Prior to beginning a graduate degree at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Kate Murray was a Manager of Entrepreneur Selection & Growth at Endeavor, Detroit, a global nonprofit that supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets worldwide. Kate enjoys working in the world of economic development, but her one true love will always be the fascinating relationship between the United States and China.
Kate learned her first Chinese words at age ten from a “Big Bird in China” song. Since then, she spent ten years studying Mandarin in the classroom and one semester living in Beijing during her junior year of college. She dug further into U.S.-China relations during her senior year, researching and writing a thesis titled Bashful or Brash: An Examination of the Chinese Response to the Pivot.
Today, Kate tries to keep up with her Mandarin as much as possible, and to use her understanding of Chinese language, culture, and politics to help the entrepreneurs that she works with.
Kate is a proud Boston College Eagle with a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Chinese.
Prior to beginning a graduate degree at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Kate Murray was a Manager of Entrepreneur Selection & Growth at Endeavor, Detroit, a global nonprofit that supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets worldwide. Kate enjoys working in the world of economic development, but her one true love will always be the fascinating relationship between the United States and China.
Kate learned her first Chinese words at age ten from a “Big Bird in China” song. Since then, she spent ten years studying Mandarin in the classroom and one semester living in Beijing during her junior year of college. She dug further into U.S.-China relations during her senior year, researching and writing a thesis titled Bashful or Brash: An Examination of the Chinese Response to the Pivot.
Today, Kate tries to keep up with her Mandarin as much as possible, and to use her understanding of Chinese language, culture, and politics to help the entrepreneurs that she works with.
Kate is a proud Boston College Eagle with a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Chinese.
Immersed in China's Iconic Beauty,
March 2017
Memories of a Magical Journey
John and Maureen Stack share their reflections on
their recent journey through beautiful China
"Each day was a brain feast of vignettes of history, food, politics both contemporary and ancient, culture, art and philosophy..."
Enjoying fine food in fascinating locations
The striking karst mountains around Yangshuo
Always time for a tray of freshly steamed dumplings
The Ming dynasty structure still amazes
Looking towards Pudong
Hangzhou
Saying g'day to a new friend
The craft beer scene is worth exploring throughout China
Photo opportunities abound in the Old City, Shanghai
Memories of a Magical Journey
Entranced, we Sino-Immersion Tragics followed the seductive songs of our very own Pied Piper… Dr Jeremy Clarke, ably accompanied by one of Sino-Immersions Tour Assistants, Sam Shriver.
Each day was a brain feast of vignettes of history, food, politics both contemporary and ancient, culture, art and philosophy as he lured us to a deeper understanding of the Chinese Psyche.
Traipsing behind on the daily journey through the local sights, smells and sounds we feasted on morsels of the long past, the current scandals and the ambitions and patience of the monster tribe that is modern China.
We learned of their ancient discoveries in the sciences, arts, war, politics public administration and craft beer. The humour, scholarship and experience of the country, informing the commentary kept us spellbound.
Jeremy’s relentless good humour rubbed off on the locals and although many spoke as little English as my Chinese they were anxious to communicate their pleasure in our company, volunteering to appear in our group photos and inviting us to appear in theirs. These contacts were deftly guided by our piper and great goodwill was shared on both sides.
The whimsy of the Chinese was a surprise and Jeremy’s perception of the punning going down in the interplay between the shape of the characters and their meaning opened this aspect of the culture to us.
And the sights ... the Wall, the museums, the parks the monuments the landscapes, the Bund, The Forbidden City, the art deco pubs and buildings, the light show in Yangshuo, the markets, the restaurants, the craft beers.
The tour organisation was seamless as hotels, restaurants, trains, buses, markets, planes, museum tickets, coffee shops, all glided into view on time, on program.
Each day was a kaleidoscope of wonders laid on by a smooth running team with meticulous, well oiled arrangements. The tireless Taff solved all our problems with dispatch and humour.
Throughout we enjoyed the local cooking in regional family style local restaurants. The uniform excellence of these and Jeremy’s familiarity with them reflected that these were a product of significant research resulting in meals highlighting local produce and cooking practice and we were newly educated in “Chinese“. Never a dull moment as we experimented our way through the menu.
What a tour … Roll on the next one!
With great gratitude for the experience,
John and Maureen Stack