It's back to school at ICLP! The international students here got a chance to relax after their first week of classes. On Friday, ICLP hosted a welcome party for all students, teachers, staff, and administrators. In addition to giving everyone a chance to know one another better, the lunchtime event introduced students to the tradition of Zhongqiu Jie (中秋節), or the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Tables arranged in the main lecture hall were covered in neat rows of delicious Taiwanese snacks generously provided by ICLP. For some foreign students, it was an opportunity to sample certain items from the buffet for the first time. Over shrimp dumplings (蝦餃), pot stickers (鍋貼), guava juice, and fresh fruit, students mingled and laughed with their new classmates. The food nourished the hungry students, while the conversation satisfied each person’s curiosity for what brought everyone here together.
Reasons cited for studying at ICLP varied widely. For some, it was a chance to brush up on Chinese skills learned long ago and long ago forgotten. For others, it was a break after finishing college or completing a job, or a bridge to graduate school. Given the uncertainty of the times, still others had less specific plans, stating only that they enjoyed the learning experience and were confident that their Chinese skills would serve them well in whatever they chose to do. What united all students was a sense of optimism about being at the start of another academic year.
ICLP director Dr. Leung officially welcomed students, inviting them to work hard but also to enjoy their time in Taiwan. Fan laoshi and Xu Zhen-feng laoshi led a rendition of the birthday song in Chinese for students and teachers who were born in October. Finally, ICLP student Jasmine Ting hosted an interactive Q&A session to test students’ knowledge of the origins and traditions of with Mid-Autumn Festival. Those who answered questions correctly received a pocket-sized Chinese dictionary to help them in their studies. In addition to these prizes, students left the party with full bellies, new friends, and cultural knowledge.
