My Volunteering Experience

Happy International Volunteer Day! On this special occasion this year, we would like to invite you to join in our celebration with Xinxin, one of our proactive students who has had great volunteering (志愿 zhìyuàn) experience at Queen’s and else where.

Xinxin WANG (王心欣), a postgraduate from Queen’s Law School, has just successfully completed her Master of Law in International Commercial & Business Law this Winter 2023. She is from Tianjin, China. Before she came to Queen’s, she has had good working experience in China, focusing on accountancy and business advisory services.

Photo of Xinxin at CNY Celebration in 2023 at Queen’s University | Photo Credit: Liang Wang

Volunteering, hard work? Yes! And paid? No! That’s volunteering, but it makes me feel great and meaningful rather than seeking financial rewarding. It brings me a diverse feeling of life and to obtain satisfaction from helping others. There is a saying in Chinese, “与人玫瑰,手有余香 (yǔ rén méiguī shǒu yǒu yú xiāng).

What kind of volunteering experience have you had so far and how did you feel about such volunteering experiences?

In the celebration of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Rabbit) held by our University, I worked with other Chinese students and teachers as volunteers (志愿者 zhìyuànzhě), and I felt great that we could celebrate this most important Chinese festival together at Queen’s. This was my first time celebrating Chinese New Year away from my family. The wonderful experience released me from being overly homesick and helped me earn a sense of joyful reunion with my folks and friends at Queen’s as a big family.

In the ‘One Young World 2023 Belfast’ event, which was a big celebration for the world’s youth leaders in politics, journalism, commercial area, sports and so on, I was the helper for the opening ceremony and workshops. As a volunteer, I could have the opportunity to meet figures who are successful and influential in various industries. I felt grateful that I could have the opportunity to communicate with the organisers and speakers who inspired me with their stories and experiences in different commercial areas, which broadened my horizons and expanded my network with people from different cultural backgrounds. When I received the “Thank You Event” invitation from the organising committee and an invitation to be a referral for a friend in her volunteering work application last week, I felt warm and touched because my efforts and kindness are highly recognised, which also could build my confidence about the future.

In sport events like the Antrim Coast Half Marathon 2023 and 3K & 5K Running, I assisted with registration and passing waters to athletes during running and I was encouraged by their spirits and enthusiasm towards sports and life.

In the past, I also worked as a volunteer in many events in China, like helping with delivering food and nucleic acid amplification tests during the COVID-19 blocking period; helping in Beijing Olympic Games 2008 and tour guide of Tianjin Museum in 2006. From my volunteering experience, I became more and more knowledgeable and collaborative and made many friends.

What was the value of volunteering experience to you?

To me, the meaning of volunteering experience is far more than finding a paid work, especially when I study and live abroad, which offers me a sense of belonging and helps to expand my network with diverse team and people with different occupations and cultural backgrounds. More importantly, I could have a chance to know better about the ways of working in my current capacity, which could allow me a quickly adapt to the working environment in the future.

What message would you like to pass on to like-minded people looking for volunteering opportunities?

If you also want to practice in the real world, no matter what your expertise or employability skill are, please do not hesitate to seize the volunteering opportunity, and go for it!

Call for Volunteering for CNY Celebrations

Happy International Volunteer Day (05/12)!

The Language Centre is organising a Chinese New Year Celebration Information Session to mark the International Volunteer Day (05/12) on Monday 04/12 (13:00-15:00) at the Auditorium, McClay Library. If you are interested in what’s going to happen and how you can get involved, feel free to pop in and join us in the session.

Call for volunteers

As the Year of the Dragon (龙年春节) is arriving in Feb 2024, we are looking for talented students and staff members to volunteer for our Chinese New Year celebration at Queen’s. It could be in the form of a variety of cultural performances, or language/culture-related topics and skills, and is open to both Chinese-speaking and non-Chinese speaking volunteers.

If you would like to express your interest in volunteering for the preparation and delivery of the proposed events, feel free to scan the QR code, or click the Form URL below to submit your interest.

We also look forward to working with you in our future language and cultural events.

Language Centre Course Enrolment

The second enrolment for courses, including Chinese, to start in January 2024 has now been available online. Anyone wishing to learning Chinese can find relevant course timetable and registration information from The Language Centre Homepage.

Happy UN Chinese Language Day

The date for the Chinese day was selected from Guyu (“Rain of Millet”), which is the 6th of 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendars, to pay tribute to Cangjie. Cangjie is a very important figure in ancient China, claimed to be an official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend has it that he had four eyes and four pupils, and that when he invented the characters, the deities and ghosts cried and the sky rained millet. From then on, Chinese people celebrate the day Guyu in honour of Cangjie. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around April 20.

The UN

On this occasion we provide this special edition to invite you to join us in celebrating the charm of the Chinese language – in its written form through calligraphy and spoken form through recitation.

SONG Yihui (宋一卉), a recently graduated doctoral student from School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, has a number of hobbies rooted in traditional Chinese culture, including calligraphy, classic dancing and Hanfu costume. Below she tells us how she has maintained her practice of Chinese calligraphy since childhood.

I first learned calligraphy when I was eight years old, probably because of my curiosity facilitated by my parents. At that time, I started from learning to write the basic strokes – horizontal and vertical, which required a lot of patience and perseverance. I was so envious of other fellows who could exercise their skillful hands freely. However, after learning Yan-style of calligraphy for three years when I wrote with more confidence, I had to put down my brush and switched my full attention to my study which became more demanding. It was not until in my college time that I picked up my brush again with my genuine passion for calligraphy. This flame of enthusiasm has been kept for my life in the UK. When I was packing up my luggage, I had no hesitation to include my beloved set of calligraphy treasures in the suitcase.

To me, calligraphy is a journey of time and space through the written form of our language, with which I could always conduct spiritual dialogues with our ancestors thousands of years ago.

Below is a selected collection of Yihui’s calligraphic works.

WEI Ziqing (魏子晴) is currently doing MA Interpreting at the School of Arts, English and Language. Among her many talents she has a strong passion for recitation. In the recent QUB Multilingual Poetry and Music Festival she contributed to the event by doing a Chinese poetry recitation – ‘The Chinese Language’. With her kind permission, we invite her to share with us her recitation.

To be honest, my performance on the day was not really as perfect as I thought. However, I found that at least three girls from the audience were moved to tears, to my great surprise. One of the girls later said to me that even though she could not understand the language, her heart was greatly touched by the sound of language and she couldn’t help shedding tears.

Below is the Ziqing’s Instagram post on her recitation, followed by the bilingual text versions.

中国话
有一种语言,它 很神秘,它蕴涵着一个民族上下几千年 悲喜交加的情感;

有一种语言,它很古老,古老到那刻在骨头上的文字里都找不到 它的起源;

有一种语言,它很丰富,阴阳上去中 回荡着 慷慨激昂 倾诉着 温宛 缠绵;

这,便是中国话,

一个古老的 东方神话!

中国话,

是如诗如画的表达,

“树索索而摇枝,马得得而驰骋”

——哪一种语言  

有 如此逼真的描摹?

“落霞与孤鹜齐飞,秋水 共长天一色”

——哪一种语言  

能说出如此图画般的美丽?

“春江潮水连海平,海上明月共潮生⋯⋯”

——哪一种语言 能有 如此动听的节律?

“我失骄阳君失柳,杨柳轻扬直上重霄九”

——哪一种语言

能一语译透你丰厚的含义?

中国话 是中国人

心灵深处的吐纳。

是屈原的长叹 ,项羽的啸吼

是李白的浪漫 ,杜甫的讥讽,

是“五四”前夜,

李大钊在拊掌欢呼

《庶民的胜利》,

是面对敌人的屠刀,

鲁迅在指斥《无声的中国》,

是迎着特务的枪弹,

闻一多拍案而起,弘扬正义!

是礼炮声中毛泽东庄严宣告:民族 站起!

那黄河的不羁和刚强,是中国话!

那长江的奔放和潇洒,是中国话!

那大山的雄武,高原的粗犷,是中国话!

那江南的温柔,水乡的秀雅,是中国话!

听,中国话正在通过我的喉头在联合国的讲台上响起

–那么亲切,优美,

—那么有力,伟大!

中国话 你属于一个伟大的民族,

一个朝阳升腾的天地!

我爱你,我们的 中国话!!!

The Chinese Language
There is a language – it is very mysterious and contains the emotional ups and downs of a nation for thousands of years;

There is a language – it is so ancient that its origin cannot be found in the characters engraved in bones;

There is a language – it is very rich, resonating with generosity and passion, warmth and tenderness in the alternation of Yin and Yang;

This is the Chinese language.

An ancient oriental myth!

Chinese language

is an expression like poetry and painting.

‘The trees rustle and shake their branches, The horses gallop and run freely.’

–which language 

has such a vivid illustration?

“Rosy evening clouds and the lonely duck fly together; The autumn water shares the same colour with the sky.”

–which language can tell such picturesque beauty?

‘The spring tide of the river joins the sea, and the bright moon rises with the tide on the sea…’

–Which language can have such an enchanting rhythm?

“I’ve lost my sun, you’ve lost your willow, the willow lightly rises to the Ninth Heaven”

–what other language

Can translate the richness of your meaning in one word?

Chinese language is the breathing of the Chinese people’s soul.

It is the long sigh of Qu Yuan, the roar of Xiang Yu,

The romance of Li Bai, the irony of Du Fu.

It is Li Dazhao cheering and applauding
“The Victory of the Common People” on the eve of May Fourth Movement,

It is Lu Xun criticizing “The Silent China” in the face of enemy’s butcher’s knife,

It is Wen Yiduo rising up and promoting justice in the face of bullets from secret agents,

It is Mao Zedong solemnly declaring “The Chinese nation has stood up!” amidst the sound of salute.

The recklessness and fortitude of the Yellow River is Chinese language!

The unrestrained and boldness of the Yangtze River is Chinese language!

The magnificence of the mountains, the ruggedness of the plateau, is Chinese language!

The gentleness of the south of the Yangtze River, the elegance of the water town, is Chinese language!

Listen, the Chinese language is echoing through my voice on the podium of the United Nations

-So friendly, beautiful,

-So powerful, great!

Chinese language , you belong to a great nation, a world where the sun rises!

I love you, our Chinese language!

Sign up for a Chinese course

If you would like to learn more about the beauty of the Chinese language and are interested in attending a course, you are welcome to check our courses below and register as soon as you can. The cutting off date is rightly on Thursday 20 April, the UN Chinese Language Day! Don’t miss out!

Holi: A Festival of Colours and Joy

The Cultural Diversity at Queen’s programme not only welcomes international students and staff members introduce their own cultures, but also encourages them to share their intercultural experience through this blog channel. Below is what GAO Ying, a Chinese student from Management School, told us her interesting experience of being invited to the Holi Festival celebration just a couple of days before the festival starts today, 8th March (also the International Women’s Day).

Happy Holi 2023 - GaoYing & her friends
Happy Holi 2023 – GaoYing & her friends | Image@GAOYing

What did you know about this Holi Festival?

Well, actually before I was invited I knew little of it. Since I started my life at Queen’s I have made friends with a lot of international students, including Indians, many of whom are also my classmates. I have learned from them (and Google) that the colourful Holi festival is Indians’ celebration of the triumph of good over evil and the destruction of Holika, the banshee. It is also the joyous day when the Holi Festival begins with singing and dancing throughout not only India but also the world along with the diaspora. At the same time, it also represents the end of the monotonous colour of winter, followed by the spring flowers.

This year Holi falls on the 8th March, but it’s celebrated a bit earlier on the 5th March, which is a Sunday, so as to encourage more students to join.

What was your Holi experience and the joy of it?

Before I went, I was told by my best friend Parvin, who is a lovely Indian girl, that I’d better wear a white T-shirt because people would use coloured powder throwing to each other and into the air to celebrate Holi. After getting the ticket through an app, I went together with my friends to the Botanic Inn, which is a bar near Queen’s. I was quite eager to taste the new culture and would also be keen to meet some new friends at the event.

The celebration was arranged outdoors and everybody looked so excited. There was a DJ from Dublin who was invited here for music production. With energetic music, my Indian classmates introduced me to their friends then we all danced together. They taught me some Indian dancing steps and movements, some of which were actually from the daily actions of Indian labourers, such as grinding, stirring or making naan bread. We laughed, held each other’s hands and danced to the music, laughing out loud. It was so much fun with relaxing time. Of course, we all had colours on our faces and our bodies – no one could escape! I felt so happy that I should have another chance to know more about them.

What has been your overall student life experience with Queen’s so far?

Before I arrived at Queen’s, I had already heard from its media and social media like WeChat that Queen’s is a beautiful university with international students from many different cultures, which impressed me a lot.

When I came here, I enjoyed some local celebrations such as Halloween and Christmas, which was great because they gave a quite authentic feel. But the first large cultural event I was seriously engaged with was to attend as a student volunteer for the ArtEast Exhibition at the Ulster Museum, as part of the Chinese New Year Celebration programme at Queen’s. I was really proud of being able to help with promoting my own culture to visitors from other cultures. Now, through the Holi celebration I started to explore more other cultures which were distant to me originally. I really appreciate Queen’s multicultural environment, within which I have already started to harvest happiness, friendship, and a heart full of love.

I certainly have enjoyed my colourful life here and would like to encourage my friends, Chinese and international, to live our lives together in a more interactive and interesting way while studying at Queen’s.

We also thank GAO Ying for kindly sharing her Instagram account with us, which includes a video clip of their Holi Celebration! You are welcome to share your thoughts and comments with us in the reply box below or with Ying on her social media.

More cultural events updated

The first half of the CNY celebrations went on extremely well, featuring the student-led Interactive Chinese Culture Displays and Demos, the CNY2023 Launch Event, and the art exhibitions both online and in-person. We would like to send our ‘thank-you’ to all of you who have contributed, participated in and helped with promotion. We hope that you have enjoyed yourselves.

In the following part of the CNY Programme, we continue to warmly welcome you to attend a series of culture talks, a fun time table tennis event and a guzheng introductory workshop. All QUB students and staff members are welcome!

More information and registration

Click below for registration and viewing the full programme

Tasting the Rabbit

Interactive Chinese Cultural Display and Demo

Date: Friday 20 January 2023
Time: 13:00 – 16:00
Venue: 1st Floor Social Space, The Graduate School

About the Event:

Some of the main activities will include Chinese way of traditional writing in calligraphy, performances of musical instruments such as guzheng, guqin, and skills of practising taiji, Chinese dance and traditional Chinese costumes, all of which enriches the interactive topics through live demonstrations and hands-on practice.

Timeline

§ 13:00-13:15: Start and welcome

§ 13:15-13:30: Guzheng performance (DENG Wei)

§ 14:15-14:30: Taiji performance (DA Wenkai)

§ 15:00-15:10: Chinese classic dance (SONG Yihui)

This half-day event is free for all. Tea/coffee and refreshments (including a taste of Chinese traditional snacks) are provided. Booking is needed due to capacity. Please complete the registration form below.

Volunteering for wellbeing

Starting from October 30th on, the whole country has officially entered its wintertime. Have you started to feel depression and loneliness because of the early darkness, wet weather and fast-approaching assignment deadlines? Have you ever wondered how long this awful wintertime will actually last before you can regain your peace of mind?

We are pleased to welcome Sun Xingge (孙邢格), MSc candidate in Advanced Professional and Clinical Practice from School of Nursing and Midwifery, to share her fresh experience of joining the Student Union’s (学生会 xuéshēnghuì) Volunteering (志愿行动 zhìyuàn xíngdòng) and Wellbeing (安康 ānkāng) Fair hosted on Wednesday 2nd November.

It’s been amazing that Queen’s Student Union hosted this Volunteering and Wellbeing Fair at this time of the year as it sets a goal to make us aware of the importance of taking care of ourselves and others. From 12pm to 4pm at the Mandela Hall, One Elmwood, I took part in wellbeing activities like dog petting, crafting, DJ taster session, yoga and more, which was lots of fun and a fantastic feel-good experience.

But it’s about more than just having fun. As a Nursing student I’m keen to meet a range of not-for-profit organisations (非盈利组织 fēi yínglì zǔzhī) to find out about the opportunities available to me, to meet new friends, to discover new interests, to build my confidence, all through participating in volunteering. I believe that this could help me gain invaluable experience for my life and my future career. For example, I had a chance to join the simulation game of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR, 心肺复苏 xīnfèi fùsū), which has updated me with the key steps of undertaking CPR.

Flowerpot design

Among the many activities, I particularly enjoyed the flowerpot designing activity, as I had the luxury of choosing from loads of flowers to design my own flowerpot, which really stimulated my imagination and increased my sense of achievement. When I was focusing on flowerpot designing, I actually tended to forget all my worries and felt much relaxed. I chose orange as the theme color and picked up sunflowers, roses, and daisies, which represent sunshine and hope. After finishing making the pot, I brought my product home and presented it to my friend as a little surprise (小惊喜 xiǎo jīngxǐ). She was so grateful (感激 gǎnjī; 领情 lǐng qíng) and loved my gift. See, my joy from making this flowerpot and my friend’s joy of receiving my little gift has already awarded me double happiness (双倍快乐 shuāngbèi kuàilè) during the day.

Free food and healthy diet

In addition to flowerpot designing, I also appreciated being advised to follow a healthy diet (健康饮食 jiànkāng yǐnshí), which turns out to be a crucial thing for us all as it is one of the main ways to improve our physical and mental health. I was impressed by the provision with free (免费 miǎnfèi) hot lunch boxes (a selection between chicken and vegan curry) and a great variety of free healthy snacks at the fair – rice cakes, chickpeas, corn, and nuts, to name a few. The hot lunch box meant a lot to me because I’m so used to eating hot meal (热食 rèshí) when I was in China, especially since it made me feel warm during this cold winter, being distant from my home.

More student and wellbeing events

Contributor: SUN Xingge
Editors: Lauren McShane and WANG Liang

The Fun of Underwater Hockey

Image@XiaXiaoxuan

As the summer solstice (夏至 xiàzhì, lit. the arrival of the summer) approaches soon on 21st June, regardless of the real temperature, we would like to introduce to you a sport that suits the season – underwater hockey through the eyes of XIA Xiaoxuan (夏霄璇), a Queen’s PhD candidate and Belfast Underwater Hockey (UWH) member.

What is underwater hockey
Underwater hockey (水下曲棍球 shuǐxià qūgùnqiú) is a fun, fast-paced, three-dimensional game played at the bottom of a 2.5-metre-deep pool. Two teams of six players in the water and four subs (替补队员 tìbǔ duìyuán) face off against each other. Players wear 1) a snorkel (呼吸管 hūxīguǎn), 2) a headgear (泳帽 yǒngmào), 3) a mask (面罩 miànzhào), 4) fins (脚蹼 jiǎopǔ), and 7) a protective glove (防护手套 fánghù shǒutào). They score goals with 5) a stick (球棍 qiúgùn) to hit 6) a puck (冰球 bīngqiú) by using skill, freediving (自由潜水 zìyóu qiánshuǐ), manoeuvrability and holding their breath.

The sport first appeared in England in 1954, when Alan Blake invented a game he called Octopush. Blake used the game to keep Southsea Sub-Aqua Club members active during winter when open-water diving lost its appeal. Since then, it has expanded globally.

An accidental engagement

An accidental opportunity, I started playing underwater hockey in the summer time in 2019. When I finished my swimming, I noticed some people in the diving pool practicing freediving, which I had always wanted to learn. So I had a quick chat with them about their next training time and my willingness to join in. When I came to the ‘freediving’ training, I noticed it was so much more than just freediving – they were holding short sticks at the bottom of the pool and fighting each other to get a puck into the goal.

‘Well, I just came here to learn freediving. Once I touch the bottom, I’ll definitely quit.’ I told my coach, a player in the QUB UWH team.

At my third training session, I finally touched the bottom of the pool and could control my breath well. My teammates warmly congratulated me and encouraged me to join in the game just for fun and promised that they would be kind to me.

‘This will be my last training anyway, and this game might be my last UWH game.’ I thought and joined in. However, I changed my mind when I touched the puck set in the centre at the bottom of the pool. I wanted to play this game! When I pushed the puck into the goal, I confirmed my decision about playing the UWH in the future!

I have been trained in the team over the past few years and played with different teams in different pools. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to join in the Women’s Nationals 2022, an underwater hockey competition held in Leeds, as a member of the Irish Women’s Team.

The fun factors of playing UWH

There are good reasons why I’m now so fond of (非常喜欢 fēicháng xǐhuan; 乐此不疲 lè cǐ bù pí) playing underwater hockey. I like the quiet but tacit cooperation between team members (团队成员 tuánduì chéngyuán). It helps me to keep up my training to hone my skills as well as reach my own individual fitness goals (健身目标 jiànshēn mùbiāo) better. When I play the UWH, the only two things I care about are my breath and the puck, which help me to copy with stress.

My skills improved during this time, and more importantly, I met lots of lovely people of all ages, from all over the world who are passionate about UWH too. Some have played UWH since their youth for over twenty years and kept up excellent levels of fitness and skills. Some of them met each other through UWH training and eventually got married and had a baby. Some of them encouraged their family members to join in the sport – now, a father might not possess the puck all the time due to the solid defence and strong attack from his daughters!

Thanks to my accidental encounter with it, I have really been in love with underwater hockey as an excellent and attractive sport to enrich my life experience while doing my PhD study. I definitely recommend it to you all and beginners are always welcome!

Belfast Underwater Hockey Club at Queen’s

QUB UWH Club

Belfast UWH was first established in 2014 and since then we have grown into a diverse club with members from all over the world, various ages and skill levels. We represent Queens University Belfast at numerous tournaments throughout the year including Student Nationals, Irish League games and International tournaments where everyone is welcome on the team regardless of skill level.

Belfast UWH

2021 Christmas Dinner Party | Image@BelfastUWH

Author: XIA Xiaoxuan
Editors: Lauren McShane and WANG Liang

Have you joined any other QUB Sport Clubs? You are very welcome to share your experience by using the comment box below.

Happy Year of The Tiger

虎年快乐!Hǔnián kuàilè!

The Language Centre at Queen’s and the BAME&I Staff Network invite staff, students, as well as members of the public, to join in welcoming the Year of The Tiger, which falls on Tuesday 1 February, with a variety of online cultural celebrations that explore the theme of Connectedness and Inclusion.

The launch event is scheduled between 13:00 and 14:15 on Wed 2 February featuring welcomes, cultural performances and a guest talk, followed by a variety of culture talks in the following weeks, as part of the Chinese Culture Forum 2022. All welcome!

The online Art Exhibition, in collaboration with the ArtEast Club, is open for viewing now. You are very welcome to leave your thoughts and votes for the ones you like best from each other the artists.

For the full programme and registration links, visit Chinese Culture Programme 2022.