Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

Dear Prospective Hopkins-Nanjing Center Student, You may still be in the process of deciding whether the Hopkins-Nanjing Center is the right choice for your career and for your next few years of life. This is a big decision. Partaking in the Hopkins-Nanjing Center doesn’t just mean that you will grow to understand China from an insider perspective through studying international relations in Chinese, but it also means living in China for at least a year. It means immersing yourself in a completely different culture through building new relationships, improving your language skills, traveling around China, and tasting new foods.  Picture of Xuanwu Lake I took during one of my walks As a student who has gone through the Hopkins-Nanjing Center Certificate program and is finishing the Johns Hopkins SAIS MA, I’d like to share my experiences with you! Nanjing’s historical and relaxed city was my home for a year. I took many walks around Xuanwu Lake and visited the Presidential Pal...

Name: Hilde Marie Moholth Program: Hopkins-Nanjing Center Certificate + Johns Hopkins SAIS MAIA Hometown: Kongsberg, Norway Undergraduate Institution and Major : Chinese University of Hong Kong, Contemporary China Studies (Bachelor of Social Science BSSC) Tell us about your background and how you became interested in China. I had a vague interest in all things related to Asia when I was a child. Through a high school exchange, I ended up in Hong Kong. I had decided that if I were to study abroad, I would go somewhere really different. I returned to Norway to finish high school, did a year of engineering, and then did a gap year to study Chinese martial arts and Chinese language. After high school, I went to live and study in a tiny village in the west of Norway, where there was a school for students who had finished high school but did not want to start university yet. I met a couple who had gone to 北京体育大学 (Beijing Sport University) and did 武术 (Wushu). They taught us Chine...

Certificate Student Cady Deck ’19 shares what her typical day is like at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. Below is a brief overview of an average weekday for me at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. As a Certificate student, this semester I am taking three classes taught in Chinese and one class taught in English. 8:00 AM In the mornings I usually go for a run around 玄武湖 (Xuanwu Lake) or along 秦淮河 (Qinhuai River). I find that running is a great way to explore the city and briefly leave the Hopkins-Nanjing Center bubble.  9:30 AM I’m someone who has to eat breakfast every day. I rarely make it to the cafeteria before it closes, so I usually eat in my room. I stock up on breakfast foods at 百家, the grocery store around the corner from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. My go-to breakfast is granola with yogurt and fruit. 9:50 AM Every Monday I have a class called Ethnic Minorities in Chinese Society. Recently we’ve been reading and discussing articles about different ethnic minority groups in detail...

For the last three years, the Hopkins-Nanjing Center has held an annual photo contest. Students submit their best photos from studying at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, living in Nanjing, traveling during school breaks, or visiting home. Winning photos are selected from the following categories: Best Travel Photo, Most Thought-Provoking, Most Beautiful, Most Creative, Most “HNC”, and Best Overall. Check out the winning photos from this year below! Best Travel Photo and Best Overall Chris Vandiford, Master of Arts in International Studies ’19  Don’t look down 别往下看 Most Beautiful Jiang Hao, HNC Certificate ’19  大西洋边的哈桑二世清真寺，摩洛哥卡萨布兰卡  The Hassan II Mosque by the Atlantic Ocean, Casablanca, Morocco Most Beautiful Hayden Paulsen, HNC Certificate ’19 + Johns Hopkins SAIS MA ’20   Chongming Island 崇明岛 Most Creative, Fan Chengyi Master of Arts in International Studies ’20 Late Autumn at the HNC 石冷开常晚，风多落亦频——中心晚秋 Most Creative Ge Yongrui, Master o...