning, we went to the Chinese district to have end of the pier, brunch at a Chinese dim sum restaurant; it was real- there were still ly delicious. Then we went to the museum called some people The Broad. This is the newest museum in LA and it fishing and sit- is so popular. I made the reservation two months ting there. It was so amazing for me to stand in the ago. Its architecture is very special and the surface look middle of the sea. We also went to the famous store is very layered. Because it was Sunday, there were lots called the CoCo to grab a boba mike tea. The next (Continued on page 12)

Philadelphia Tour (Cont’d)

(Continued from page 1) which is at twenty-second floor. The view of the block is grand, clothes, children had green people dyed this city in green. balloons, and some actors The next day, we visited play the part of soldiers with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. firelock. An old lady told I was surprised that I found me the origin of Saint Pat- a Painting called Premonition of rick’s Day. It is from Ire- Civil War by Salvador Dali. In land, now it became an this painting, a dismembered American festival; Irish im- body is full of the picture, but migrant in New York city the background is a blue sky and and Philadelphia began to white clouds. Dali expressed celebrate Saint Patrick’s that the war is cruel by this Day from eighteenth centu- painting. In my opinion, I think ry. this painting is really vivid. And I did not have green I saw another very famous clothes, so I did not join the painting called Sunflowers by parade, I went back to the room (Continued on page 11) G LOBAL V OICES P AGE 3 Symbols of Easter By Kong Lingzi

E aster is a very important Christian holiday. According to legend, on the third day after Jesus By Yuanhui Cheng was crucified on the cross, he was resurrected from death; hence the name “Easter”. But today I'm going to focus on the traditions of Easter eggs and the A pril Fool’s Day,also called as All Fools’ Easter Bunny. Day, became popular in the 19th century, but the Colorful Easter eggs are meant to make people day still is not a public holiday in any country. happy; but they also represent the aspirations of What do people do on April Fool’s Day? “On people, and a symbol of new life. The Easter bunny April 1st, people can play any kind of joke on oth- is also a symbol of new life, meaning the spring ers. But the jokes can only be played before twelve season will bring many new baby rabbits. o’clock, after twelve o’clock if you still try to play Last year, I lived in the United States with my jokes, you will be laughed at by others until next host family. My host family told me about their year” (Wang Dao). Easter games. I understand that they played a total As students, we play jokes on friends a lot one of four games. The first game is called an Egg Roll. time I just arrived classroom, one of my friend came This game is the most common, it is a race to see talk to me, said my Math teacher wants to meet me who can roll the egg farther on the board. The sec- right now. I asked why, he said he did not know, but ond game is an egg hunt. The rules are to put eggs he can tell the anger on teacher’s face. After I heard around the house, and let the children look for the that, I was so nervous, I put my bag on my seat and eggs for a small gift. The third game is to hit the ran out toward teacher’s office. On the way to the egg; this is a person holding an egg, then to see office, I thought through all the things which may who can hit it but not break it. My landlord told me make my teacher mad. “I did my homework, I that he once took a stone and painted it red; the re- brought the book, I did well on the test….” I kept sult was no one beat him. The fourth is an egg relay wondering outside teacher’s office and I was afraid race. The family is usually divided into two groups, to go in. After I exhorted myself, “Whatever how running with the egg on a small wooden spoon and mad she was, she cannot eat me.” I went in the of- pass it your partners. fice, and asked her, “Did you call me to come to These games are suitable for all ages; both chil- your office?” dren and adults can participate. I think it will be She turned to me with a blank face, and asked me very interesting. If the next time I have a chance, I what I was talking about. I was both surprised and will attend Easter eggs game. delighted. Once I told her what happened, she Why is the symbol of Easter a rabbit? The repro- smiled at me and told me that was a joke my friend ductive capacity of the animals is seen as a symbol played on me. And she was right; when I went back of the spring. And so like Easter eggs, rabbits are a to classroom, my friend was laughing so hard. symbol of new life. At the same time some people Although I do not know what people will think if would describe rabbits laying eggs. It symbolizes their birthdays were on April 1st, my friend once the rich reproduction, but bunnies laying eggs is told me he had a friend named Jason Gu. His birth- just a legend for children. On this day, you will see day was on April first, and they played jokes on him a lot of rabbit dolls or toys. every year to celebrate his birthday. This year they There are many stories about Easter eggs and opened the door just little bit and put a birthday rabbits. If you have next opportunity to participate (Continued on page 12) in an Easter party, you will have a fun experience. P AGE 4 V OLUME 2 I SSUE 3

Rock Creek Park Horse Center By Wang Shufan though I had heard trainer’s instructions about riding a I went to Rock Creek Park Horse Center last horse. I could feel the horse I was riding was a mettle year with my friends. Actually it was my first horse, I didn’t think it would listen to my commands. time to ride a horse. I was so excited and felt a When I tried to stop it, it always bellowed. I knew it just little nervous. tried to be the leader of the horses, but I must tame this The horse center is located in Washington, horse. D.C. There are many flowers and plants around We walked in the grove for a long time. When the the horse center. If you go there, you will feel horse crossed a tree or small plant, it always stretched out comfortable and be at- its neck in order to tracted by the environ- eat food. For me, I ment. just pulled the rope to Before I went to this stop the horse eating. horse center, all my mem- It looked very dispir- ories about riding a horse ited because it can were just on TV. Even never eat any food; it though I thought the hors- just bellowed. There es may be different from were many times I the horses I had seen on thought, “Maybe I TV, but I was still sur- should let it eat prised when I saw the food.” But there was horses. a voice in my mind They were so big! told me, “Yu should- I had to step on the n’t let it eat because it wood box in order to ride didn’t know how my horse. To be honest, I much it can eat.” was afraid of it, not only So during the was it the first time I rode whole walk in the a horse, but also it was too wood, I didn’t allow strong, too big, too good. it to eat anything. At the beginning, the After we finished all trainer told us, “Firstly, the walking, the train- you cannot hit horse. If er said, “Now you you do that, the horse may can allow the horse to become angry and as a eat grass.” I fell down result, you will fall. Next, from the horse, and you cannot feed them. If they led the horse to the want to eat plants, stop them. They don’t know grass ground. I saw the horse eat grass how much they eat, so just stop them from any- quickly, so that I considered maybe I should give some thing they would eat.” After the trainer told us water to the horse. these matters needed attention, she began to After the horse finished eating grass, I touched its teach us how to control a horse. “You can use head. To my surprise, it didn’t bellow, it was really kind. your foot to kick horse’s tummy lightly, remem- So I didn’t feel nervous any more. I knew the horse will ber don’t kick with too much energy.” listen to me and be kind to me as long as I treat it with a We started off after we finished all the rules. sincere heart. At the beginning, I still felt nervous, even

G LOBAL V OICES P AGE 5

The Spring Festival in America By Wu Hongjun 6500 local people. To experience the

Chinese culture, many children learned cutting paper, making lanterns, and playing Chinese musical instruments. Differently from the usual solemn at- mosphere, the Kennedy Center was decorated in “China Red” to create a happy environment. Chinese knots and red lanterns could be seen everywhere. Roth, the president of the Kennedy Center, said that the Kennedy Center, as the cultural center of the nation, often introduces outstanding cultures from other countries, and she had always wanted to hold a Chinese New Year event. She expressed that she was "very happy” to see so many people showing interest in the Chinese New Year that day after 18 months of prep- arations, and the Kennedy Center would continue to organize "China New Year Family Day” activities in the future. At Washington College, As New York City has set the Spring Festival as a the Chinese Student Union and the Global Education Of- public holiday, the public schools there had a day off to fice hosted a party to celebrate the Spring Festival in the celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Monkey for the Hadley Union Building, better known to students as the first time on February 8, 2016. For the Spring Festival, “HUB”. While students, faculty, and administrators were the Empire State Building will get some changes. The enjoying delicious food as well as fun games and activi- “flag" style lights will be in Chinese people’s favorite ties, a television broadcast celebrating the New Year was color to celebrate the Chinese New Year. presented. New York is the second city that announced the right With the increasing number of Chinese people in the of U.S. public schools to have the Spring Festival holiday, United States, i.e. the cultural melting pot, and enhanced following San Francisco. Many Chinese parents are de- status of China in the world, more and more Americans lighted that they can enjoy the Spring Festival with their have become interested in Chinese culture, especially the children. In addition, many Chinese people also are glad Spring Festival. After the State of New York set the Chi- that students will not have to worry about the school nese New Year as a public holiday a few years ago, Sacra- courses in Chinese New Year. This unique celebration has mento, the capital of the state of California, and Washing- been held yearly since 2000, and this year will be a shin- ton, D.C., are preparing to designate it as a local public ing "Golden Monkey" year. holiday as well. The Spring Festival has become the first The Spring Festival is the most important festival for legal holiday for Chinese people in those places. the entire Chinese nation, including the countless Chinese Since many Americans like to watch parades and fire- people both at home and abroad, to express patriotic senti- works, they will naturally not miss this good opportunity ment and show the love for homeland. With the deepen- in the Chinese New Year. Most Americans who want to ing of China's foreign cultural exchanges, Chinese culture celebrate the Spring Festival are interested in Chinese cul- has been spreading out, and gaining recognition and par- ture and keen to find an opportunity to enjoy delicious ticipation gradually. As the China-USA exchanges are Chinese food. being increasingly strengthened, more and more Ameri- The Kennedy Center, located in Washington, D.C., or- cans have begun to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I ganized the first "Chinese New Year Family Day" to cele- hope that both Chinese and Americans can enjoy the New brate the Chinese New Year. This activity attracted about Year and attain happiness. V OLUME 2 I SSUE 3

Student Experiences G LOBAL V OICES

Student Experiences V OLUME 2 I SSUE 3

My Church Experience By Li Jiahao

istry,” said Preacher Mel C hestertown Brindley. The Men’s Baptist Church is Prayer Breakfast is held located at Morgnec the first Saturday of each Road in Chester- month at 8:00 AM. This is town, Maryland. The a time for the men of the Chestertown Chris- church to come together tian Academy was for breakfast and fellow- found in 1979 as a ship but most importantly ministry of Chester- to pray for each other and town Baptist the needs of the church Church. family. Chestertown Bap- “The Women’s ministry tist Church has a at CBC strives to encour- wonderful children’s age and equip the women ministry. Newborn to of our church to be the best women, mothers, and three-year olds have beautiful, well supervised wives that they can be for the glory of God!” said nurseries and Sunday School classes with trained, Preacher Brindley. loving teachers. Four-year olds to 6th graders “The music ministry at Chestertown Baptist have separate Sunday School classes as well as a Church is a very exciting one. We understand that special church service just for them. They are whether old or young, the talents the Lord gives us taught about the Lord in a fun should be used for His glory. Worship is and nurturing environment while a vital role in our church services be- still committing scripture and cause it sets the spirit and prepares the Bible stories to heart. heart to be moved by God. There are so The goal of the Youth 180 at many facets to the worship ministry that Chestertown Baptist Church is to almost anyone can be involved no matter assist the home in influencing, the various abilities,” said Mike Cimba, instructing, equipping, and pre- Worship Leader and Choir Director. paring teens. They hope that each The adult choir is for anyone teen will seek out God’s will for who likes to sing. They lead in worship his life. The greatest years of a every Sunday morning, and also perform person’s life are the teenage for other special services the church years and they are the most criti- might have. cal times of influence in the life of an individual. Misa and Dar- Preacher Brindley said, “At lene Oliveira lead the youth Chestertown Baptist Church we believe group at Chestertown Baptist Church. They love that Jesus is the Son of God who came to young people and they have a great desire to see earth, took the form of a man and gave His life so the teens grow in Christ. that one day we could be in Heaven to spend eterni- ty with Him.” Being Christian from another coun- “The men’s ministry at CBC is a ministry for try, I was so happy to find a church in Chestertown every man, in every walk of life. Whether you’re that welcomed me. young, old, fast paced, or enjoy a slower walk of life you’ll enjoy the fellowship of the men’s min- (Some information taken from church website http://www.chestertownbaptistchurch.org/) G LOBAL V OICES P AGE 9 Video Games: Form of Art or Only Relaxation? By Hu Ruitu

I n the history of arts, video games are a contro- In the history of games, producers and engineers versial topic to talk about. Gamers tend to think of now are trying their best to make the games “real”. them as a form of art, but some critics believe that Game consoles have been divided into many differ- the games are just a tool of relaxing. There are ence types. Most game players today mainly use PCs, eight different art forms in history. The eight arts household consoles, and mobile phones to play are painting, sculpture, architecture, music, litera- games. Other than consoles, games can be divided ture, dance, drama and movies. We do not know into different types, too. The following words are the the source of this classifying way, but there are names for games: action game, fighting game, adven- some obvious factors on classifying art. For exam- ture game, action adventure, role playing game, ac- ple, the invention of photography gave great help tion role playing game, strategy role-playing game, to science, art, media and commerce in the future, simulation role-playing game, massively multiplayer and the way people view the world. online role-playing game, simulation game, flight simulator, space combat simulator, train simulator, There are many different devices to play games, business simulation game, turn-based strategy game, for example, computer and TV. There are generally real-time strategy game, shooting game, aircraft eight generations for games and game consoles to th shooting game, light-gun shooting game, first person develop, and we are now at the 8 generation. Alt- shooter game, third-person shooter game, racing hough the development history for the video game game, sport game, rhythm game, puzzle game and was relatively short, it had been though a cata- sandbox game. strophic damage too, it totally ends the 2th generation of the game, and caused all companies and en- In the history of mankind, play has always been terprises to lose hope on video games. It was considered as an important activity; it can be relax- known as the “Video Game Crash of 1983.” Atari ing, and also help people gain strength and become (a corporation created in 1972, mainly to sell video more productive and have imagination. I believe vid- games and game consoles) brought the copyright of eo games are just another way for modern people to the movie E.T., and tried to create a game about play and learn. For me, video games are one of the E.T. and save the company from the economic cri- most important ways to relax and reduce stress, and I sis. But the game was horrible, and it became the can learn lots of information and knowledge from reason for Atari to crash, lose money, and give up playing games. When I am playing a game, it can on the video game industry. relax me and distract me from all forms of stress. th About the goal of playing games, I never think about The 8 generation, where we are at right now, the price or why the games were created, all I want to thinks to the advanced technology system and clev- achieve is relief from stress, and put my entire mind er computer engineers. The games now are enter- into the story and forget the troubles. taining, high graphic and good performance, and people’s interest towards games and consoles has And for the final part, I will introduce a famous increase rapidly. The famous household game con- game to you, the First Person Shooter (FPS) type of sole PS4, designed by Sony, had sell out about 35,9 game. The game I personally like most is “Call of million copies by January 1, 2016. There are also Duty”. It is one of the most famous and hot selling many different games that sell over millions, for FPS games, and it includes several stories with dif- example, Super Mario, one of the most famous vid- ferent characters and different places. eo game designed by Nintendo, it has sold more Although some critics still believe that games can- than 500 million copies, and make it the best sell- not be called art, but sometimes the fun and joy given ing video game franchise in the video game histo- by games are even more than formal art, so I believe ry. that games can be called as an informal art, too. (Information in the article comes from Wikipedia) V OLUME 2 I SSUE 3 P AGE 6

Interview with Dr. Oros By Naihui Wang concerns are, so that you can respond to them. I think another is to care about the kinds of challenges the different students face such as a difficult family situation or a struggle with English language or a struggle with a concept, so I think it is important to realize

everyone is different. I think the third is the ability to explain things clearly. Q: What do you enjoy about being in the classroom with your students? A: I like hearing about the concerns and interests of the new generation. Politics are always changing, so I like to hear different opinions. Q: What do you hope students learn from your classes?

A: Because I teach world politics, the awareness of diversity is the number one thing that I try to communicate in all of my classes. People in different places in the world have different goals, different approaches, and different priorities. If we are all going to get along with each other, we need to start by understanding that everyone is different, and so what we think is the best solution might not be what other people think. Dr. Andrew Oros Q: How does having international students in your classes change the experience for you and the other students? A: Having international students helps communicate the diversity that I am trying to combine. It really enriches my classes in inter- Q: How long have you been a professor at Washing- national politics by having people from different perspectives. All ton College? of my classes have international students. I am really happy about A: This year is my thirteenth year. that. Q: Have you taught at other colleges or universities Q: What do you like to do in your personal time? before coming to Washington College? A: I play tennis every week and I like to kayak on the river. I own A: Yes, but just part-time. I taught one course at four kayaks, so I often have friends visited and we all go kayaking American University in Washington DC and one on the river together. I also like to travel. course at George Washington University. Last spring Q: What is your favorite cuisine, and why? I taught a course at Colombia University, so I went to New York one day a week to teach the one course, A: I grew up in Los Angeles in California so we had a lot of Mexi- but mostly I teach in here. can food. I had Mexican food several times a week. I miss Mexi- can food because it is not so popular here. I am always looking for Q: As a professor, what do you think are the three good Mexican food. most important characteristics of being a good teacher? Q: Among the many cities you have visited, which one left the deepest impression on you, and why? A: I think one is being a good listener, hearing what (Continued on page 11) things your students are interested in and what their G LOBAL V OICES P AGE. 7 Philadelphia (Cont’d) Oros (Cont’d)

A: Beijing in China. I went to the Forbidden City in Beijing for the first (Continued from page 2) time when I was in college in 1988 and I was impressed by how big it was. In 1988 there were many few Chinese tourists in the Forbidden van Gogh, I stare at this bright-colored City. I went back last year to see and what really made me happy was painting for a long time. that the whole area was totally full of Chinese tourists. China has devel- At night, we went shopping and I only oped so much that everyday Chinese people are going and seeing this bought a pair of shoes. We had chaffy part of history, so that is one place that really stuck in my mind, leaving dish for dinner, which is very popular in an impression. my hometown. I was homesick when we were having dinner, and to cheer me up, Q: If you could travel back to a certain period of time in your life, which we walked through Philadelphia City time period would that be, and why? Hall. It is very imposing, there is a sign A: When I was a college student, I studied abroad for two years and I that told us the information of the build- learned so much. It was so exciting that I would love to go back to that ing. It took thirty years to build, and at time and maybe go to a different place. that time it was the tallest building in the world. But after eight years, the Singer Q: When you were in college, which subjects did you like best, and Building in New York City became the why? tallest building. On top of Philadelphia A: When I was in college, I learned to speak Japanese language. I think City Hall, there is William Penn’s statue, learning a foreign language was very exciting to me. Because Japanese who is called the father of Philadelphia, and there are 250 statues around the language is written with Chinese characters, it is a very different writing building. In fact, Philadelphia City Hall system. That was very exciting to me to learn the characters. has over 600 rooms, the decoration is Q: If you were to start over and choose a different profession, what extraordinary luxurious and delicate. would it be, and why? Everyone can visit it for free, but you must spend 6 dollars to visit the top A: First I would say, I wouldn’t choose something different. I am very floor. happy what I am doing. But when I was younger, I thought that I might want to be a diplomat and to represent United States in different coun- The gorgeous view in Philadelphia im- tries around the world. I like the idea of meeting people all around the pressed me, and I am looking forward to go to Philadelphia again. world and explaining American’s values and interests in different countries. Q: For pleasure, which do you prefer, books or films, and why? A: Films. Because I read a lot of books in my work. When I am relaxing, it is nice to see a film. Q: What film have you recently watched? Would you recommend it to your students? Why or why not? A: I just saw Spot Light, which won the Academy Award for best picture. The subject is kind of difficult about children being abused, but I think the message is about how important the free press and media are. The film is about the four reporters at the Boston Globe newspaper who really dedicated themselves to this story. They made an amazing difference for all of us; it really helped a lot of people. I think it is a really motivating story and it is a fun movie, too. I absolutely recommend it. P AGE 12 Office of English Language Learning M A R C H 2 0 1 6

Washington College SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT Foster House, 2nd Floor 409 Washington Avenue Chestertown MD 21620 1 2 3 4 5

Phone: 410-810-5009 Fax: 410-810-7451

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13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Daylight Saving Spring Break Time 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1st Day of Spring Holi

27 28 29 30 31 April Fool’s (Cont’d) Easter

(Continued from page 3) song, the name of the song was happy Fool’s day to you. My friend once asked Jason if he liked his birthday cake on the door, so when he came to the room the on April first. He said, “When I was a kid, I would cry cake will fall down on his head. We called this is the if someone had play jokes on me, but now I am grown cake came out of the blue. He thought someone was up, I think these jokes that my friends play are the proof hiding behind the door, so he was looking intently with of our friendship, and jokes cause us to laugh together, his head, which caused the cake to fall right on his make our friendship even better, so I like it.” head. My friend also changed the words of his birthday

Los Angeles (Cont’d)

(Continued from page 2) visited this museum. was there to experience the real On the third day, we went to the state of the rain but my body did of people waiting outside. We LACMA museum. This is one of not get wet. It was so interesting. waited for the line about one hour the most famous museums in LA. The last night in LA, my friends and we finally got into the muse- The difference is the LACMA mu- recommended a nice restaurant um. The interior of the museum seum like a big garden with lots of called WP24. This was a roof res- was very artistic feeling. There artworks on the outside. I was re- taurant and the food was American were many artworks inside and ally interested in the artwork Chinese cuisine. The Peking duck some things I was interested in called the “Urban Light.” The in- was so delicious. It was the place were some huge desks, chairs and stallation consisted of 202 restored where we could see the whole some dishes. Those things were street lamps from the 1920s and night view of downtown LA. It taller than me. 1930s. Most of them once lit the was really nice to have dinner at This museum had some stylish streets of Southern California. that kind of environment. artwork. I was most impressed by When night falls, the streets This time I visited a lot of muse- the “Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mir- become a beautiful landscape. ums and taste some famous restau- rored Room.” It was a mirror-lined Lots of people and couples like to rants. The next morning, I took the chamber housing a dazzling and take photos there. It is a good earliest flight back to school. I am seemingly endless LED light dis- place to take a nice photo and a very satisfied with this trip of play. You will think you are in the selfie post on Instagram. There spring break! universe with a wonderful feeling. was a new room just opened last I had a great experience when I month called the “Rain room.” I