Princeton in Beijing

The PiB 2013 lead instructors have been posted for each level.  These people will be responsible for your academic performance this summer, and they also happen to be super fun. 

Congratulations to Dale Shepherd 谢岱龙 (Princeton c/o '14, PiB c/o '10), Gregory Kraft 柯立中 (Princeton c/o '15, PiB c/o '12), and Nicholas Keeley 柯倪克 (Princeton c/o '16, PiB c/o '13) for placing into the top 3 spots in the eastern regional final Chinese Bridge Competition.  Dale will represent the United States and advance into the Grand Finals conducted in China between July and August, all-expenses-paid.  Aside from competing, contestants will also be able to participate in a variety of cultural activities throughout their multi-destination trip around China.  All contestants are evaluated based upon their Chinese language skills, personal experience, and knowledge of Chinese culture. 

The "Chinese Bridge" competition is a large-scale international event sponsored by the Office of the Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), Beijing. Since its launch in 2002, over eight hundred students from over sixty countries have participated in this annual competition, broadcasted globally by Hunan Satellite TV, every year. This year, Pace CI, along with the New York Service Center for Chinese Overseas Study Fellows, Inc., co-hosted the annual Northeast United States regional final of the competition.

Congratulations to Thomas Tasche (Princeton c/o ’13) and Jacob Scheer (Princeton c/o ’14, PiB c/o '11) for placing 1^st and 2^nd, respectively, in the Hong Kong Cup Chinese Speech Contest held at the SUNY Global Centre on Saturday, October 13^th, 2012.   Fifteen finalists from nine universities (including MIT, U Penn, Amherst, and Wesleyan) were invited to the final round to deliver speeches on Hong Kong in Mandarin, followed by an ad-hoc Q&A session.  The top three winners received round-trip air tickets to Hong Kong, short study courses and heritage tours, and visits to major companies in the Asia’s World City.  Six of the fifteen finalists invited are Princeton students, four of which are PiB alumni.  Hong Kong Cup is organized by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York and proudly sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airlines, Sing Tao Daily News, Hong Kong Tourism Board, HSBC Bank, Confucius Institute for Business, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

For more information, visit: www.hketony.gov.hk/ny/whatsnew.htm; English Press Release; Chinese Press Release.

In July of 2012, Jacob Scheer ( 师子杰 PiB c/o 2011 ) combined his interest in Chinese and passion for rap when he placed in the top 12 contestants in “汉语桥 ” (The Chinese Bridge), a Chinese language proficiency competition for foreign students. According to Jacob, HanYuQiao was a once in a lifetime Chinese learning opportunity, as well as a wonderful cultural interchange with Chinese language students from around the world.

HanYuQiao, organized by The Confucius Institute, hosts 120 college students from over 70 countries. This contest was televised on Hunan WeiShi to an audience of approximately 150 million.

In addition to Chinese proficiency and fluency, Jacob notes that contestants were given scores based on their ability to entertain TV audiences. There were a multitude of talent portion, traditional Chinese instruments like ErHu; Kung Fu, and Chinese tongue twisters.  “I knew I had to differentiate myself if I wanted to advance to the final round, so that’s why I chose rap. Rap is still a new and exciting art form in China and this pushed me ahead of other contestants who have studied Chinese for 6 or 7 years.”

You can see a clip of Jacob meeting Olympic diving gold medalist Li Na and rapping about Olympic Sports here ---(20:25) and (25:20) - in the semi-finals -  http://www.imgo.tv/clip-201207-1-3336-264152-275553.shtml 

Congratulations to Kyle Ofori c/o ’13, Nathan Jones c/o ’14, and Michael Becker c/o ‘14 for placing 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd, respectively, in the Hong Kong Cup Chinese Speech Contest held in New York’s Rose Conference Hall in Park Avenue on October 8^th.   Fifteen outstanding contestants from universities in the Greater New York area were invited to the final round of Hong Kong Cup to deliver speeches on Hong Kong in Mandarin.   Top prizes include round trip airfare and tours in Asia’s world city.   Scooping the top awards at this event not only showcases a new generation of oratory talent in a foreign language, but also highlights the continued success of Princeton University’s Chinese language pedagogy.   Hong Kong Cup was organized by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York and proudly sponsored by Sing Tao Daily News, Hong Kong Tourism Board, HSBC Bank, and Cathay Pacific Airlines.

For more information, click here.

Special congratulations to PiB alumni Jesse Mudrick, John Pardon, and Michael Medeiros (above, left to right) for leading Princeton's team to victory in the non-native speaker division of the 2010 International Varsity Debate hosted by Singapore Media Corporation and China Central Television (CCTV). This debate contest, initiated in 1993 and held every other year, is one of the most prestigious competitions among Chinese language students. See coverage in the Daily Princetonian for details.  

Freeman Asia Grants are back! This is a great source of financial aid for PiB students. Check out their website for more details.