One of the things that I love about being a blogger is that it allows me to be creative, while keeping up with my writing and education. I love the flexibility of being a student and a blogger, as I am able to study from home, travel, and pursue my writing. My dream is to someday build something I can call my home and call myself a “Beijing Information Technology University”.
Being an English major and in a new country with a lot of new residents, I am not a native Chinese person anymore, so I have a lot of questions about my home, especially about my parents. My parents are the most beautiful, educated, and respected people I know. My parents have a lot to learn from me as a person and as a person’s family. I feel like I can be a writer or artist.
As if the fact that I can be an English major, a native Chinese person from a new country, and a Chinese-American woman without the Chinese surname of a native Chinese person in a new country wasn’t enough, this university also requires me to be Chinese-American, which is also a plus. Of course, it’s my home and I can do whatever I want, but I have to do this and not just because I said so.
I know that some of you are going to have to make some sort of decision about this, but I want to keep the discussion about the importance of self-awareness and self-awareness to a minimum. I want to be able to choose my words, not just one word.
If self-awareness is important to you, you’re going to find more self-awareness when you go to China. Most of the world still has no concept of how difficult it can be to live in a foreign country, and China is no exception. The average Chinese person has no idea how to ask for directions or tell the time without assistance, and they often ask for help when they are physically unable to do so. This is where self-awareness comes in.
For the first few years of my study abroad life, I tried to just live in China without learning how people speak and act. But after I had studied Chinese for a bit, I found that speaking and acting are very similar to how you learn English or how you learn how to drive. All of my friends were incredibly funny and helpful when I was learning Chinese, and to be honest I was a bit nervous at first. I started to notice how quickly I would speak and act.
So why did I pick up on it? We all know that you have to practice to perfect your speaking and acting skills. That’s why it took me a second to notice how much faster I was speaking and acting. It’s a simple matter of practice.
Speaking is a great skill to have, but you have to practice it. There are so many steps and tips you have to learn before you can actually say and act like a native. It’s not about learning how to say and act like a native speaker. It’s about learning how to be a competent speaker and an effective actor. So there is no shortcut. It is a little bit like learning how to ride a bicycle. You have to start somewhere.
At Beijing IT, we’re focused on two fields. One is the science and technology, which is the way we get the knowledge we need to do our work. The other is the engineering and industry training, which is the way we develop the skills we need to be competent in our jobs. So there is a big difference between the two in the way they are organized.
For the science and technology, we’ve set up a brand new school, called Beijing Information Science and Technology University. It covers one of the most technical fields in China, the science and technology. So it’s like a university degree that is just for those who have the knowledge and skills to perform their jobs. The second field is the engineering and industry training, which covers the jobs that require advanced computer skills.