This past May, shortly after the spring semester ended, I headed off to Beijing, China to spend a month studying at Peking University. When I had first learned of the opportunity through my Chinese professor, I immediately shrugged it off thinking it was too expensive and I didn't have the money. However, after much convincing, she persuaded me to consider the possibility and talk to my parents about it.
I was born in China and adopted by my American parents as an infant. I was raised outside of Buffalo, New York with my two sisters who were also adopted from China after me. I hadn't returned since my adoption, but the thought of visiting my native country always intrigued me, so when I brought up the idea of studying abroad there my parents were ecstatic. They thought it would be a great opportunity to not only earn credit that I would need, but also for self-discovery. Because I pay for school (through loans unfortunately) my parents offered to cover the cost of the almost $8,000 trip. I was hesitant to accept their offer, but they insisted.
Soon enough, May rolled around along with finals and the end of my freshman year. I was nervous, excited, and unsure of what to expect. I had only studied mandarin for two semesters at the introductory level, so my language skills were basic at most. Being Chinese, I knew people would likely talk to me assuming I'd be fluent, but as soon as I would utter a word in response, they'd know I'm a foreigner. Eight days after my last final exam, I was on a plane to Hong Kong, which would connect to Beijing. I immediately experienced culture shock on a larger scale than ever before. I had been to Europe on a tour with my high school and experienced some culture shock then, but that was nothing in comparison to what I experienced during my first week in China. Everything was so different. The food, the language, the people, the environment, the architecture. It was like walking into a whole different world.
On campus, there were six other students from Seton Hall also studying at Peking in the same program. We were in class Monday through Thursday six hours a day, and on Fridays we had a Chinese test in the morning and a cultural activity in the afternoon. I took intermediate Chinese and a course called China in Transformation which was a history course through Peking. From 8:30-11:30 a.m. I had intermediate Chinese, and from 2 - 5 p.m. history class. The work was tough and heavy but well worth it. I learned more Chinese in my month of being in Beijing than in the nine months I had previously spent studying Chinese. The immersion was wonderful.
Every Saturday, we took a field trip to different sites. We visited the New Summer Palace, The Old Summer Palace, The Great Wall, The Temple of Heaven, and Tiananmen Square. After we took our finals, we took a three-day trip to Xi'An, in central China. We saw the terracotta soldiers museum, The Great Mosque, The Wild Goose Pagoda, and an ancient stone museum. It was incredible to have had the opportunity to see such amazing things. Peking University students accompanied us on a few of the Saturday field trips as well, and it was awesome to get the chance to talk to them and get their perspective on life in China.
The entire month flew by, and was filled with new experiences, struggles, some amazing people I had the opportunity to get to know, and best of all, delicious food. I felt as though I was able to reconnect to my heritage through this experience which made it even more special for me. I know that I will return to my native country again in the future, but until then I will be constantly missing authentic Chinese food. If you ever happen to have the opportunity to study abroad (or travel in general) I strongly encourage you to go for it. I promise you won't regret it!
