{"id":1483,"date":"2013-10-08T17:33:28","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T21:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/2013\/10\/08\/experience-east-asia\/"},"modified":"2022-11-07T19:35:32","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T00:35:32","slug":"experience-east-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/experience-east-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Experience East Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"China-4\"<\/a>
\nApply now for the Japan Summer Experience<\/a> or Summer China Experience<\/a>. The deadline is Friday, May 2.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Kelsey Orr decided to come to Furman, she knew she\u2019d meet some interesting people along the way.<\/p>\n

Furman set the bar high before classes even started.<\/p>\n

Orr was one of 11 incoming students who took part in the Japan Summer Experience<\/a>. The two-week trip, which is one of two study away programs offered annually to incoming freshmen by the Asian Studies department<\/a>, takes students on a historical and cultural journey through Japan before their first academic semester begins in the fall. The department also provides the same opportunity to students interested in studying Chinese through its Summer China Experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Orr, it was an opportunity to interact with people halfway around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked to a lady who was eight years old when (the United States) dropped the bomb on Hiroshima,\u201d said Orr \u201817 (Winston-Salem, N.C.). \u201cIt was sad, but you could tell there was no hard feelings. I was just really surprised to learn how focused the Japanese people are about being peaceful. They\u2019re so against nuclear warfare that every time a country is considering it, they write a letter to the leader to keep them from making that same mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Japan Summer Experience and Summer China Experience are free to students, as long as they commit to two semesters of language study and a First Year Seminar about the country that they explored.<\/p>\n

The program, now entering its third year for Japan and the ninth for China, allows students to explore a new culture before studying it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want students to see the Chinese or Japanese culture before they study these places,\u201d said Dongming Zhang, an assistant professor of Modern Languages and Literatures and Asian Studies. \u201cThen, after one year at Furman, we want these same students to participate in a semester study away program. That way, they can see the places before they study them, and then see the places after they study them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two experiences serve as an introduction to Furman\u2019s unique approach to studying away from campus. Furman faculty members lead several trips each year, and deliver both formal and impromptu lectures, ensuring the programs offer an educational experience. Students completed small academic projects, like giving five-minute presentations on the places they visited. They also had the chance to take classes at local universities with Chinese and Japanese students, some of which partner with Furman in semester and year-long exchange programs.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say there isn\u2019t room for sightseeing. During the Summer China Experience, the group visited cultural and historic sites, like the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City.<\/p>\n

For many of the students, the trip is also an opportunity for them to meet some of their new classmates. Freshman who participate in the trip will take a First Year Seminar and foreign language course together when they begin their academic careers. From there, many of the students may remain connected as majors in the Asian Studies department.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made quite a few good friends and we\u2019ll all be in the same First Year Seminar,\u201d Orr said. \u201cIt\u2019s cool to already know the people who will be in the class. We\u2019ve already planned to study together and some of us will have tea time once a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trip also introduced students to several faculty members. Since the Asian Studies department is interdisciplinary, the faculty advisors for each trip have a variety of backgrounds and specialties.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents grow and learn through their relationships, not just with their colleagues, but with us,\u201d said Carmela Epright, professor of philosophy. \u201cI\u2019ve developed amazing relationships with students over the years. It changes everything. If you have problems transitioning to college, you have an ally, an extra advisor, and someone you trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apply now for the Japan Summer Experience or Summer China Experience. The deadline is Friday, May 2. When Kelsey Orr decided to come to Furman, she knew she\u2019d meet some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":1484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}