By Mallory Asp (ventureoutsource.com)
[Editor’s note: All authors are paid. Share your stories (and images) about living, studying, traveling or working in China with VentureOutsource.com readers. Click here to learn more or read other readers’ stories about China. Send your story to insight[at]ventureoutsource[dot]com ]
Most people long to stand on the Great Wall of China before they die. Some wish to enter the Forbidden City, and some want to stand facing the giant picture of Mao Zedeng in the center of Tiananmen Square.
I was fortunate enough to do all three, along with kayaking the Li River, bartering at the Silk Market, riding a camel and watching the sunrise in the Gobi Desert.
My four months in The Beijing Center (TBC) study abroad program last fall were the best four months of my life. Through the friendships I made, the things I saw and the moments I experienced, I came to realize a lot about China and a lot about myself.
When I hugged my dad goodbye in Fargo, North Dakota, I was nervous and worried considering China was on the opposite side of the world, I didn’t know anyone and I would be away from the comforts of home for four months.
Thirteen hours later I stepped off my plane into a huge open space, crowded with people and looked up to see the incredible architecture of the Beijing Capital International Airport.
My first impression of China was accurate; it was huge, crowded, complex and fascinating.
In my program there were 100 students, mostly from the United States but also a few from Columbia, Spain and the Philippines. After arriving in Beijing I realized almost all of the students were in the same situation as me.
They were dropped off in a foreign country with little direction and little English to guide them. Three days after I arrived in Beijing I left on a two-week excursion across the Silk Road. Being thrown into an alien environment forced me to accept and adapt to Chinese culture.
My companions on this journey soon became my friends as we worked together figuring out the crazy things we came across. The friendships that I made in China will always remain permanent in my heart.
The Beijing Center provided two immersion trips during the semester. One was The Silk Road excursion, which after seeing 2,000 miles of China I began to realize that China is a very, very large and diverse country. The other excursion was a weeklong trip to Guilin and Yangshuo, which exposed me to some of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
Between these two travels, I had the chance to homestay in a Uighur and Kazakh village, dance around a bonfire in Tibetan grasslands, tour a Buddhist Monastery, stand in front of an ancient army of stone warriors, crawl into an entombed cave, relax in hot springs, bath in a mud cave, hike beautiful rice terraces and ride a camel.
All of these moments are now memories that I will cherish forever. Life in Beijing was just as much of an adventure. Everything from ordering food in Chinese, breathing through the dense pollution and becoming accustomed to using chopsticks made each day a challenge, but a challenge I looked forward to.
I felt so accomplished when I could relate to something that was so different from my usual lifestyle. The more my Chinese improved the more I began to understand that different languages may separate people, but their actions unite them. My blonde hair of course made it hard for me to blend into a sea of black hair. This was evident when people asked me to be in pictures with them, or force their children to take pictures with me, or just take pictures of me when I wasn’t looking.
I usually tried to avoid the situation by not making eye contact but I have to admit, it was nice to feel like a celebrity for four months.
At The Beijing Center (TBC), I studied China in China. It was hard to balance academics and site seeing but the academics were extremely useful because they were giving me insight into my everyday experiences. My classes were taught in English except my language class, which was all in Chinese. My teachers were extremely diverse, everyone from a New York Times correspondent to a movie editor. TBC provided students with almost every angle of opportunity to study China.
As I learned more about China and its culture, I came to appreciate and understand my own.
I wanted to know more about my country’s history and my family heritage.
Studying abroad broadened my horizons in numerous ways. It opened the door to a world I couldn’t have imagined and brought me insight on my own life that I didn’t know I was missing.
The city of Beijing is enormous and filled with interesting places such as The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, hutongs, the Drum and Bell towers, 798 Art District, Olympic Park and restaurants literally on every corner.
One semester is not enough time to even begin to understand China but it motivated me to try.
One of my favorite memories was standing with a group of friends on the Pavilion of Everlasting Spring, once the highest point in the city. While observing the clashing ancient and modern architecture of Beijing, I pondered where such a large country was going and how its rapid development was affecting the Chinese people, both physically and psychologically.
In this moment while I towered over China’s capital, I was with people I would never forget in a place that I would never completely understand but would always be fascinated by.
China sparked a now burning curiosity within me and I can honestly look back and say that my study abroad experience in China was the best decision I have ever made.
About the author
Mallory Asp is currently studying Mass Communications and Chinese at Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana. She spent her time in China last spring and she plans to return soon to teach English.
Share your China story
All authors are paid. Share your stories (and images) about living, studying, traveling or working in China with VentureOutsource.com readers. Click here to learn more or read other readers’ stories about China. Send your story to insight[at]ventureoutsource[dot]com.
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