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IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY February 2015 Issue 1 Newsletter of the Bald Eagle & Panda

Series

Affiliated with the American Cultural Centers at Henan Normal University and Harbin University of Science and Technology

Working with Iowa State University

Volume 1, Issue 1 February, 2015

American Culture—College Life Americans look forward to going to college. Many attend colleges far from

home and will live on campus in dormitories or an apartment near-by. Despite

the excitement many students may not be prepared for college life.

In the U.S. college means classes and homework and working with groups of

students but there is a relatively large amount of unstructured time. The typical

student will only be in class between 15 and 18 hours a week.

The rest of the time, the

student must structure

life to include study,

working with other

students, doing

assignments, and doing

personal types of

activities such as,

eating, working, and

exercising.

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IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY February 2015 Issue 1

What Does a Typical College Day Look Like in the U.S.?

A typical college

student’s day is

full of activity.

The Collegedata

website identified

how one student

described her day:

Morning:

7 a.m.: Get up so I won't be late for my 8 a.m. class in English Lit.

Check out some required reading from the library and get to my American

Studies class by 10 a.m.

Afternoon:

Meet some classmates at 11:30 a.m. to prepare a team project in Women's

Studies, and then go to the cafeteria for lunch at 12:30 p.m.

Rush to my Journalism class at 2 p.m.; seminar on Shakespeare at 4 p.m.

Evening:

Work on a term paper and study for a quiz until dinner.

After dinner, catch up on some reading for the next day's classes, check the

schedule for my upcoming intramural soccer game, watch the 10 p.m. news with

my friends in the dorm recreation room, and get ready for bed by 11

Tomorrow's Friday, so I've got to be rested for the weekend!

Each student’s schedule is different, but you can be sure, that college means

activities. American college students are very active.

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IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY February 2015 Issue 1

Happy Chinese New Year!! It is the year of

the Yang (Sheep or goat). Although the year is

commonly know as 2015, using the ancient

calendar it is the year 4713. The Chinese New

Year is typically referred to as the Spring

Festival, the biggest holiday in China. The

Spring Festival provides a time for families to

celebrate. Typical holiday foods include

dumplings and fish. Families may also gift

with red envelops with money inside!

Each year features one of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac. This year is the year

of the Yang. Recent Yang years were 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991,

and 2003. Those born in Yang Years are believed to be artistic charming,

sensitive, sweet, and creative.

The holiday’s end is marked by the full moon and Lantern Festival. Many streets, stores and homes are adorned with red lanterns. A special food is the yuanxiao, which is a dumpling made from sticky rice and filled with different fillings.

The Year of Yang (Sheep & Goat) By Shaohua Pei

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IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY February 2015 Issue 1

By Jessica Fox

Shan Yuan (from Henan Normal University) and Zishan Liao (from Xi’an International University) were the two winners of the best paper award in 2014. The two Chinese students were awarded a 10-day all-expenses included study trip to in the Midwestern US States.

This was Shan’s first experience abroad, and her big surprise was the much larger portion size and strong cheese taste in American food. Zishan’s winning topic was “American Popular Music in Chinese Undergraduate Lives”, and one of his biggest shocks on the Midwest campus was that squirrels ran free. The two winners were highly appreciative for the opportunity to talk about campus differences in a Chinese class at Iowa State University.

Bald Eagle & Panda 2014 Winners’ Study Trip

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IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY February 2015 Issue 1

Fun Facts

Top 5 Songs in the US (Week of Feb 16, 2015)

1. Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars

2. Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

3. Take Me To Church by Hozier

4. Blank Space by Taylor Swift

5. Sugar by Maroon 5

Top 5 Songs in China

(Week of Feb 16, 2015)

1. Little Apple by Chopstick Brothers

2. Fleet of Time by Faye Wong

3. If Only by Junjie Lin

4. The Sea by Yusheng Zhang

5. My Sunshine by Jie Zhang

By Sanah Siddiqui

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY February 2015 Issue 1

The second annual Bald Eagle & Eagle and Panda Virtual Conference will be held on May 15-16, 2015 hosted by Iowa State University. Invited keynote speakers include the Presidents of Henan Normal University, Harbin University of Science and Technology and representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. American Cultural Center Directors will provide invited presentations.

The Bald Eagle and Panda Conference is a virtual conference that seeks presentations covering American and Chinese cultures topics. This year students from six Chinese universities affiliated with American Cultural Centers were invited to participate.

1) Henan Normal University– Iowa State University 2) Xi’an International University – College of Lake County 3) Xi’an Jiaotong University – University of Nebraska 4) Guangzhou University–Wesleyan College 5) Northeastern University–Appalachian State University 6) Harbin University of Science & Technology – Iowa State University

The process began with students sending proposals of topics. Proposals are rated and only the best will be invited to present at the conference. The best presentations will also include a full paper for judging. All papers are entered into the “best paper completion” to win the 2015 U.S. Tour.

Up-coming Event