err----大家好！Hello Everyone!
The past week I learned the French alphabet, ate out with friends, went bowling, and both organized and executed recruiting and welcoming events to HIT's international students.
First off, FRENCH IS DIFFICULT.
My roommate is taking this French class to fulfill his language requirement so I thought I would tag along and try out French as well. Reflecting on this experience, it was great to be humbled and reminded that the beginning stages of learning a new language require massive amounts of patience and effort. Moreover, it's not everyday where you get to learn a new language in a classroom environment using the target language you are currently studying to study the new language (follow that logic? Hahaha). Furthermore, it was all FREE! (With the exception of opportunity costs but this experience was still worth it). Even though I have decided to stop attending French class, I will try out Japanese class this Saturday and we'll see how that goes...
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Next up, I ate out with some friends at a Chinese buffet.
It was AWESOME. The food was a bit salty, but it was also All-You-Can-Eat for three hours! My friends and I discussed various topics during those three hours ranging from our individual hobbies, to family structures, and to even religious backgrounds. To sum up, fun times filled with friends and food! (Alliteration FTW!)
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Ahhh yes....BOWLING.
So funny story: I didn't do so well in the course of the game (you can already tell from the three gutter balls in the picture LOL) but the end of my game was epic! Probably by sheer luck I managed to knock off six pins in the final round...then attain a spare...accumulating to achieving a STRIKE! WOOOOO
And with that, although my score is mediocre and probably sub par actually, I managed to surpass my own personal goal of 75. For me, I ended my game on a high note and maybe one day I'll surpass 100.
:)
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Finally, I organized and hosted a welcoming event for HIT's international students. The event
was called "Culture Corner" where various classmates hailing from different countries (such as Belgium, Indonesia, America, etc.) all met up and had the opportunity to make new friends. The night event included a brief introduction to HIT Call Center (HIT's International Student Services Center), fun cooperative games, and free time to enjoy refreshments and strike up conversations.
Based on the written feedback of the 40+ participants, overall event satisfaction was 5.7/7.0 where people said they liked "meeting new friends" the most and disliked how "the event was too short". I'm very proud to receive this feedback in the first place considering how in the past, HIT Call Center never even received feedback until I joined, proposed this idea, created the event feedback forms, and thus formally initiated the feedback process both for this event and many more to come. Feedback is essential for growth and improvement, and I'm happy to do my part to ensure that HIT Call Center enhances its services and events so that guests and participants have a more enriching experience during their stay here at HIT. I plan to carry on this spirit of innovation and amelioration when I return to Yale in the fall.
As always, I welcome any and all feedback for past blog posts, this post, and future posts as well!
Kind regards,
Sam
Way to engage with HIT and the community around you. You are clearly making the most of your experiences. How were the other Chinese students at speaking French? Also, if you enjoy Chinese buffets, there is a great one in Beijing called Tairyo Teppanyaki in Sanlitunr which I'm sure you would enjoy haha.
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