“Cheers and tears,” said Jason, just one of the many Tsinghua students and professors who voluntarily offered their time to make our experience abroad wonderful. Final words were said at the banquet followed by many GANBEIs! Ten days in Beijing was best spent with amazing people, justifiably rowdy and rambunctious. How else do you walk the streets of Beijing with 18 people without yelling, laughing, and ordering too much food? It was magical to spend our last night together learning how to perfectly wrap up Peking duck, singing and rapping at the dinner table, and bringing the whole class to karaoke. If only we could have convinced our professors to sing a song with us!
Earlier in the afternoon, we had our final presentations. It was great to explore some topics that may be pertinent to China. Although we have a very concentrated Western perspective, it is fascinating how we all come from very different parts of the world but ultimately seek the same goals. From an academic level to a personal level, I feel that many of us simply seek to live a good life and share that richness with others however we can. From the hospitality of Tsinghua University to the kindness of the professors and students, I definitely felt this type of collaboration while learning new perspectives on sustainability.
All my life I have felt disconnected to my Chinese identity. It is something I do not admit often, but I have always felt like it has been one of my greatest embarrassments. When I arrived in Beijing with extremely limited communication skills in Chinese, I thought I would be uncomfortable. Strangers and acquaintances would ask me questions with an expectation that I would understand, and all I can do is apologize and explain to them that I did not speak Chinese. These past few days I have really grown to understand just how much knowing my own culture’s language is an expectation for me.rr
All my time growing up I have been trying to avoid it like all things you are never good at. I have honestly just been scared to ever learn. But I meet these wonderful people, abroad and back home, and am constantly motivated to have conversations with them one day. I want to talk to our Chinese friends studying at the university, I want to have a real conversation with my grandparents; I want to tell them about my travels and my studies on the environment. Despite not knowing Chinese, all the native-speakers that came out with us on this study abroad has been monumental in making our experience so fantastic. They were our guides even if it was their first time in Beijing, they were our translators on complex topics on energy infrastructure and sustainability. Many were even willing to teach me a few slang terms along the way! I think everyone quickly became more than peers, but friends. I hope everyone knows how grateful I am to have been part of this trip. Beyond the travel souvenirs and trinkets, these moments will go down as one of my favorite memories. Ten days is not long but I do not believe that time represents the entirety of one’s experience. To me, it meant much, much more.
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