Name: Camila
Country of Origin: Ecuador
Occupation: Student
Years in China: 2 years
The experience of studying in China
Two and a half years before, I wasn’t expecting to come to China and live all the experiences that I am living now. Exactly two years ago, I was in a 30-hour flight coming to China, not even knowing what challenges I was going to face. It all started when graduating from high school. I was looking for a good university to study when I found about the Chinese government scholarships. I applied and as soon as I got accepted, I had to travel to China to study a one-year Chinese language course in Xiamen’s Huaqiao University.
It was my first time away from my family, but I can say that I also got another one here. In my first year I met new friends from different countries. At first, we all communicated with each other in English or in Spanish with some of them, but as long as our Chinese classes started to pay off, we were able even to make jokes in Chinese! Achieving this in such short time was surprising for us! This time was full of new experiences from learning how to use chopsticks to traveling to different cities on our own.
Learning Chinese is not something easy, but when I noticed that it is more than just learning a language everything got easier. Studying in China is also about learning more about the Chinese culture and customs. After this first year of Chinese classes, and after passing my exams, I came to Xiamen University to study my major: Journalism and Communication specialized in the TV and Broadcasting field, and it is fascinating to learn about journalism from a Chinese perspective.
Apart from my student life I really enjoy being in a city like Xiamen with its beautiful sunsets and beaches and its traditional food, as a fact, the must delicious thing that I have tried in China is its hotpot, I enjoy it every time and now I can’t live without it! Every day China surprises me with everything that its culture involves, every time, even if I just go for a walk, I can learn something new about China. I am glad to have the opportunity to be in China, meeting new people, learning about its culture, and feeling as safe as I feel even being 16.247,20 km away from home.
Lastly, I would like to add a fun fact that I discovered when coming to China and knowing a little bit more Chinese, and it is that in Ecuador we have many Chinese restaurants with Chinese dishes made more in an Ecuadorian way, and the most famous one is called “Chulafán” which is basically fried rice, and now I know that its name comes from the Chinese characters 炒辣饭 (Chǎo là fàn), I bet most of Ecuadorians don’t know that.
Read all the unique stories by expats in China here.
To have your China story featured, click here.
Stories will be shared in English on our LinkedIn page, Instagram and Facebook page. Bilingual stories will be shared on our WeChat account mts_cn. Remember to like and share your favourite one!