პატრიცია წერილში გვიყვება თავის ემოციებსა და განცდებზე ჩინეთში ჩამოსვლამდე და ჩამოსვლის შემდეგ, გვიზიარებს მის წარმოდგენას და დამოკიდებულებას ჩინეთისა და ჩინელი ხალხის მიმართ. გვიყვება როგორ გაიცნო პირველი ჩინელი მეგობარი, როგორი იყო კორეელ ოთახის მეზობელთან ერთად ახალი, განსხვავებული ცხოვრების დაწყება, როგორ უჭირდა თავიდან მარტო უცხო ქვეყანაში ყოფნა და ნელ-ნელა როგორ შეეჩვია აქაურ ცხოვრებას თუ სწავლას, როგორ ერთობოდა უნივერსიტეტში და ა.შ. ასევე გვაძლევს რჩევებს თუ რით შეიძლება დავკავდეთ სწვალის პარალელურად უნივერსიტეტში. ბოლოს კი ამბობს რომ ჩინეთში სწავლის პერიოდში ბევრი რამ ისწავლა საკუთარ თავზე, სხვებზე, მეგობრობაზე და სიყვარულზე, აღმოაჩინა რომ სამყარო იმაზე დიდია ვიდრე წარმოედგინა და ბედნიერია რომ ამ ყველაფრის თქვენთან გაზიარება შეუძლია.
My life in China as a foreign student
From a really young age, I always wanted to study abroad. That was because I have an adventure vein. It was not my dream to come to China to study, but when I got that opportunity, I did not hesitate. Everybody was telling me that China was a very rare country, with rare people and food, and the language… no comment. But I really like to think about myself like an almost prejudice-free person. So, I took this opportunity as a challenge. I was not worried about the difficulties that for sure I will meet eventually; I was instead really excited for the new experiences that were waiting for me in this distant country.
My travel was good. I met a Chinese guy in the plane and two years later we are still friends. It took around 30 hours to get here from Cuba. But it was a nice trip.
I remember my first day in the campus. I get lost. But contrary to all the opinions that I heard before, I met a very kind, cordial and friendly Chinese people, with all the good intention to help me without asking for anything in return. I am not saying everybody was like that, but the good people are more that the bad ones.
The dormitory was not what I imagined. We have to share the bathroom and the kitchen. But my roommate, from Korea, she was a really nice person. I met later a lot a fellows from every country in this world. That was amazing. I never had that kind of experience before. Hanging out with my classmates and fellows was a good lesson for me. Now sharing the bathroom and the kitchen was not that important anymore.
The first day in class, I got depressed. I did not understand very well what the teacher was saying and I doubt of my skills and my intelligence. Fortunately, that felling did not stay long. My classmates help me when I needed it, and I believed in myself again. After my bachelor graduation, I worked for three years, so it was a little difficult to act like a student again. The homework, the classes, the oral presentations… I was able to talk in Chinese, but it was not that good. It was a huge challenge, but in the end, I got my diploma.
The campus life is really dynamic; there is a place for everybody. If you like sports, just go to the field and play soccer, volleyball, badminton (very popular here in China by the way), basketball, tennis or whatever you want to play. If you like singing, dancing or acting, the school organizes a lot of activities for the drama lovers. You can even discover what your hobby is. There are also a lot of competitions (language skills, knowledge, abilities, etc.), Chinese culture activities (conferences, exhibitions, parades, etc.). I personally love the Nationalities Fair, an event where the international students share their own country culture and traditions. A good opportunity for learning about other cultures, share your own country culture and make new friends. The time that I spent here in China was a good time. I learned a lot, about myself, about the others, about friendship, about love. More than the subjects that I took in class, the life in this university taught me how to be a better person. All the interactions with my professor, my classmates, my multi-national friends, makes me realize that the world is bigger and better that I could imagine before. I am thankful for that knowledge and it is my pleasure to share this wonderful experience with everyone.
Patricia from Cuba
