I am from the United States
Text/American student Lin Bijie
Halloween Memories
This fall is my first time to study abroad, and many people ask me:“What do you miss most about America?” When I tell them They are always surprised when it comes to Halloween. Most Chinese people have never heard of this holiday. Halloween is the most widely loved holiday in the United States, and many Americans even think Halloween is as important as Christmas. Although Halloween has only become important in recent decades, it is actually one of the most traditional holidays in the United States.
About two thousand years ago, October 31st of each year was celebrated by the Celts (Irish pagans)Samhainsection. They believe that at midnight of that day, the souls of those who have died in the past year will ascend to heaven, so October 31st is the last chance for all souls who want to stay in the mortal world to find a new body. In order to prevent their bodies from being stolen, everyone pretended to be ghosts and wandered around at night. In order to scare away the ghosts, they would carve a scary face on the pumpkin and then put a piece of candle inside the pumpkin. Witches riding broomsticks are also said to appear in the sky.
Around the seventh century, the Catholic Pope wanted to replace this pagan holiday with a new one, so he declared November 1st a common holiday for all saints. Catholicism in Europe began to have a new custom: poor people went door to door asking rich people to give them food. In return, The poor will pray for their deceased relatives. Although no one now believes in the legends about ghosts and witches, modern Americans still retain those customs Like pranks. Every October 31st, children dress up as ghosts, witches, devils, etc. (even their favorite cartoon characters can be imitated). Children go from house to house asking for candy, they ring the doorbell and say:“Give me candy, otherwise we’ll be rude!"Obviously they were just joking, but they still received a lot of candy.
Some of my funniest memories involve this holiday. Every year, I wear a different costume: a clown, a kitten, a little princess, a doctor, a "hot girl", and an elf from Disney's Peter Pan. Although Halloween is mostly about entertaining children, adults can get involved too. For example, many girls use this holiday as an excuse to wear sexy clothes and go to parties. Young people and older people also use Halloween as a good excuse to go to these parties.
What is the difference between the life of Chinese college students and that of the United States
When I decided to learn Chinese, I had no idea that Chinese would have such a big impact on me. At that time, I was willing to spend a lot of time practicing writing and memorizing new characters, but living in China for seven months was unimaginable to me.
Since I came to Beijing, China has left a deep impression on me. Now China, not other countries, is my best choice for studying abroad. However, sometimes I miss my university in the United States - Georgetown University. Although Georgetown is in the capital of the United States (the same as the University of Economics and Business), it is very different from the University of Economics and Business.
For example, Georgetown University was founded by Catholic priests in 1789. It is a Catholic university, so many priests live on campus. Each student must take two theology courses and two philosophy courses. In the first-year dormitories, there is a chaplain living there on each floor. Because my university is very old, it has a lot of traditions. In front of the main building is a sculpture of Georgetown's w88 casino emblem. It is said that if a Georgetown college student walks over that sculpture, he cannot Graduate within four years. There is also a secret organization in Georgetown called "The Organizer" (stewards?) But even I don’t know who its members are or what it does.
The biggest difference between Georgetown and the University of Economics and Business is not these traditions, but the dormitory life. The dormitories at Georgetown University are not locked at eleven o'clock like the dormitories at the University of Economics and Business, so students can come and go at will. Therefore, they can have parties in their dormitories. Although first-year students are not allowed to drink alcohol in the dormitories, many students do not abide by this policy. It is not legal for students under the age of twenty-one to go to bars in the United States, but if a student under the age of twenty-one has a fake ID, he can sneak in. In Washington, it is not easy to use a fake ID, because the police are very strict and often see through it and confiscate it. So most students hold parties on campus. At such parties, students can drink beer from a bucket or play beer-related games. I feel that the impression we international students give to students at the University of Economics and Business is not entirely true.
I didn’t go out often at night when I was at Georgetown University, but in China there is no age limit for drinking, so I can go to bars as I like. And, my grades will not match myGPAHook, so the grades I get now are not as important as the ones I got at Georgetown. Of course, I also want to enjoy this hard-won freedom, but the main purpose of coming to China is to learn Chinese well, so I should still study seriously!
