毕业典礼 (Graduation)

     ACC came to a close a few days ago. The last week flew by. One minute I was studying the last lesson, the next minute I was taking the final exam, and then quickly attended graduation shortly thereafter. The ACC graduation was a rewarding event and a special occasion for all of us. Not only did it mark the completion of the program, but it was also our cue to begin speaking English (around teachers) again. It was a very heartfelt ceremony with speeches from the Student Council representatives from each level of Chinese, funny clips from China Night, pictures from teachers and students from the summer semester, and speeches by the director of ACC and the head of the foreign exchange department at CUEB (Capital University of Economics and Business).

I'm getting my ACC diploma from the head of the foreign exchange department at CUEB. He shook my hand really tightly and told me not to give up studying Chinese.

     At the end of the ceremony, all the ACC students emerged from their seats shouting random English words like “the”, “piece”, and “hello.” It was amazing. Our teachers all became different people because they all seemed uncomfortable speaking English with us. It was awkward seeing them in such a vulnerable position. But to compromise, we spoke fluent Chinglish with them. It became the happy medium for us, English-deprived ACC students, and our Chinese teachers.

     We quickly headed over to a nice Beijing Duck restaurant close to campus and ate our last meal with our teachers. I realized throughout the day, as graduation events came to a close, that I’d really miss Beijing. Even sadder was the fact that I was leaving at 8am the next day, so that dinner was the last time I saw many of the teachers before I headed back to the United States. That was also, out of all the great meals I had in Beijing, the final one before my flight back home.

Many of my awesome classmates. Left to right: Eve, Chris, Me, Alissa, Adam, Yu Laoshi, Jackie, Devin, Gi'selle, Harry, and Alec. I'm gonna miss all of you.

This is one of our Yale photos. Left to right: Miles, Adam, Jackie, Me, and Eileen. We are so SILLY.

We took this photo after dinner. Hey Amy and Zhu Laoshi! I look like such a fool in this picture. Haha.