On July 18, 2018, at the invitation of Georgia State University (GSU), the second batch of MPA teachers and students of our university went to Atlanta, where the GSU is located, for a two-week exchange. We arrived at Jackson International Airport in Atlanta at 10 a.m. local time on the 18th. July. Andrew DiMartino of GSU picked us at the airport and sent us to the overseas student apartment of GSU Commons Building to arrange accommodation. The apartment is well equipped, clean and tidy, which is suitable for students to study and live there. The residential area is not large, but it is beautiful, quiet, and secure, access to the door requires room cards, which makes us feel safe. In accordance with the agenda of the visit, we would complete the mission of visits in the United States and then return home with the joy of harvest on the evening of August 2th.
On July 19, we went to the GSU International Center to participate in the meeting of project introduction. Mrs. Ahu Kostak Bulat, ISPEED Project Manager of GSU, hosted the meeting and warmly welcomed all international students. Subsequently, Professor Dr. Wolfgang, Dean of the International School, introduced the ISPEED project and its arrangement, Atlanta's history, customs and safety instructions. His humor creates a pleasant atmosphere and the scene is full of laughter. In addition, each of us was arranged a volunteer (Buddy) to help us understand other matters during the school visit. The careful arrangements make us look forward to this visit.
The students gain a lot from this visit, as they listened many lectures that are rich in content, novel in form and interactive. In the lectures, they were encouraged to speak freely and bravely express their own views and opinions, which left them a deep impression; they also experienced lots of other activities.
Professor Mrs. Debra Snell of the Andrew School of Policy Studies gave a lecture themed American Civil Rights Movement. He introduced the history of racial struggle for civil rights in the United States and related national civil rights movements around the world, and discussed the contribution of black civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King to the civil rights movement in the United States and the current living conditions of black people in Atlanta. After class, Professor Debra Snell led the students to visit the Martin Luther King History Museum and watch documentary films of Martin Luther King. Looking at the displayed historical relics and photographs, the famous Rose Manor and his famous motto "I have a dream", we can understand the arduous struggle of black people for civil rights. There are large number of black people in this state, homeless people can be seen on the road from time to time, they often ask the passengers for money. From this we can see that black people did not realize all their original hopes and did not completely finish the mission to strive for the equal rights. Therefore, it is also quite regrettable that Martin Luther King died young.
Professor Mrs. Kristen Delaney, Director of GSU’s Undergraduate and Postgraduate Admissions Office, gave a detailed introduction on the overseas study programs, conditions and qualifications for application, and the number of international students enrolled in recent years. He also answered questions from students including scholarships, which students care about most. On the whole, however, the conditions for obtaining scholarships for studying abroad are quite stringent. In the afternoon, we discussed with Professor Dr. Nannette Commander and Mrs. Ahu Kostak Bulat, ISPEED Project Manager, on the US trade policy, the issue of trade surtax between China and the United States, and whether the “trade war” had an impact on the mid-term elections. They believe that these issues will affect the employment of some groups of people, the lives of the citizens, and even the mid-term elections in the United States, which reflect their attitudes towards the “trade war” between the two countries. Although there still exists different opinions, on the whole, the two sides agree that there is no winner in the “trade war”; it is not conducive to the development of economic relations between the two countries, and also has a negative impact on the development of the world economy.
Professor Mrs. Diana Wrenn Rapp of the School of Education and Arts Sciences introduced us about the Graffiti culture in the United States and believes that the specific cultural and artistic acts, including street graffiti and HIP&HOP, are a rebellious culture. The law also stipulates that the behavior can only be carried out in a specific area of the city, because some people and city managers are disgusted with the graffiti behavior in public places, as they regarded it as a destruction of the city appearance. Nevertheless, graffiti culture reflects black people's attitudes towards the vicissitudes of their living areas, which is quite popular in the living areas of black people. The graffiti reflects their personality, lifestyle, religious beliefs and values, through which we can understand African American race and its culture.
Professor Dr. Nannette Commander of the School of Education and Technological Innovation takes multicultural communication as the theme of her lecture. Her novel teaching methods and the intuitive images she used in the lecture enable students to deeply understand the conflicts and embarrassments that may arise in the process of communication of different countries and people from different nationalities, as well as the ways to avoid them. At the same time, Professor Nannette Commander introduced in detail about the innovative teaching and research methods, and guided us to further understand the process from learning, using knowledge to evaluating, analyzing and innovating with knowledge. She then led us to visit GSU's School of Media and Technological Innovation. Through the introduction and presentation of technological innovators, we had a further understanding to the application of media technology in various fields, and were deeply shocked by its scientific and technological application and innovation.
We also arranged to visit the Capital Parliament Building in Georgia. We walked a few blocks to the Parliament Building. From a distance, we can see its round golden roof and marble classical architectural style, which are quite similar to those of other state capitals, but the verdant ancient trees, beautiful statues, trimmed gardens around it and there were fewer visitors, embodying its tranquility and solemnity. After being checked the identification, we entered the building, the staff of the Capital Parliament Building gave us a detailed introduction on the history and construction process of the parliament building. Statues and photographs of successive governors, famous state senators and congressmen are displayed in the room.
Most public office areas of public institutions in the United States are open to the public, including the state parliament building. When we visited the state parliament building, the staffs were working normally. In the Lobby of the state parliament building, the students and the officials of the State Council exchanged on the electoral system of United States, the state tax policies, state parliament system, especially the debating and voting procedure on a proposal (legislation), and the adoption and rejection of the proposal etc.
Atlanta is proud of its CNN, the world's most advanced television news network, and Coca Cola, one of the world's top 500 companies. Coca Cola has created an impressive American business culture and corporate culture. From its exquisite design, colorful decorations, distinctive national flags and elaborate film and television works, it can be seen that the American people's lives are deeply affected by its culture. During the visit, we can feel the busy work and dedication of CNN’s staff by watching them through the glass; we tasted many different flavors of beverages in Coca-Cola Center, they taste different but the flavor is good; we listened to the history of the development of its commercial culture, looked at a variety of exquisite souvenirs with creativity, and gradually have an understanding of its corporate culture. Walking through the Atlanta Olympic Park, we saw only a few people, not like in our imagination that there would be crowds of people. It can only be imagined that this was once the place that athletes all over the world fought for the Olympic spirit.
The two-week visits were coming to an end. GSU held a graduation ceremony for the students. The ceremony was presided over by Mrs. Ahu Kostak Bula, ISPEED project manager; she congratulated all the students on successfully completing the mission of visiting. On behalf of Professor Dr. Wolfgang, Dean of GSU International School, she issued certificates of completion for the students. Students from all over the world were very excited, shared their experience of visiting with each other, expressed good wishes and said goodbye to each other. On behalf of the University of International Business and Economics, we invited teachers and students from all over the world to visit our university for exchange. We all will keep what we have seen, heard and gained from this visit in our memory, and this memory will inspire us to make continuous progress in our future work and study.
