By Vukica E., Loyola University Chicago, TBC Fall 2017 Student
One day as I am sitting in class, I catch myself thinking about how nice it would be to go back to Europe and study abroad in Greece: frappes by the sea, devouring innumerable gyros, learning about Greek history and mythology, and reminiscing about the laidback European lifestyle I once lived. Soon my thoughts came to life, as I began a conversation with my classmates about travelling the world and cultural immersion. As it turned out, a girl in the group (Maria) was Greek, and soon we were laughing about My Big Fat Greek Wedding and how refusing meat is incomprehensible within the Greek mentality. After an hour of talking like old friends, they turned to me and said “Wow! You know more about Greece than I do!” and “You could write a travel guide to Europe.”
And at this point I decided to study abroad in China.
This conversation has stuck with me this summer as I get ready to study abroad at The Beijing Center, because in that moment I came to the realization that I am too familiar with only European cultures, that I am well-read but seem well-travelled, and that by going to places I know of, I will minimize my chance at intellectual and personal growth. By choosing China, I am allowing myself to have a unique and holistic study abroad experience, instead of repeated encounters that only feed my nostalgia for my European days.
Although I am a European at heart, I am an American in the way I live my life – at least for the past 12 years. This multi-cultural upbringing has shaped my perspective on the human experience, the life I want to live, and my mentality. Many times, I find myself assuming how other people around the world live, how much material wealth they have, what they consume, and what their quality of life is like. Then, I read about how year after year Scandinavian countries are the happiest and that Japan has the most advanced transportation system in the world, and I stop myself.
I had the same thought process when I initially decided to study abroad in China. My four months at The Beijing Center would consist of: learning Chinese by practicing with my Chinese roommate, going clubbing, rubbing shoulders with international students, travelling, eating dumplings, and immersing myself in the culture. I began searching for day trips around China, the best museums to visit, and every place around The Beijing Center where I could not only see pandas but hold them. Up until this point, I was preparing myself to travel China, and not necessarily for my time at The Beijing Center.
Although many of my expectations will be met, like any other college student, it is easy to lose perspective on what it means to study abroad. My initial focus was on the social and overall experience. But, once I realized that it is the small tedious details that will shape my daily life while at The Beijing Center, my real research began.
Primarily, I looked at the official The Beijing Center website to make sure I didn’t miss any important dates and to keep myself updated on general information. Then, I wanted to get some insight into what student life is like at The Beijing Center, so I talked to my study abroad advisor and a couple of students that studied here previously. This is when I found out what I need to know to make my transition and stay more comfortable. What I found out is that, anti-pollution masks are provided upon arrival, the campus is surrounded by affordable and versatile food options, transportation is inexpensive and convenient, new phones/SIM cards are available to purchase, and certain websites are unavailable without a VPN. I then, referred to various travel sources like the CDC and Travel Guide China, to make sure I don’t encounter problems that can easily be avoided. By the end of my research process, I even made sure to check whether I will need a power adapter – I know. But, something that I have learned from travelling, is that what I need for three days, I will need for a month as well. For this reason, I left my “I’ll figure it out when I get there” mentality behind while getting ready. Even though I look forward to being more independent in China, by being informed on everything beforehand, I can focus on what I want to do while I am there.
Merely experiencing China as a student is not my main intention, but rather to fully immerse myself in the culture and live like a local as much as possible. I look forward to surrounding myself with the locals to be able to gain new knowledge about Chinese traditions, mentality, and way of life. I don’t want to just assume, I want to learn. Studying at a top Chinese university in the capital of China, will give me access to the heart of Chinese culture.
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.