Interdepartmental Groups Go International

This past spring Curry College has gone "international" in a big way!

In May, Gail Arch, Director of Curry's new MBA program, took 12 students on an adventurous nine-day trip to Berlin and Prague, where they studied the "Economics, Politics and Culture in the New Europe." Students toured companies and plants, were lectured to by and interacted with business experts in Germany and the Czech Republic and visited numerous cultural and historical sites.

Also in May, Tracy Wang, Associate Professor of Mathematics and a native of Beijing, facilitated an exciting two-week trip for Curry undergraduates to the People's Republic of China. Twenty-four students went along—15 were enrolled in a Nursing course, and nine were taking a Politics and History course—and they were joined by nine other Curry faculty, staff and family members. Dr. Linda Caldwell and Linda Tenofsky of the Nursing Division were the co-instructors for "Contemporary Topics in Nursing: The China Experience," and Larry Hartenian of Politics and History taught "China: Tradition and Change."

The Nursing and Politics and History students received full course credit—and had a transforming experience they will remember for the rest of their lives.

The China trip included remarkable stays in Beijing, a huge city in transition (and the site of the coming 2008 Olympic Summer Games); Xi'an, where the famous terra cotta warriors were miraculously uncovered in the early 1980s and are now on display to hundreds of thousands of visitors every year; and Shanghai, the futuristic city known for its towering skyscrapers, sophisticated citizenry and great shopping.

Lunches and dinners were Chinese style, with Curry diners seated at round tables and with course after course of intriguing and delicious vegetables, rice, meats, soups and dumplings served by waitresses, often in radiant dress. Peking Duck, served in Beijing, was a special treat.

In Beijing, the Curry group stayed at a guest hotel on the campus of one of China's most prestigious specialized universities, the China University of Mining and Technology. The group also toured Peking (Beijing) University, located nearby.

Dr. Wang made sure that busses and knowledgeable guides were available to take the Curry visitors to all of the mandatory tourist sites—Tian 'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall of China, all in or close to BeijingÑand some lesser-known places as well, including the fascinating canal city called Zhouzhuang. Participants also took Tai Chi lessons and went to stunning performances of Chinese acrobats and the Peking (Beijing) Opera. Of course, the pandas in the Beijing Zoo were a big hit as well.

"This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Dr. Caldwell, who is the Chairperson of Curry's Nursing Division. "While the Great Wall and the terra cotta warriors were certainly highlights of the trip, meeting Chinese nursing students and their faculty at the Friendship Hospital in Beijing was a truly moving experience. The similarities of the concerns of the nursing students from both sides of the world were brought to light during the day we spent at the hospital and nursing school.

"The Curry and Chinese students also agreed that they wanted to be nurses for the same reason—to care for their patients, and to make a difference in their patients' lives."

The Politics and History students discovered that learning history and politics by observing them close at hand gave a reality to the experience that would otherwise not have been possible.

Thanks are due both to Dr. Arch and to Dr. Wang for bringing these magnificent opportunities to Curry students, to the local hosts for their generosity and to the Curry faculty. Speaking as one of the fortunate travelers to China, I can report that the experience was wonderful in every way.

And amazingly, despite the many miles logged on airplanes, no one lost any luggage either!

— David Fedo, Academic Vice President and Dean