NI HAO! My name is Jo Qiao. For those who don't know, it means hi in Chinese.
I am a sophomore in RIT’s Packaging Science major. I come from Taiyuan, China. It’s a city in Northern China and close to Beijing (where the Great Wall is). My hometown city isn't metropolitan like Beijing, Shanghai or New York City, but it has 2,500 years of history. The city has been the capital of ancient China and is immersed with rich cultures and history. So you might ask me, why do I come to here?
Here is how my story goes! I came to RIT in the fall of 2013. It was my first time I left my home country and stepped on this magical land called the U.S. I always had this plan to study abroad in the U.S. when I was in high school, now here I am. As I expected, everything is different here from home. People at RIT are friendly and helpful, the food portion in America is unbelievably enormous, people love hockey here, and of course the most difference is the language. It kind of took me a whole year to overcome my language barrier and now I feel comfortable to talk with English native speakers, but you may sometimes caught me a little bit nervous while talking.
This month I started to work as an international ambassador in RIT undergraduate admissions office, and I am very excited about this job. My major responsibilities are maintaining Chinese social networks and interacting with prospective international students, and also blogging.
So let me talk about a little about myself. I like to keep myself involved on campus, I think it’s a great way to meet people and learn about American culture. At school, I am on the board of the Institute of Packaging Professional RIT Chapter. It’s a packaging club if you wonder. I’m involved in the Asian Culture Club and also row for RIT Crew Novice in 2014 Fall season. Besides my job in the admissions office, I also work as a tutor, a notetaker for NTID, and the student assistant in the faculty recruitment office. In my spare time, I like to watch TV shows. I love comedies and sci-fi. Recently “Friends”and “Doctor Who”are my favorites. I am a huge foodie that means I am crazy about all kinds of cultural food. I also tried to cook for friends when I can. During breaks, I like to travel a lot. I have been to Dubai, Hawaii, Florida, and lots of places in China too. My favorite vacation spots are Hawaii (and I love Hawaiian food). I am hoping to explore more places in South America in the year of 2015.
Stay tuned for more blogs of my adventures at RIT!