Since Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, we wonder what overseas students at GDUFS think of this Chinese traditional festival. Hence, on the evening of September 12th, our journalists had an interview with three foreign students about the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are Terry from Thailand, Hercules from Brazil and Nana from Ghana.

 

Terry, Hercules and Nana

Before the interview, we gave them two mooncakes as soon as we met. They felt relaxed and Terry cut a mooncake into several pieces. We talked pleasantly, enjoying the mooncakes, which they said are quite delicious.

 

Terry and Hercules can speak fluent Chinese, so the interview was conducted mostly in Chinese.

Seeing the mooncakes, they told us that they often get a lot of mooncakes from their Chinese friends at this time every year. In this case, usually they will swap their mooncakes with their friends. Sometimes they also send some to their teachers. They also told us that they prefer mooncakes with eggs in them to those filled with smashed beans.

When it comes to the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Hercules shared with us his experience of spending Mid-Autumn Festival with his Chinese girlfriend’s family. They gathered together to admire the moon, share mooncakes and chat with each other. They knew that in China, reunion plays an important role in the Mid-Autumn Festivalm and they appreciated this meaningful custom a lot.

They all have been in China for more than two years, with Terry being brought up here. Now they are studying at GDUFS, they seldom go back home due to the high transportation fare. In China, most students tend to seize the opportunity of the Mid-Autumn Festival to stay with their families and friends, while in Thailand, Terry told us that they gather with their friends to celebrate Loy Krathong (水灯节). Furthermore, Thai people will give their parents a footbath to show their appreciation on SongKran Festival.

Compared with Terry and Hercules, Nana found it hard to join us, because he still had difficulty speaking and listening to Chinese. Then we invited him to tell us five famous holidays or festivals in his country, Ghana. He did so and we found that usually in English speaking countries, Christmas and Thanks-giving Day are considered a good time for reunion with family.

They are easygoing and humorous, and we had a nice evening talking and laughing together, not limited to the initial topic. We learned that they would probably join in an activity to make mooncakes which was organized by Global Society, a student association within their department. We wish them a memorable Mid-Autumn Festival at GDUFS and more Chinese friends!