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Week 1 - Focus on the elective classes
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Brandon: erhu (traditional Chinese music instrument) is one of the most frustrating, yet rewarding activities I have ever done. When played correctly the sound is beautiful. However, one-minute slip of the bow or fingers can produce a hideous sound, driving you into frustration and wanting you to break the instrument over your knee. I do enjoy the instrument a lot. It is very time consuming and a very difficult instrument for a naïve musician to start. The difficulty of learning how to read Chinese music notes was very hard and something I will probably always continue to learn. Even though it will take me years to learn to perfect one song. I will most likely continue playing the erhu back in the states. It is soothing to be able to produce great sounds from such a unique instrument. I find music relaxing and rewarding. And it is nice to further my knowledge in this field. |
Sarah: when choosing an elective, I wanted to choose something with Chinese tradition. I chose Taiji. I thought it would be something like Yoga with slow easy movements. Although we do the movements slowly I was wrong about it being easy. Our teacher has been very patient with all six of us. It takes us a while to learn many of the combinations. I enjoy Taiji because it teach how to be more graceful and it is calming part of the day. Taiji also becomes the funniest part of the day when you see the six of us trying to perform the movements in synchronization. We have been known to draw a crowd. |
| Jon: for my elective I am taking Marshal Arts twice a week. It is a form of marshal arts called WU SHU, similar to Taiji but much faster. It is challenging since I can not flexible and it is very hard to remember all the motions. It is hard for me to communicate with my teacher because he doesn’t speak any English. I can not tell whether I am doing it exactly right or not, or how exactly do the move. |
Liz: I chose to practice Taiji for my elective. I was interested in taking it because I had previously learned that the Taiji moves all have ancient Chinese meanings. I also thought it would be fun and a good form of exercise. So far all my expectations are being met. The teacher is an excellent martial arts instructor. I am learning that Taiji is very very difficult. We learn a series of about 10 to 15 moves a week. Every move is added onto the last. It is becoming very difficult to remember all of the moves. |
| Virginia: I am taking Taiji too. We meet every Tue. And Thurs. from 4:30 to about 5:30 6pm in an open courtyard (which we all recognize it as the Lover’s Lane). Our teacher is pretty nice; he is very patient with us and is willing to teach. He never gets mad whenever we made a wrong move—he just shows us the right way. I think it is a pretty good exercise for stretching and better blood flow. It is getting more complicated though as more steps get added on but I enjoy doing it. | Joe: when we went to Shanghai Museum I spent majority of the time in the calligraphy gallery. When I looked at the many different scrolls, consisting of characters of all styles I was a little confused. I had never painted before. I knew nothing about calligraphy. I wondered why these artists were recognized as having such unique talents. Then lessons started. Our first lesson, our humble professor wrote each of our names for us to copy over. My first impressions completely contrasted one another. As I painted my name over and over the necessary concentration completely took away any stress or worries I might have had that day. But my ability to rewrite my name with the same force caused some serious frustration… I watched him closely, hoping to unravel the mystery behind my imperfections. When he painted his eyes never moved. As the brush swiftly moved across the paper, his torso remained as still as his unblinking eyes. He didn’t breath. He couldn’t. All his attention was completely focused on what he was painting. He noticed my frustrations and took my arm in his. The two of us held the same brush. He gestured to me that I needed to relax and to simply feel the movement of the brush as he guided it about. His pressure was precise. Each brush stroke was flawless. When the two of us finished writing my name, he stood up straight, brought his hands to his chest and then slowly pulled them out over his head, as he breathed out. I smiled, said thank you, and understood all that was a mystery to me. |
Modern Languages | East Asian Studies | Terms Abroad
Term Abroad in Nanjing, China
For questions about the current program contact Megan Ferry
Last updated Sept. 30, 2001