Eid al-Adha (古尔邦节 Gǔ’ěrbāng jié, 宰牲节 zǎishēng jié), which is considered one of the two Eid festivals observed by Muslims (穆斯林 Mùsīlín) each year, is celebrated on 10th Dhul-Hijjah, the 12th month in Islamic calendar, all over the world.
The festival commemorates the story of Prophet Ibrahim (先知 易卜拉辛 xiānzhī Yìbǔlāxīn) and his willingness to sacrifice (牺牲 xīshēng) his son as an act of obedience to Allah (真主 Zhēnzhǔ). This year, the Belfast Islamic Centre (BIC) together with the Belfast Multi-Cultural Association (BMCA) held an Eid Festival in the Botanic Gardens on Wednesday 28th June 2023.
Ying GAO (高莹), one of Queen’s Management School students, enjoyed her participation in the celebration of Eid al-Adha. Below is what she described and the photos shared in her social media:
My Muslim classmates invited me to join this event as of the biggest celebrations of their calendar. In the morning, there was Eid Al-Adha salah (礼拜 lǐbài), summoning hundreds of believers to come to pray together. After the salah, my friends and I went to see various stalls displaying traditional items: Henna, Halal food (清真食物 qīngzhēn shíwù) to purchase, and face painting. Everyone dressed up in modesty for the festival. Traditional clothing options for women for Eid are Abaya and Headscarf. For men, it is Thwab with Ghutra and Igaal. I wore a cheongsam (旗袍 qípáo) to attend the event and wowed my friend. They showed me around in the garden, introduced me to their friends, and introduced me to different kinds of food. I love the traditional dessert (甜品tián pǐn) called bakhlava. Studying in Queen’s gives me a good chance to explore and understand different cultures, creating memorable experiences.
July is a bustling season for graduation and it is the time to wish the graduates a great success and a bright future. No matter where they go, they are closely linked to Queen’s as a valued alumnus member.In May 2023, Queen’s held a series of activities for Chinese alumni in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou respectively. Many outstanding Queen’s alumni from different parts of China excitedly joined one of the sessions with a welcome-home atmosphere.
On this special occasion, we are glad to invite Lina SHI (史丽娜), aka. Selena in English, an MA graduate in Arts Management from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences in 2018, to share her Queen’s experience and life after graduation. Currently, she is working in the KPMG Beijing Office.
To my memory, this is the second alumni association held in Beijing. Although I missed the first one, I feel honoured to have become one of the four volunteers at the reception this time to introduce the alumni association event to the delegates.
Lina
Volunteer’s view of the Alumni Event in Beijing | Image: Lina SHI
Seeing such activities as a precious opportunity for them to take a break from their busy professional and family lives, Lina was delighted to meet and chat with each other at the Beijing session.
I am delighted to find that Queen’s graduates are now doing well. Whether within national institutions or within foreign and local companies (本土公司 běntǔ gōngsī), Queen’s students contribute their knowledge and abilities to their positions. Undoubtedly, our Queen’s educational experience gave us solid academic standing when it came to job hunting post-graduation (毕业求职 bìyè qiúzhí). As a result, you would find that Queen’s graduates occupied many varied positions in a wide range of fields, including international companies and even Chinese government offices (国家机关 guójiā jīguān).
Social time after the Alumni event | Image: Lina SHI
When asked what the best experience she ever had when studying at Queen’s, Lina attributed her highlights to her intercultural learning experience during her internship:
I would tell any future student that if you choose to study at Queen’s, it would be a wonderful learning journey. Many things and people made the experience feel unforgettable for me. For example, I gained valuable internship (实习 shíxí) experience in Belfast.
As part of the assessments for my major, Arts Management, I needed to independently source an internship in arts management at local arts institutions. To be honest, it was hard for international students at that time. But don’t worry, every classmate finished their arts internship work in the end. It was an extremely helpful experience for my career.
I spent three months working in an arts management internship at Ulster Youth Orchestra (管弦乐队 guǎnxián yuèduì). The Ulster Youth Orchestra exists to enable young people from throughout Northern Ireland to achieve their musical potential through the provision of the highest quality of professional tuition. I worked in UYO’s administrative office, located in Royal Avenue, Belfast. I was very lucky to join the rehearsal for the 25th Anniversary Concert in 2018.
A grand view of the Orchestra performance at the Ulster Hall, Belfast | Image: Lina SHI
Generally, my internship duties (职务 zhí wù) included putting forward arts fundraising applications to the UK and local government, communicating, and preparing rehearsal venues, cooperating with local other arts institutions, recording membership information and managing and archiving sheet music.
My manager and colleagues are very kind with international students like me. On the day of my birthday, Paula, the arts manager of Ulster Youth Orchestra, sent me a card and balloon to celebrate. What’s more, she treated me to a nice dinner with the team when my internship ended. The experience is very beneficial to the work I do in Beijing now.
A Thank-you card to Lina | Image: Lina SHI
We hope that sharing Lina’s experience has given you hope and motivation for choosing Queen’s University Belfast! As QUB’s motto goes, ‘Shape A Better World’, you have been shaped by Queen’s and you are shaping Queen’s and a wider society as well. Hope the better world will be more beautiful with the better you in the future!
Author: Lina SHI Editors: Lauren McShane and Liang WANG
Translating Age – Sharing experiences of being an older woman in a new country
This post is circulated on behalf of Professor Tess Maginess from School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, who are looking for older female participants of diverse cultural backgrounds, including those from the Chinese community to share their experiences of living in Northern Ireland. Any queries related to this project need to be directed to Professor Maginess (see contact information below).
