Shuo Xu is an INTO Marshall student from Beijing, China pursuing a master’s degree in English. Xu has been in America for about a year and a half and chose to come to Marshall because of the similar seasons to Beijing and the affordable tuition. At Marshall, Xu has appreciated the discussion-based learning environment and said it is far different from her Chinese educational experiences where students rarely talked in class. Xu enjoys learning languages and is currently learning Japanese. Additionally, Xu likes drinking tea and coffee, chatting with friends and baking, though she hardly has time for it during the school year. After graduating, Xu hopes to stay in America and find a job teaching English or Chinese.

Q: How long have you been in America?

A: I have been in America for more than one year. I came here last May.

Q: How do you think you’ve adapted to America? What are some differences?

A: The difference is atmosphere. In my home country and my hometown, the atmosphere has air pollution. But here the air is fresh. And also, class is different. We can discuss [topics] with the teacher, but in China most of the time we have to listen to the teacher. We seldom talk in the class.

Q: How and why did you choose to come to Marshall?

A: Because Huntington, WV has four seasons, the same as my hometown. Also, the tuition is cheaper than like California or New York.

Q: What are your plans after you graduate?

A: My plan is to try and find a job teaching English or Chinese. I’d prefer to stay [in America] for a little while. And after that it just depends.

Q: How have you managed to stay in touch with your family?

A: I usually use WeChat because WeChat is popular in China and my parents already know how to use it. Sometimes I will send gift cards or birthday cards to them.

Q: What has been your favorite experience in America so far?

A: Meeting my boyfriend! Yeah, that was cool.

Q: What are some activities or hobbies you enjoy?

A: My hobby is learning languages, but so far I can only speak two languages: Chinese and English. But I keep learning Japanese. My hobby is drinking tea and coffee, [making] food or having chats with friends. I like to make food and I like to learn from different countries’ foods. But we are so busy whenever the semester begins, so I usually do it during the holidays.

Q: Is there anything else you think people should know about you?

A: I like to make food, so if someone wants to make food or learn Chinese food, we can learn it together. Or if someone is interested about tea, Chinese tea, we can talk with each other because, like, Japanese and Chinese teas are different. Also, if you would like to know more about Chinese culture, you can talk to me. Because I’m not very good at Chinese history, we can learn together. I like to communicate with people.