Kaitlyn Carr (right) with a new friend in China

Ready to tackle another foreign language, I fell in love with Spanish in 6th grade.  Craving further international travel, I seized the opportunity to go to Italy and Greece during my high school senior spring break.  Traveling with 100 fellow classmates was an experience of its own, however, the most profound part was receiving the Easter blessing from Pope Benedict.  Cruising across the Ionian from Sorrento to Athens was breathtaking, and after all my traveling, when it came time to decide where to attend college, WMU became the logical choice.

Kaitlyn at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy

After a little investigation, I decided on a Global and International Studies degree because I was able to structure it around my interests.  I coupled it with a Spanish minor, an international business minor, and a Chinese minor.  I was able to take a range of courses, including Asian Economics, Life and Culture of Spain, and Chinese Calligraphy.  I strategically combined the GIS major and my three minors with a degree from the Lee Honors College, and synthesized my educational experiences from all these programs into my honors thesis.

Vatican City

Part of my degree program at WMU included traveling to Beijing, China for a short-term study abroad program in August 2008 with 12 other students.  Our timing was fortunate as the summer 2008 Olympic Games were taking place in Beijing at the time.  It was the opportunity of a lifetime.  Our program was led by the director of the Chinese program at WMU, Dr. Xiaojun Wang, who accompanied us on tours of the city and even managed to get us tickets to two of the Olympic events.  We were able to see the USA volleyball team play and saw a few of the track events that took place at the renowned Bird’s Nest.

Kaitlyn in front of the Bird’s Nest, Beijing, China

Our sightseeing tours included visits to the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, and of course, the Great Wall.  While staying at the Beijing Language and Culture University, we attended a Chinese language class every morning for two hours to earn 3 credits of Chinese language study.  Towards the end of the tour, we also spent a day in a farming village outside of Beijing called Tianjin.  There, we were treated to a multiple-course Chinese meal that included every part of a chicken … the family wanted to make sure we knew they were not keeping any food for themselves.

The group in Tianjin

Part of being in Beijing during such an exciting time meant that we were there with thousands of other visitors and tourists.  People from all over the world were in Beijing for the Olympics, and while we climbed the Great Wall we not only heard people speaking Chinese, but also Japanese, Korean, French, Russian, German, Flemish, Italian, and Greek.  When we were there EVERYONE wanted to take pictures with Americans and we all slightly loved the fame.

After an intense amount of traveling and a whirlwind of experiences, our group took the 12-hour flight back to Kalamazoo to start the fall semester on time.  For many of us, the trip was a defining moment.  They always say the best way to learn a language is to spend time in the country where the language is spoken and all of us saw dramatic improvement in our Mandarin language skills.  Our love for Chinese culture increased as well, and several students have since gone back for the long-term study abroad program.  For those of us in the GIS major, the trip was the perfect supplement to our studies since we were able to go out and experience the world.  It is something that I will never forget, and in the end, WMU has provided me with an incredible amount of opportunities and helped shape me into a global citizen. Additionally, I was hired by WMU for the 2009-2010 academic year to assist the Haenicke Institute with marketing efforts for the GIS major and with international admissions.