Beginning with the Moon and More - Essay Example

Huajun Zhang Ms. Lantz English 101 28 September Beginning with the Moon and more The Chinese and Scholars Association (CSSA) at WVU is an official organization at West Virginia University Morgantown campus that has operated since 1997. It is a non-profit and non-political organization with a voluntary executive committee. The CSSA, now with over 1000 members, has been a key participant in various WVU student organized activities on campus as well as in other important events in the city of Morgantown, WV. Membership of the CSSA is open to all Chinese students, scholars, and faculty members at West Virginia University. Other Chinese in the Morgantown community are welcome to become members of the association. The main missions of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) at WVU are as follows: To promote social and cultural exchange among the Chinese community and other cultural and social groups on campus and in Morgantown, WV To serve as a coordinating center and provide information and services to Chinese students and scholars, especially to newcomers to the university To organize festival celebrations, cultural events, sporting activities, and other small gatherings to enrich the lives of Chinese students and scholars To represent Chinese students and scholars through expressing their wishes and protecting their entitled rights Have you ever heard of “The Lunar Calendar”? Do you know the particular day when the moon will be its fullest and brightest during the entire year? Do you realize at certain nights while you are sleeping in your bed, the people living on the other side of the earth could be celebrating one of their most important festivals at the same time. If I bring up the term “moon”, what is the first thing that comes into your mind? I will attempt to help you form a though by discussing the famous “Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.” “Zhong Qiu Jie,” which is also known as the “Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival,” is one of the most important traditional festivals for ethnic Chinese people worldwide. This festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, or on the exact day when the moon is its fullest and brightest within the entire year. It is also a time for family numbers and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon, which is an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony, and good luck. Currently, the WVU Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) is planned to bring the festival to Morgantown. They want to hold an evening gala known as “the Mid-Autumn evening” at the Mountainliar Ballroom to celebrate the festival on October 4, 2014. “It’s a great opportunity to take a peek at traditional Chinese culture and it will also be a lot of fun!” said Zheyuan Yi, the president of the CSSA. In fact, the Mid-Autumn evening has been held annually by the CSSA at WVU since the year 2000. During every year’s evening gala there have usually been performances by Chinese students, scholars at WVU, and local ethnic Chinese residents. Also included have been interactive games, such as “lantern riddles” about traditional Chinese culture. More than this, there have also been classic Chinese desserts and refreshments, especially “moon cakes,” which are a traditional Chinese dessert that people have at the Mid-Autumn festival. The reason why it is called this name is because it has a round shape like a moon. Compared with previous “Mid-Autumn evenings”, what’s new for this year’s event? “Actually, I’m going to say this year’s event is kind of a little different, not only the evening gala but also the entire celebration event. For the gala, over the past few years we were trying to add more popular elements from modern Chinese society to the performances. Other than keeping the traditional elements of the festival, we were really trying to bring what is popular and fashionable now in China to WVU through cultural performances. In addition to that, this year we will also have two exhibitions (on Thursday and Friday) before the evening gala about the tradition of the festival and how Chinese people spend their Mid-Autumn evenings right here in Morgantown,” Zheyuan revealed (Yi, 2014). In fact, besides the “Mid-Autumn evening,” there are also many events and activities held by WVU CSSA. “For example, we also held the China-US culture and arts exhibition at High Street earlier this semester, and last semester the CSSA organized the third annual Chinese-American basketball competition, while we also volunteered at local nursing homes and churches…” Zheyuan added (Yi, 2014). At the invitation of Zheyuan, the author joined the CSSA last Saturday and spent a wonderful afternoon with the students and members of the CSSA at Morgantown Chinese primary school, which is a part-time voluntary school devoted to creating Chinese culture and traditional environment for local Chinese children in Morgantown. During these activities, the members of CSSA used PowerPoint presentations to introduce the students to festival customs and the traditional culture of the Mid-Autumn Festival. After the activities were over, the CSSA members and teachers at the primary school also cleaned the classrooms and prepared decorations for the upcoming festival. After parting from the teachers at the Chinese primary school and on the way back to the campus, Zheyuan began to recall her very first memory with the Chinese primary school. Zheyuan remembered back to about two years ago, when she had just started as the president of CSSA. One morning, she picked up a call from Mrs. Lin, the principal and also a Chinese teacher at the local Chinese primary school. Mrs. Lin told her that the Chinese primary school was in the predicament of being short of part-time teachers and volunteers, and she wanted to ask the CSSA for help to change the situation. Zheyuan remembered that Mrs. Lin first briefly introduced the general information of the Chinese primary school. After that, Mrs. Lin explained the predicament to Zheyuan. After more and more Chinese knew about the Chinese primary school, they asked the school to see if they could send their children there. However, as a part-time voluntary school which had been established only for six months, Mrs. Lin and her colleagues faced a difficult situation. “I remember that she asked me reservedly to see if any CSSA members could help in their free time to fill the empty positions as teachers and volunteers, and in fact she sound almost a little bit imploring,” Zheyuan recalled (Yi, 2014). Zheyuan and the CSSA did not let Mrs. Lin down, because, after Zheyuan hung up the phone, she and the committee members had a meeting to discuss this issue the same weekend. Not long after that, the CSSA members started to participate in volunteering at the Chinese primary school, and the “predicament” also faded away gradually. It all started with a phone call two years ago, and now you can see how active the members of the CSSA are at the Chinese primary school. “For a ‘job’ like this, even if you never get paid, the sense of achievement and laughter that you get from the kids more than makes up for it,” says Yanling, a fine arts student at WVU and also a member of CSSA who is now volunteering at the Chinese primary school as a drawing teacher (Yanling, 2014). For every member of the CSSA, the work for them was not always that excited or rewarding The beginning of every semester is the most busy time for the CSSA, as the members not only have to get prepared for their own studies but they also need to be prepared for the incoming Chinese students, such as organizing the Chinese students’ orientation, picking up new students from the airport, helping the new students find suitable housing, and be ready to help the students with any problems that they might have. During an interview at the office, the author noticed a certificate of honor which says “Outstanding international student organization.” It was well displayed in the showcase, and it was awarded by the WVU International Student Office. “Even if the certificate says that the CSSA is a student organization, I somehow rather consider it as a big family of the Chinese students, scholars, and all people who care or are interested in Chinese culture and China as a country,” Zheyuan said when she talked about the certificate (Yi, 2014). The CSSA has grown to become an effective organization in Morgantown, VA to Chinese people, both long-term residents and new arrivals. The association fills an important gap in the community, as evidenced by the volunteer work carried out at the Chinese primary school. The long-term benefits that the CSSA provides for Morgantown cannot be underestimated, and the organization is primed to go from strength-to-strength in the years to come. Works Cited Yanling. Personal Interview. Date of Interview. Yi, Zheyuan. Personal Interview. Date of Interview. Read More