Shannon chose to stay in Suzhou to celebrate Chinese new year. She has lived in Suzhou for two years, and she learns and practises Chinese every day. On the day of the interview, she learned Chinese with a friend who is a China expert.
This year, in order to help foreign students better experience the local culture, the SKEMA Suzhou campus prepared Spring Festival gift packages for students like Shannon who chose to stay in Suzhou for the Chinese new year, including Spring Festival couplets, red envelopes, Suzhou rice and e-tickets for Suzhou gardens.
Shannon told the reporter: "It's exciting to celebrate the Chinese new year in Suzhou. The whole city is filled with year of the ox elements (this year is year of the ox in China). You can see Spring Festival couplets and the word "fu" which means fortune and happiness everywhere. Everyone likes to eat dumplings and send blessings to each other on WeChat. I love this feeling."
She also mentioned that it is convenient and safe to live in Suzhou. She loves this city and the people here.