{"id":797,"date":"2011-12-05T16:16:22","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T16:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=797"},"modified":"2011-12-05T16:16:22","modified_gmt":"2011-12-05T16:16:22","slug":"cscel-participates-in-first-international-alternative-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2011\/12\/05\/cscel-participates-in-first-international-alternative-break\/","title":{"rendered":"CSCEL participates in first international alternative break"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tiffany Edmondson<\/strong>
\nStaff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would take testimonies from all 33 people that traveled to Shanghai, China during the Center for Service and Community Engaged Learning (CSCEL) Alternative Break to describe the overall experience. Alternative Break is one of eight programs sponsored by CSCEL that allows students to visit other states and countries to participate in community service projects.<\/p>\n

This was the first time the Jackson State University CSCEL program sent students abroad and the first time Dr. Valerie Shelby went on an international trip.<\/p>\n

Shelby, the Executive Director for CSCEL, described her experience as awesome\u00a0 because there was so much to learn about the Chinese people and their culture.<\/p>\n

One of Shelby\u2019s highlights of the trip was when they visited a nursing home. While they were there, students put on a talent show for the residents. Shelby said the students brought their instruments with them and played musical songs while the residents danced along with the students. Some of the students sung songs for them as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a connection between the students and the residents because I guess they saw them as if that could have been their grandparents. The Chinese people are warm, friendly, and very humble. They try to accommodate you as much as they can,\u201d said Shelby.<\/p>\n

Many of the students that went to China all agree with Shelby but Nivea Green, a junior business marketing major, said that she learned even more about the college students there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were very welcoming. I found out that the students are not different from us. They like to hang out and do some of the same things that we do on JSU\u2019s campus. Even though they are strict in their studies, they still find time to balance their education and social life,\u201d said Green.
\nWhen Green traveled to Shanghai, she said that she needed a break and wanted to take herself out of the element of being in the United States.
\n\u201cI called my mama to let her know that I made it safely and that was it,\u201d said Green. Now that she\u2019s back, she wants to join the China Initiatives Program at JSU so she can prepare to return to China for six weeks next summer.<\/p>\n

This alternative break not only exposed the students to international travel but it also encouraged them to further their studies and learn to speak Chinese abroad. Senior biology major and student government association vice president Christopher Cathey has been preparing for months in his Chinese language class for the alternative break.
\nAfter visiting the schools, the nursing home, and interacting with the students on the campus where they lived, he has learned about himself and to appreciate the international students on JSU\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the chance to be in the shoes of an exchange student. Sometimes we neglect to speak to them and even alienate them on campus,\u201d said Cathey.\u00a0 \u201cI got a chance to see what that felt like and now I want to do more to make them feel welcomed because they treated us good in Shanghai.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shelby said that she wanted the students to learn that people are people and they all have the same needs and wants. She hopes that this experience will help students understand that they need to be sensitive to people of other cultures wherever they are in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want them to also learn how to be caring students, whether they land a job in China of Africa. Regardless, they need to be involved to help make peoples\u2019 lives better and have the social skills to live among any culture of people,\u201d added Shelby.<\/p>\n

This program is an example of the many programs that allow students to learn how to be global citizens. Even though this was the first international alternative break, it won\u2019t be the last. Shelby said they are planning other abroad trips for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tiffany Edmondson Staff Writer It would take testimonies from all 33 people that traveled to Shanghai, China during the Center for Service and Community Engaged Learning (CSCEL) Alternative Break to describe the overall experience. Alternative Break is one of eight programs sponsored by CSCEL that allows students to visit other states and countries to participate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-campus-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}