The First Sight of Duke
After a intense week of examinations, students in Zhejiang University finally arrived Durham, where Duke, a prestigious university both in United States and the whole world, has stood for more than 100 years. The bright and clear sunlight is just like that of Hangzhou, while the temperature here in Durham is no higher than 32 degrees, which makes the city a perfect place for enjoying the summer. But something about Duke is even more attractive than the adorable climate--the breathtakingly beautiful campus with gothic buildings of a historical sense. The Duke Chapel is the most eye-catching one, and it is the center of the west campus; the dining hall and three well-equipped libraries are arranged besides the verdant lawn in front of the chapel. Students with a great cultural diversity step in and out university buildings of an unified style, and we soon became a part of them-- 4 weeks of the marvelous life of Duke Summer Session remained to be explored at the beginning of July.
Academic Life: Study, Discussion and Enquiry
Lessons we take at Duke are far from easy ones even they usually have only one credit. Most of ZJU students had decided their classes before their arrival, and they were going to work really hard in fields of their interests include language, finance, engineering and philosophy. Basically, students of ZJU are familiar with the teaching methods and the evaluation system in Duke since Zhejiang University is also a highly-international one and its teachers also deploy advanced teaching methods at ZJU. But still, something happened in the classroom of Duke shocked me. Actually, my class of philosophy is very content-intensive and my classmates are eager to get involved in the discussion and they have a high frequency of interaction with our instructor. The class of mine is rather fruitful even its only has 32 hours in about 16 days: we covered 7 books, 2 plays and dozens of short stories and academic papers, and the incredibly careful analysis had greatly increased our understanding of the very branch of philosophy. For me, it is really a precious chance to be in Duke with such a great experience of academic study.
After-class Time: Arts & Sports
Besides study, our life in Duke is also a very abundant one. Duke University is for a long time famous for its dominance in NCAA, and other kinds of sports are also popular in the university. Students in U.S. usually have a sport time at afternoon, and various kinds of stadiums here fulfilled the demand quite well. While classmates with an enthusiasm in basketball found themselves greatly entertained in the basketball museum of Duke, some others were wandering in art museums, botanic gardens and other facilities of culture and art. The Nasher Museum of Art possesses a remarkable exhibition of sculptures, paintings, and modern art works, and all these works are carefully arranged and introduced. Another shining point is the documentary of a musician presented by three paralleled screens, the audio effect is also astonishing. Sarah P Duke Garden is a botanic garden with a huge amount of plants collection from all over the world, and the concert in every Wednesday night during July makes the garden a more appealing one.
Everything has an End
Time goes by, the incredible month now only exists in our memory, but this very experience has empowered us with a sense of cultural diversity, a revolution of way of learning, and an solid and joyful friendship with my classmates. The Duke Summer Session is definitely an unforgettable one. I am really hoping to visit the campus again in future!
You Haijiang
