Below\u00a0are impressions from\u00a0students from China, Germany and Iran.<\/p>\n
![\"Yiran](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2015\/10\/16094_503-508x338.jpg\")
<\/a>Yiran “Crystal” Zhang, left, and Jiangnan “Mona” Xing<\/p><\/div>\n
Jiangnan \u201cMona\u201d Xing and Yiran \u201cCrystal\u201d Zhang, China<\/strong> With 34 provinces to tour, a Great Wall to walk over, opera to see in Beijing and a Dragon Boat Festival to enjoy, you can never be bored in the stunning country of China.<\/p>\n \u201cChina has more than 5,000 years of history,\u201d said Jiangnan Xing. \u201cAs early as the Tang Dynasty in China. China has its own cultural values, and China also has different philosophical ideas from other countries. … The essence of Chinese culture is euphemism, which is different from the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n Euphemism is using a mild word or expression in place of an otherwise offensive or vulgar word.<\/p>\n The weather in China various from region to region. With heavy rain in southern China, most houses have a sloping roof to ensure that the water drains from the roof, Xing said. Northern China is sunnier, which means the roofs are generally flat. Northern China has a palace, ancient city, stone carvings and paintings.<\/p>\n Different provinces also have different tastes in food although noodles are common throughout the country.<\/p>\n \u201cChinese people like to spend time cooking,\u201d said Xing. \u201cThe traditional food is a kind of recognition of history and the inheritance of culture. In festivals or celebrations, people in different provinces will celebrate their favorite food. No matter where you come from, there will always be a Chinese food in your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Young students spend much of their time studying in school.<\/p>\n \u201cEducation is harder in China. In China, no matter what you want to do as a job or in higher education, you have to take an exam,\u201d said Yiran Zhang and Xing.<\/p>\n When students take college entrance exams, the government will reduce distractions by blocking traffic from roads around schools.<\/p>\n \u201cOrdinary middle school students have to study more than 10 hours a day,\u201d said Xing.<\/p>\n To escape from studying or working you can explore the famous operas of Beijing. \u201cThere are a lot of traditional instruments that have a different feel. Beijing opera has a lot of history,\u201d said Xing.<\/p>\n Zhang said she likes lianpu, bright paint-like makeup famous in Beijing operas. The make-up is exaggerated over the face revealing a character’s different moral qualities through colors, lines and shapes. For example, red symbolizes loyalty and bravery, and the eyes may be painted like wings of a butterfly, swallow or bat.<\/p>\n China will celebrate more than 50 holidays in 2015. The Dragon Boat Festival, a popular summer holiday celebrated in southern China, honors a famous poet named Qu Yuan. Rice dumplings are often served and dragon boats are raced.<\/p>\n There are different lifestyles within each province.<\/p>\n Xing misses the Yunnan Providence. \u201cI like it very much. It\u2019s a famous part of China for 56 minorities (gathering there). If you come to this province, you can maybe see all of them,\u201d she said. Chinese tea is popular in the Yunan Providence.<\/p>\n Xing is from the Shandong province, which is near Beijing. Zhang is from the Shanxi province, home of\u00a0many famous mountains and the Great Wall of China.<\/p>\n Additional facts about China include a unique history in medicine, specifically acupuncture. Cheongsam dresses are common among Chinese women, and underground subway systems can be found in some Chinese cities. Pingpong, gymnastics, diving and badminton are popular sports that Chinese citizens excel at, Xing said.<\/p>\n Monika St\u00f6cklein<\/p><\/div>\n Monika St\u00f6cklein, Germany<\/strong> Germany is a good destination if you want to get a taste of European life. With soccer, chocolate, castles and highways with no speed limits, Germany provides a rich experience for everyone.<\/p>\n Germans usually begin the day with a light breakfast, while lunch is the main meal of the day.<\/p>\n Monika St\u00f6cklein said her family\u2019s main Sunday lunch in Bavaria, Germany, consists of meat and vegetables and Klo\u00df or Kn\u00f6del, boiled dumplings and potatoes. Dinner usually includes Brotzeit, or bread with different toppings.<\/p>\n \u201cI never imagined myself missing bread so much. Honestly, I never liked the dark typical German bread before I came here, but now I have a craving for it,\u201d said St\u00f6cklein. \u201cThe first time I was eating white bread in America was something different. It tasted like eating pure sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n Other food and drinks also taste different in America than they do in Germany.<\/p>\n \u201cI am eating almost no chocolate in the States since the chocolate tastes way different and it cannot compete to German chocolate at all,\u201d she said. \u201cMy theory is that American groceries contain more sugar than Germany’s.\u201d<\/p>\n She also misses D\u00f6ner, spiced meat with vegetables in bread. She says that beer is much more watery in the United States than in Germany.<\/p>\n Education between the two countries appears very differently. Education is free in Germany and libraries rent textbooks at no cost. There are no clubs, sports or sororities and fraternities in colleges and universities. Students do not feel rushed to finish college and can be in college longer than five years<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing about Germans … is people are more reserved than Americans and most Germans show a lack of emotions, which might appear rude to some people,\u201d St\u00f6cklein said. \u201cOnce you earn their friendship and trust you gain a friend who is a lot more solid and real.”<\/p>\n Her favorite time of the year is summer during the World Cup. \u201cYes, most of us are really into soccer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Germany is a country filled with beautiful scenery.<\/p>\n \u201cOne example is Neuschwanstein (a castle, which) was the inspiration for Disneyland\u2019s Sleeping Beauty castle,\u201d she said. \u201cThis stunning structure is the ideal for romantic architecture and is one of the many fairytale castles dotted throughout Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n Germany uses military time. Most public restrooms are not free and instead ask for a janitorial tip or entrance fee. When ordering soft drinks, refills are not free and you have to ask for ice. The legal drinking age in Germany is 18 years.<\/p>\n Maryam Labaf<\/p><\/div>\n Maryam Labaf, Iran<\/strong> Deserts and water, bright cities, geometrical architecture and people who are both stylish and intelligent make up the complex country of Iran.<\/p>\n Formerly known as Persia, Iran is home to deserts, mountains and located between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. The country is three times the size of Arizona, says Maryam Labaf.<\/p>\n \u201cIran is a very large country famous for poetry, literature, art and music, which is also home to some of the most varied landscapes in the world,\u201d said Labaf. \u201cFor adventure travelers, all that separates you from skiing and scuba diving on the same weekend is an hour-long flight. The Persian civilization is one of the oldest in history. Reminders are scattered all over the country, like \u2018Takhte-Jamshid\u2019 in Shiraz and \u2018Bistoon\u2019 in Kermanshah.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran’s four seasons are similar to those in the United States.<\/p>\n Labaf\u2019s favorite memory is when she and her family celebrated the Persian New Year, Noroz. She made a Seven S’s, or Haft Seen, a tabletop arrangement of seven symbolic items starting with the letter s from the Persian alphabet.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile traveling to the north, we experienced the nice weather, went swimming in the Caspian Sea and ate delicious fish, as the north of Iran is famous for its food, especially seafood,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Labaf says Iranians are usually friendlier than Americans. \u201cIranians have a centuries-old reputation for being a very hospitable people, especially when it comes to foreign guests,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n College life in Iran is similar to college in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cGenerally speaking the whole structure of college and universities in Iran look like here,\u201d said Labaf. \u201cWe are taught in the Persian language at college, although learning Arabic and English are required as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ministry of Education supervises kindergarten through 12th grade, and higher education is supervised by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Eighty-five percent of the Iranian adult population is literate with many having doctorate degrees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wright State students from China, Germany and Iran share insights and memories of their homelands. Continue reading
\n Undergraduate students, LEAP Intensive English Program<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Monika](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2015\/10\/16094_523-200x300.jpg\")
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\n Undergraduate, international exchange student<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Maryam](\"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/files\/2015\/10\/Maryam-labaf-16105_003-260x262.jpg\")
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\n Graduate student, applied mathematics<\/strong><\/p>\n