Semester Abroad Studying Abroad in China

Tsinghua University - Beijing, China

From February to June 2018, I studied at Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management for my semester abroad. Needless to say, it was an unforgettable experience, and I highly recommend everyone to live abroad! For me, it was a much needed opportunity to explore something new - a break from the norm that has allowed me to re-energize, learn a ton, gain confidence, and pursue life with a "why not?" mindset. It does sound a little cheesy, but I've changed as a result of these 4 months abroad. 

I kept a blog to record some of my experiences in China, called "小龙宝宝." (Go check it out!) Although there was a hiatus in the middle of the semester, I was glad I could capture a lot of my thoughts and experiences. When I returned to the U.S., I wrote a long personal reflection about my semester, really thinking about personal growth, coming to terms with my identity as a Chinese-American, cultural differences, the business world, approach to life, unequal economic development in China, connecting with other people, and many more other topics - you should ask me more about any of these things and my abroad experience overall.

In my first blog post on ""小龙宝宝," I wrote out some goals I had for the semester. Let's see how I did:

Improve my Chinese! Speaking, reading, and writing-wise (a.k.a. fool natives to think I'm a native) - I took an Intensive Reading class, which definitely pushed me to improve my Chinese. I sometimes caught myself naturally using Chinese phrases I learned in class with my fellow exchange classmates and grandparents. Speaking to local students and strangers in China became more natural and easy to me. I ended up having to read Chinese everywhere - to book flights, read news articles, find out about school events, communicate with others, etc.

Become friends with Tsinghua kids, my fellow Penn classmates, and the other exchange kids from all over the world :) - Obviously, this happened! I'm so glad to have become close friends with 2 local Tsinghua students, exchange friends from Germany, Australia, the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and more.

Successfully navigate a new way of living, a.k.a. entrust my life to WeChat - This was honestly an amazing experience. China is moving so quickly now, and every aspect of my life can be covered with a mobile app. From the myriad functionalities of WeChat (split bill, pay, rent a bike, call a car, restaurant ordering, news, etc etc etc), food delivery apps (Dianping, Èlèmē, Meituan, etc.), Taobao, and more, I definitely navigated a whole new way of living and enjoyed it. Everything is so integrated and convenient!

Shower before midnight, since that's when the hot water turns off - Unfortunately, this did not happen every day, so there were some cold showers. My bathroom also flooded once...

Meet with Penn alumni! - I was able to attend an alumni dinner at the Penn Wharton China Center in Beijing in March. I was able to connect with several alumni, including my interviewer for Penn. That's right, she interviewed me in 2015 while I was a senior in high school. Learning about her work in consulting in the U.S. to venture capital now in Beijing, I'm so glad to have gotten a chance to know her!

Talk to new, interesting people - This is a given, as I got to meet so many people from around the world! I'm thankful that I pushed myself to meet and talk to local students, and I really enjoyed how exchange students tended to be be more open to meeting others. I found it fascinating to learn how differently and similarly our paths were to reach our semester at Tsinghua together.

Update this blog 1-2x a week - Sadly, courses and traveling got the best of me, and I was only able to update my blog maybe once every 2 weeks. (The WiFi still isn't on par to what we have in the U.S., which is a partial excuse, as Wix would sometime not load.)

Try to take a class in Chinese... we'll see how that goes - As a sophomore still concerned about grades (whereas most other students abroad took classes pass/fail), I didn't take any business courses in Chinese. But, taking the Chinese language class was a great decision. Overall, finding English business courses that I would really enjoy and that could quickly get approved for credit at Penn was a bit difficult. The options were limited.

Eat all the wonderful food China has to offer in moderation (this will be difficult) - First, the canteens (cafeterias) at Tsinghua were amazing. Each canteen had so much variety, with my favorite (Zijing) having 4 floors, each floor dedicated to a different "taste" (e.g. fourth floor was all Sichuan spicy food). I also often went into the more central parts of Beijing to try new restaurants and different Chinese cuisines. Since I traveled to other cities like Tianjin, Hohhot, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, and Lijiang, I got to try many unique signature dishes of that particular region!

Travel across China AND hopefully to nearby countries - As mentioned above, I was able to travel to several cities during my holiday breaks. My blog covers my experiences to Inner Mongolia and Sichuan province / Yunnan province. To say the least, I saw so much of China I had never seen before and am fortunate that my friends and I aimed to really pursue new cultural experiences. As for outside the country, I visited Seoul, South Korea for a weekend.

Tutor English to rich Chinese kids in order to fund aforementioned travels - I was too busy to do this, and it would've been complicated to figure out how to get paid as a foreigner. It's ok though!

Learn about business from a different perspective (duh) - Throughout my classes on Corporate Strategy, Management Information Systems, Developmental Economics, and Environmental Economics, I was able to learn through the lens of Tsinghua professors. One thing though - I wish I were able to have more interactive and direct experiences with the current big business topics in China. I also made efforts to attend talks at Tsinghua's X-Lab (entrepreneurship hub), where I also gathered how Beijingers think about innovation and startups. This was unexpected, but I ended up being an unofficial, unpaid marketing intern for a startup called Cadence Translate, which gave me insight into how globalized the business world really is.

Minimize harm inflicted upon respiratory system - Pollution in Beijing was manageable after the first 2 weeks of wheezing. I carried my face mask around at all times. One day, the air was yellow due to a sandstorm and air pollution measurements indicated that it was toxic to breathe in that air. (Now, I'm so so grateful for blue skies and clean air in the U.S.)

Not be pick-pocketed and/or lose anything my entire time abroad - Success!

Go to events in Beijing as often as possible - This goal was a little vague, but I'm happy to say I engaged with the Tsinghua community - I joined the Tsinghua Figure Skating Club, volunteered at a school for underprivileged kids with a Tsinghua service group, went to shows, talks, food tours, and more. Within Beijing, I made an effort to explore all the top destinations and areas. I particularly liked the Houhai 后海 area, the Lama Temple (and the Hutongs nearby), and the Gulou 鼓楼 area.

Be open, curious, and proactive - I guess you could say this goal was my entire approach to the semester. I definitely stayed open, curious, and proactive throughout the 4 months. I crave new experiences, meeting new people, trying anything new. It never occurred to me that starting over in an unfamiliar place could be scary - I was all for it and gained so much from sticking to these 3 ways of being. It has left me feeling so refreshed and enthusiastic for the next 2 years of college.