GRIP, Internships Abroad Conclusion

Etonkids Educational Group - Beijing, China

I am writing this post from my home in Southern California. In both LA and Beijing the temperature is 87°F, however, Beijing is experiencing thunderstorms and a humidity of 74% while the humidity here is 48%. I think that discrepancy perfectly summarizes the differences in weather between LA and Beijing. While I am relieved to be free of the high humidity and constant yet brief thunderstorms, I certainly do look back at my time in Beijing as an extremely positive and exciting experience. I've only been home for a few days but I already feel that my time abroad has reshaped my outlook on the world. 

The picture I've attached is from me at the Great Wall. Its impossible to tell that from the image since I'm on a path walking toward the Wall. Although it doesn't feature any famous or exciting landmarks, I do feel that it captures my experience in Beijing better than any other picture I have from the trip. 

Perhaps the picture's metaphorical implications are obvious but I like them nevertheless. This image of me walking alone on an obscured path really does visually represent what traveling alone to Beijing felt like. The "path" I had to navigate was almost always very beautiful but I often did feel that I did not know where it was going. Over time I had to learn to accept the uncertainty and be willing to put myself into unfamiliar situations. Yet in reality just as the path in the photo leads to the Great Wall, my uncertain journey did lead me to discover fascinating aspects of Chinese culture. 

I also like the image is candid. Although I planned many aspects of my trip, I was constantly adapting and trying out unexpected things. Around halfway through my trip, I planned on taking the train to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Army. However, I missed the morning train and had to transfer my ticket to an afternoon train. While I was initially frustrated, I was able to make the most of the experience by using the extra time to go to a VR arcade. Of course, going to the brand new arcade was drastically different from what I would have done in the ancient city of Xi'an, yet in some ways, it taught me far more about modern Chinese culture than a historical site could have (I still did end up going to Xi'an and seeing the Army). 

Its hard to fully summarize every aspect of my internship abroad. But I do think that this image captures both my uncertainty and excitement as well as the beauty of the journey.