FSC's Journey to the Far East

Our trip to China had two main purposes—to participate in a ceremony that concludes the SUNY-China 150 Program and to explore collaboration on student/faculty exchanges between China and institutions in SUNY. The ceremony was planned for May upon the return of the students, but the Chinese government quarantined the students for fear of the H1N1 flu virus, and thus the delay in holding the ceremony.

Much of our trip was closely and excellently coordinate by Ms. Wei Lin, a SUNY staff member at the Levin Institute who served throughout last year as a coordinator for the 150 program. Our hosts while we were in the country, the China Scholarship Council, funded or arranged with other institutions to cover all of our expenses (shopping excursions excluded) within China, and they were absolutely wonderful hosts, both by taking good care of us in a—for us—complex environment, and in arranging meetings and campus visits to further our interests in exchange. The CSC is also the agency, affiliated with but not an internal part of the China Education Ministry (similar in concept to the SUNY–Research Foundation relationship), that sponsored and organized the SUNY-China 150 program. CSC is an important higher education agency, funding over 30,000 students per year to study abroad, about half of which are Chinese, mostly graduate students, studying in other countries and half are from other countries studying in China.

The Chinese higher education system, like so may other things about the country, is changing rapidly. I will mention just two indicators of the change. We visited three universities on Monday (September 28), and two of them had recently moved a large portion of their campuses into shiny new facilities built with extensive acreage on the outskirts of the city of Chengdu. Some SUNY old-timers will recall the development of Stony Brook University, the University at Buffalo campus at Amherst, and the development of the main north campus of the University at Albany, as well as new institutions at Old Westbury, Purchase, etc. Yes, the growth of China higher education is reminiscent of the scale of SUNY’s growth during the 1960s.

The second element of interest I mention is the changing nature of the curriculum. Most universities now have some general education, and the reformers among them are hopeful to expand this component of curriculum for undergraduates. Given the highly specialized nature of degree programs in China—indeed, entire institutions specialize in transportation, or information technology, or aspects of petroleum—it is surprising to learn that they are to some extent evolving in ways parallel to our own curricula.

We worked with the CSC on a draft of two programs for SUNY, one to be based in part at Farmingdale, and Farmingdale formulated and signed an agreement with the Chengdu University of Information Technology for the exchange of students, or in case the exchange cannot be one-to-one, for the hosting of students to study for periods ranging up to a year.

Our hosts also arranged trips while we were in Sichuan Province to the Panda reserve where, needless to say, I asked the guide far too many questions (reproductive maturity is at about 5 years for females, they give birth to one or two babies every two years until about age 20, they nurse their babies for a year-and-a half which explains the two-year birth cycle, etc.) Patrick reminds us all that a blog must be short, so…

The SUNY group was taken on Sunday to an earthquake stricken area about two hours bus ride north of Chengdu and near the homes of many of the 150 students. This was a solemn and moving event. A few students from the area served as our guides, including Farmingdale’s own Sidi Wang (Dorothy) who rode on my bus (there were three small buses for the group). She gave an absolutely stunning presentation by microphone as we traveled. She pointed out the temporary housing where her family spent some months, including of course herself until she came to the U.S. Families of other members of our Farmingdale 19 also spent time in temporary housing, which from a distance resembled the metal storage rental units we see in the U.S., although I am not sure of the construction material. Much new housing, in modern looking six- to eight-story apartment buildings has been built, yet we did see some people still living in temporary housing. I am hesitant to relate the few facts I know about the students’ personal experiences during and after the earthquake, because they seemed to me reluctant to dwell on these, and I would certainly not press them.

The village we visited, in a region where more than 4,000 people died, had been an extensive array of six- to eight-story apartment buildings. The entire village was now acre after acre of piles of rubble and a few shells of buildings that had not completely collapsed. It was a scene of massive devastation.

The Sichuan Minister of Education and the CSC published a book in which most of the 150 students wrote short accounts of their experiences last academic year in SUNY. Unfortunately for us, the essays are in Chinese (however, perhaps the numerous pictures are worth about a thousand words each) except for a brief synopsis at the end of each entry. From the various observations and sources of information, it is clear that the year in the U.S. had a huge impact on their lives, and they are so very grateful for having been afforded the opportunity to study, to experience life, and to have been so warmly embraced by the SUNY institutions and families they met.

One last set of observation about the Chinese students: they are unwavering in their kindness, their polite demeanor, and in their respect for order and authority. They are also fun-loving. Everyone who met the Farmingdale 19 will have observed these characteristics. And they are universally hard-working and diligent. It appears that from the time they arrived in China in May, they have all been studying, taking courses and preparing for examinations, right through the summer and until we arrived there a few days ago. Most of them are very actively preparing for the graduate school admissions process which, as with undergraduate admissions in China, depends almost strictly on standardized tests. Some hope to return to the U.S. for graduate school.

Needless to say, the reunion with our students and the entire 150 was both happy and a bit emotional.

(Now that I have violated all the rules for blogging, I must stop.)

Hubert Keen

A few of us had squirreled away enough vacation time (and had understanding bosses) to extend our trip to China.

After the bus left for the airport, we met a few of our students for dinner. We finally had a chance to walk in a Chengdu neighborhood. I saw a striped cat leashed to a light pole chasing leaves. His owner had created a litter box by filling a broken piece of concrete pipe with sand.
Probably through a combination of the wish to escape the heat indoors and the wish for community, many families sat at tables on the sidewalk outside of their homes. The cooking smells were delicious. We attracted a lot of stares and elicited many smiles.

Stores were open even at 8PM and were happy to answer questions. Our hotel shower has a thin soft plastic mat with massage bumps. I imagine this is to stimulate the pressure points in the feet, which many believe can improve circulation. Maybe this belief has merit because except for being sleep deprived, we feel great.

We ate dinner at a porridge restaurant. Our students brought at least 7 bowls of different types of porridge including purple rice, sweet potato, lotus root, and pork. They ordered enough food for many more people and we sat around the traditional round table and helped ourselves. The variety of spices and textures has been truly amazing and I expect this will change how many of us cook.

Kathy Coley

Today was the graduation ceremony for the CSC-SUNY China 150 program. Excited students and delegates chattered and hugged. Farmingdale State was well represented – January WU Ting spoke eloquently and emotively for all of the students. Daniel (who has a new hair style) YANG Jin, Jason JIANG Linglong and Dorothy WANG Sidi sang a poem of appreciation they had written with their classmates from Southwest Jiantong University – our host campus for the trip.

Officials spoke of the friendships forged between China and the U.S.; the kids spoke about the friendships forged within SUNY. Over and over, we heard the strong bonds developed because of the SUNY China 150 program.

One special portion of the program featured comments from an American parent and a Chinese parent. Our own Anne YIN Jing introduced her Chinese father, YIN Xianfeng and her American father, Jim Jailer. Expressions of gratitude from both men were translated by Anne for the audience.

After an all-too-short lunch, the delegates were loaded onto buses and the tears flowed.

Kathy Coley

September 26

We departed our hotel in Beijing at 6:00AM this morning for the airport where we flew just over two hours to the city of Chengdu. The travel is no more hectic than in the U.S., considering that we were traveling in a group of 30, and considering that Lorraine has brought a lot of shoes. We are, however, being excellently cared for by our hosts, the China Scholarship Council, with able assistance from Wei LIN.

As we arrived at the baggage claim carousels, which were adjacent to the exit from the airport, a large throng of perhaps 250 cheering young people were waiting, with signs in Chinese, but we were sure they were our adoring students from the SUNY China 150 program. Not so – we had flown from Beijing with a very popular Chinese TV actor. It was a chaotic scene, reminiscent of the Beatles arriving at Idlewide Airport. Alas, it was not all about us.

Our egos were however, completely repaired when, after the celebrity quickly excited to his limo, we found that about 10 of “our” students were there with welcoming signs and hugs.  Part of the repair for me is to know that Chinese students do not hug their own presidents.  More of our students were waiting at the hotel which is thoroughly modern – and in which the bathrooms are enclosed with completely transparent glass.  Although the buffet lunch was “with Chinese characteristics” (that’s an expression used at times by the Chinese to make comparisons to things Western), I am certain that it was specifically prepared for us; it had no resemblance to the spicy food which Sichuan Province is legendary all over China.

In the evening, our students took us to a neighborhood of Chengdu with many small boutiques that specialized their merchandize, not the mass shopping bazaar we visited in Beijing. The student treated us to a traditional Tea Ceremony, a highly ritualized affair, in a large Tea House.  Now I know how to hold the tiny cup and drink the tea. For dinner, the students took us to a traditional “hot Pot” restaurant.  The bubbling pot, in which the many individual dishes that are brought to the table are cooked. is hot for two reasons. This is the food for which Sichuan is famous.

We look forward to three days of visits, meetings and a ceremony in Chengdu, at 8 million people – a “medium size” Chinese city.

President Keen