Between the end of classes and graduation weekend this May, I had the great pleasure of traveling to China to check in on our CAPS program at Beida (Peking University).
Our excellent and dedicated CAPS staff (below) is continuing to provide outstanding support and instruction to each and every Cornell student who spends a semester with us at Beida. They also proved to be the most hospitable hosts while I was on the Beida campus. Hao Xinmiao and Qi Kai were most helpful in arranging meetings while I was in Beijing, and Wang Chunyang opened up her Chinese class for me to visit (reminding me at the same time of a few forgotten vocabulary words).
In addition, our relationship with the School for International Studies remains strong. SIS’s leadership is even interested in exploring ways to expand the level of exchange between Beida and Cornell.
Most importantly, our students continue to find the semester in China to be the high point of their experience with CAPS. This sentiment was once again relayed to me during my many meetings with a group of students who were in Beijing this spring (Niall, Robin, and Clara). With them I shared a dinner at my new favorite noodle shop near Beida, and I took the group on a day tour of some of the lesser-known (but remarkable) temples and mosques on the southern side of the city.
In short, the visit left me with the feeling that the CAPS future in Beijing is quite bright. Indeed, next semester we will double the number of students studying in China’s capital. This growth, along with our efforts to further strengthen and enhance the student experience during the Beijing semester, bodes very well for the future of CAPS.
