Tao Tao is one of the QISS alumni who graduated from QISS last year. Currently, he is studying sociology in University of Huston, USA. Even though he is only 17 years old, he is very mature and responsible person, but sometimes, he can be quite whimsical as well. Not only was he a good student but also a fantastic athlete. He played a crucial role scoring on the basketball court during ACAMIS. Speaking of his responsibility, as the president of the Student Council, Tao Tao had presided over many events at QISS. When I first came to QISS, I had difficulty integrating myself into the new environment because of my language barrier. Tao Tao always offered his help and cheered me up when I was upset. Without his help, I cannot imagine how I could have overcome those obstacles. Here is a brief interview about his experiences outside of Qingdao.
1.How do you feel about going to University?
Going to university is like an adventure for me, it was kind of scary and exciting at the same time. When I first left China, I didn't really know how things were going to go. I was moving to a foreign country by myself. Now I'm in my second semester and I'm still alive and doing pretty good!
2. What university are you in?
I'm studying at University of Houston located in Houston, Texas.
3. What do you love about Texas?
Texas has been pretty good to me so far. The people here are really nice, I've made a lot of friends since I came here. It is a very culturally diverse place, which allowed me to fit right in. The food here is pretty amazing, and because its so culturally diverse, you can get all kinds of different foods too. So whenever I feel homesick, I get to go to a Chinese restaurant in China town, where they serve real Chinese food, not the Americanized kind.
4. Did you have a hard time adjusting? What kind? How did you overcome them?
My transition to college life have been rather smooth, first reason being I don't have any language difficulties. However, the thing I had to get used to was the pace of college, and trying to stay on top of stuff. For the people who know me, this is probably not a surprise. Probably because I studied at QISS where the classes are super small and the teachers are super nice and they will chase you around and babysit you when you are not doing well, I needed to adapt to a place where you need to keep track of things yourself. It's called growing up I guess. Now that I understand that, I'm doing fine in my classes this semester.
5.What’s fun about Texas? Please share something about it.
Texas is definitely a football state. I'm definitely big on sports. I've been to every Houston Cougars football game with friends and we did amazing in the past season too. Houston is also the home of four major sports teams, a great Fine Arts Museum (that I visited recently), and the NASA Space Center. Of course if you like cowboys, we always have the Houston Rodeo. For more information, you can contact Ms. Rust.
6. How is the curriculum at UOH?
The university offers a large variety of classes and degrees. Many of the classes I'm taking right now are what we call "core" classes, which are classes that you have to take, a Texas public universities' requirement. I don't really have a point of reference with other universities, but it is pretty good so far.
7.What are you majored in? Why did u choose your major?
My major is Economics right now. I enjoyed learning about economics when I was in Mr. P's class and I was pretty good at it, and I hope to build on it.
8.How did you spend your New Year’s Eve in Huston? Was it different from New Year celebration in China?
My uncle stays here in Houston, so I spent my winter vacation at his house. On New Year's Eve I had a great family dinner there. It wasn't as lively as celebrating it back home where there are the fireworks and stuff going on in the background, but it was still pretty good.
9.What food do you like the most in US?
Oooo.That's tough. I can't tell you how long this will last, but recently I've been in love with the corn dogs. I think after that It would be all the delicious Tex Mex (Texas Mexican food) you can get here in Houston. It's pretty amazing.
Going to university is like an adventure for me, it was kind of scary and exciting at the same time. When I first left China, I didn't really know how things were going to go. I was moving to a foreign country by myself. Now I'm in my second semester and I'm still alive and doing pretty good!
2. What university are you in?
I'm studying at University of Houston located in Houston, Texas.
3. What do you love about Texas?
Texas has been pretty good to me so far. The people here are really nice, I've made a lot of friends since I came here. It is a very culturally diverse place, which allowed me to fit right in. The food here is pretty amazing, and because its so culturally diverse, you can get all kinds of different foods too. So whenever I feel homesick, I get to go to a Chinese restaurant in China town, where they serve real Chinese food, not the Americanized kind.
4. Did you have a hard time adjusting? What kind? How did you overcome them?
My transition to college life have been rather smooth, first reason being I don't have any language difficulties. However, the thing I had to get used to was the pace of college, and trying to stay on top of stuff. For the people who know me, this is probably not a surprise. Probably because I studied at QISS where the classes are super small and the teachers are super nice and they will chase you around and babysit you when you are not doing well, I needed to adapt to a place where you need to keep track of things yourself. It's called growing up I guess. Now that I understand that, I'm doing fine in my classes this semester.
5.What’s fun about Texas? Please share something about it.
Texas is definitely a football state. I'm definitely big on sports. I've been to every Houston Cougars football game with friends and we did amazing in the past season too. Houston is also the home of four major sports teams, a great Fine Arts Museum (that I visited recently), and the NASA Space Center. Of course if you like cowboys, we always have the Houston Rodeo. For more information, you can contact Ms. Rust.
6. How is the curriculum at UOH?
The university offers a large variety of classes and degrees. Many of the classes I'm taking right now are what we call "core" classes, which are classes that you have to take, a Texas public universities' requirement. I don't really have a point of reference with other universities, but it is pretty good so far.
7.What are you majored in? Why did u choose your major?
My major is Economics right now. I enjoyed learning about economics when I was in Mr. P's class and I was pretty good at it, and I hope to build on it.
8.How did you spend your New Year’s Eve in Huston? Was it different from New Year celebration in China?
My uncle stays here in Houston, so I spent my winter vacation at his house. On New Year's Eve I had a great family dinner there. It wasn't as lively as celebrating it back home where there are the fireworks and stuff going on in the background, but it was still pretty good.
9.What food do you like the most in US?
Oooo.That's tough. I can't tell you how long this will last, but recently I've been in love with the corn dogs. I think after that It would be all the delicious Tex Mex (Texas Mexican food) you can get here in Houston. It's pretty amazing.