Horizons Online Edition

You may not recognize your professors in this photo. They are Dr. Chen and Dr. Jones prior to climbing one of the five Chinese holy mountains on a rainy summer day.

Each year, they go to China with a group of ERAU students to study and travel. In addition to in-class teaching, they have been on this magnificent grey grant mountain with students several times in the past few years. With chains and ropes, they would climb for 5 to 7 hours, many times on hands and knees. This is Mount Hua, where everything in China started, where one finds the oracle bones on which Chinese characters first took shape, where the famous terra cutta soldiers were made, and where the Doaists established their temples way up on the mountain. On a rainy day the temples peak through the misty clouds. It is also mountains like this that have inspired the blank and white water-color landscape paintings that one cannot find anywhere else.

How can you go to Mount Hua? Well, you can take a sleeper train from Beijing, four people per compartment, the most clean and comfortable train there is for the price of $50 one way. For that amount of money you also save one night hotel money because you are sleeping on the train. The Drs. have figured all this out to save you money every way they can. They have also arranged classes in such a way that you will have a three-day weekend when you take long-distance trips.

Our study-abroad sites are located in Beijing and Tianjin. Previous students have visited the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Lahma Temple, the aviation museum, the military museum, museum of Chinese history, Tianmen Square, the 2nd World War tunnel, etc. in Beijing. Because you will stay on the campus hotel of Beijing Aeronautical and Astronautical University, you will have easy and inexpensive access to buses, trains and subways. To go to all the above places only costs you a couple of dollars altogether for transportation.

Tianjin is a port city, two-hours away from Beijing, where you can still see many European style houses and guns left from the Opium War period, take a boat on the canal, and see where the Great Wall meets the sea. The scenic Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC) in Tianjin hosts the study abroad group. Believe it or not, you can walk to board your flight from the campus in just 10 minutes. If you purchase your tickets from the States to China from a Chinese travel agency, it will offer you a free round-trip ticket to travel while you are in China. This free ticket will allow you to fly from CAUC to Port Arthur, Qingtao-the home of Qingtao beer, Shanghai, or wherever you heart desires.

One can learn a lot about history and culture in sightseeing; one can also learn a lot about contemporary Chinese people by experiencing local life. These include, but not limited to, dining in student cafeteria, chatting, jamming, singing, playing cards, going to places with local students. Many times, your professors invite local teachers and students to class to discuss issues with you and help you practice spoken Chinese.

It is a win-win situation to study abroad in China. You get 6 credits: 3 lower-level HU credits and 3 upper-level SS or HU credits. The 3 lower-level credits count towards the 12 credits of GSIS language requirement. The course is designed just for living in China, not duplicating on-campus Chinese courses. So all students start at the same level. Knowledge of Chinese is NOT required.

The tuition cost is one-half that of campus courses. Airfare, room and board, and fees cost roughly the other half. So, you can earn 6 credits on campus and pay full tuition, or you can have, in effect, a free trip to China and earn the same credits. Financial aid applies to study abroad too.

For ROTC students, this is your only allowed chance to be abroad. As a GSIS major, it is strongly recommended that you study abroad. For purposes of a future security clearance, it is best that you go abroad with our program and not wander on your own.

Previous study-abroad students have all given two thumbs up for the China program. If you call Dr. Chen at 6682 or email her at chenl@erau.edu, she can give you an application form right away. Spaces are limited; so do not let this golden opportunity slip away.

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