Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

Name : Till Alexander Lembke Program: HNC Certificate '13 Hometown : Brussels, Belgium Undergraduate Institution and Major : School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Chinese and Politics. Favorite course at the Center : Chinese Constitutional Law with Professor Zhao Juan Center extra-curricular activities : Dance Class and teaching English as part of the Migrant School Learning Initiative Why did you choose the Hopkins-Nanjing Center? After having spent four consecutive years in London doing very little Chinese, I realised I wanted and needed to go back to China to maintain my Chinese. At the same time, however, I wanted to pursue my interest in politics and law (especially within the East Asian region), and combine a year in China with studying something I could later make use of in my professional life, something beyond mere language classes. The Certificate Programme at HNC was thus exactly what I wanted: it allo...

SAIS students in DC may have graduated last week, but HNC students are still hard at work in Nanjing.  HNC MAIS student Natalie Sammarco sends an update as she heads into the final few weeks of the semester: "It’s been a very long road so far this year and the weather in Nanjing is warming up. It’s an average of about 85 degrees F most days and will only get hotter as June approaches. That’s pretty average around here. It makes us all glad that the Center has central air.  As an out of sequence student, meaning I previously completed the Certificate program and am now pursuing the MAIS in 3 semesters, this semester has been pretty busy. Taking a full course load + thesis work is proving to be a big challenge. Technically, what I’m going through now is what every MAIS student’s 3rd semester will be like. I wrote an overall plan for my thesis earlier in the semester and then, this past week, turned in my first draft chapter. I also had to give a presentation to profes...

Today is graduation day at SAIS in Washington, DC.  Congratulations to all HNC/DC Five-Semester Option students who are graduating!  To watch the ceremony live, check out the webcast on the SAIS website .  The webcast will begin at 3pm EST.  The HNC Washington Support Office will be closed this afternoon to attend the graduation ceremonies.  In addition, we will be closed on Monday, May 27 in observance of Memorial Day. 

Since the Center's founding, we have been using the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) Chinese Proficiency Test to measure the Chinese language levels of international applicants to the HNC.  This test has served us well for over 25 years by providing an accurate indicator of whether or not an applicant is prepared for the certificate or MAIS programs.  However, based on student and alumni feedback, we will discontinue the use of the CAL test once all of this year's  conditionally admitted students have retaken the test in July. We are therefore excited to announce that we will be transitioning to the Avant Assessment STAMP Chinese Proficiency Test beginning in August in preparation for the 2014 application cycle.  A few notes about the STAMP test: It's online!  Applicants outside of the US will no longer need to worry about shipping costs.  It's adaptive. Like the CAL, the STAMP will test your reading and listening skills but will adju...

To all incoming students, don't forget that pre-departure forms are due Friday, May 17!  These will asist us in preparing your visa documentation, assigning your roommate, and ensuring a smooth transition to the HNC.  These forms can be emailed to us at nanjing@jhu.edu or faxed to 202-663-7729.  If you have any questions as you complete these forms, please do not hesitate to contact us . 

Laura Dow HNC MAIS Program Class of 2012 Hometown Kittery Point, Maine Previous Education University of Massachusetts B.A. in Economics & Legal Studies Previous Work Experience  After graduating from UMASS, I worked as a Human Resources Director for one year.  I left that position to join the Peace Corps, where I served as a volunteer English Teacher in Sichuan, China from 2006 - 2008.  After the Peace Corps, I worked in Resource Management for the Department of Defense.   Chinese Language Study Prior to the Center I learned all of my Chinese while in the Peace Corps, during which time I diligently studied every day.  I never took one Chinese course during my undergraduate studies!  Center Activities  I participated in Dragon Boat, and it was a wonderful way to foster team-building skills between international and Chinese students.  Our boat came in 3rd place, and we received the best time in HNC ...

As you prepare for your time at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center by applying for visas, making packing lists, and submitting roommate preference forms , it’s also important to maintain (or improve!) your current Chinese level, especially for those who are not currently living in China and don’t use Chinese in your day-to-day life. Below are several activities and resources to help you practice reading, listening, speaking, and writing in Chinese: Reading: Newspapers Wall Street Journal China Real Time Report Southern Weekend < 南方 周末 >   Xinhua < 新华 >   Chinese Literature Books in translation If you’ve already read the book in English and know the plot, this can help you practice vocabulary and grammar.  For example, most students have read this book in English. Movies with Chinese subtitles ChinesePod   Listening/Speaking: Voice of America (free) Meetup groups for Mandarin speakers Chinese...

As promised earlier , MAIS student Natalie Sammarco has sent a follow-up post to her previous entry on spring break in North Korea with her HNC classmates: "I mentioned in my previous post that I went to North Korea (DPRK) for Spring Break. I have been asked to talk a little more about what we did and saw there as it was a pretty exciting week to be there (April 9-16).  Six friends (including one HNC professor) and I traveled with an independent tour company in Beijing to Pyongyang and southwestern portions of North Korea. It was an eye opening experience and we were only slightly deterred by the international tensions before we left. We had chosen that time to travel because it was during the National Holiday (April 15, Kim Il Sung’s Birthday) and there would be festivities. Due to the time it takes to get a DPRK visa, tensions had not escalated by the time we had submitted our paperwork and planned the trip. When we arrived, it was phenomenal. What made me mos...

HNC Admissions Coordinator and Certificate '11 alumna Margaux Fimbres writes about her experience on the dragon boat team: In addition to their academic pursuits at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, students also volunteer with the Migrant Schools Learning Initiative, debate on the Jessup Moot Court Team, perfect their brush strokes in calligraphy classes, and my personal favorite, slice through water on the dragon boat team. As the Hopkins-Nanjing Center dragon boat team gears up for the annual race in Nanjing, I started to reminisce about my experience on the HNC dragon boat team in 2011. That first practice was not our finest, as most of us had never rowed before, much less taken instruction from a middle-aged, chain-smoking, Nanjing-hua-speaking coach. We had woken up at 5:00am, were splashed with murky Mochou Hu water, and then were left with extremely sore muscles. But we always came back for the next practice. Stanley Seiden, a fellow dragon boat-er, remembers, "At the b...