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By Donald N.S. Unger
 Edmond Yip ’05 grew up in Providence , R.I. , in
a household that included his grandparents as well as his
parents, and, in which, Cantonese was one of the primary
languages spoken. Both of his parents came to the United
States from Hong Kong , where most of his mother’s
side of the family continues to live. Still, Yip did not
often feel sufficiently connected to Chinese culture.
“I always wanted to learn Mandarin,” he says, “because
I felt somewhat lost from the culture of my ethnicity growing
up in Providence . The deeper realization of my ignorance
of Chinese culture began with my experience in Harbin with
our native Chinese roommates.”
According to Professor Claudia Ross, who teaches Chinese
in the department of modern languages and literatures, “Most
Holy Cross students study at the Beijing Institute of Education.
Students with more advanced Chinese language skills can study
at the Harbin Institute of Technology.”
“Initially, I wanted to go to Beijing ,” Yip
says. “I had never even heard of Harbin . But Professor
Ross convinced me to go up to Harbin for a better learning
environment since it was not as international a city as Beijing.”
“Both programs house students with Chinese roommates,” Ross
says, “setting the groundwork for real friendships
between the Chinese and the ‘foreign’ students,
and for real, meaningful cultural exchange. A unique feature
of study in Harbin is that ‘foreigners,’ and
in particular, English-speaking Americans and Europeans,
are few, so students have no choice but to interact in Chinese
on a regular basis, further strengthening their Chinese language
skills and their understanding of Chinese culture.”
With a double major in economics and Chinese language and
civilization, Yip has made good use of the curricular options
available to him, both in Harbin and at the College.
He particularly enjoyed a one-on-one tutorial class for
which he was able to choose the topic: “Chinese Film
and Pop-Culture.”
“The teacher and I pretty much became friends,” he
says. “I could ask her about more than just pop‑culture
in China , and she could ask me questions about the U.S.
and what I thought about China .”
On his return to campus, Yip felt that his appreciation
for other courses was also greatly enhanced. He cites in
particular Professor Karen Turner’s course, “Law
and Human Rights in China .”
“I was able to relate to the things we were learning,
especially having spoken to our [Chinese] roommates about
how they felt about some controversial issues. I saw the
changes and progress that China has made.”
While he says his academic choices were not based on future
professional plans, Yip still sees his connection to China
as ongoing, for both personal and—at least potentially—business
reasons.
“At some point in my life,” he says, “I
would like to work in or with China in some sort of business.”
More on study abroad is this issue
No Accidental Tourism in
Study Abroad >
Sisters Abroad >
Edmond Yip '05: from the
Northeastern U.S. to Northeastern China >
Study Abroad: The Facts >
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