Study Abroad Reflection
"UF in Chengdu is a cultural immersion program offered in collaboration with the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) in Chengdu, China, the capital of the Sichuan Province. Participating students obtain a full year’s worth of Beginning Chinese Language training in just 12 weeks, as well as unique cultural experiences and education during their time at SWUFE"
My summer 2016 participation in the UF in Chengdu program is one for the books. Thanks to UFIC Learning without Borders scholarship and the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, I was fulfilling a dream that exposed to me a new language, culture, and traditions that I would not have been able to do otherwise.
When I arrived on my first day, I felt apprehensive because I knew I stood out for being an expatriate: I had the features of a Chinese man, yet I could not properly speak a language that my parents could. The school staff and my driver, however, treated me as if I was another curious student wanting to learn more about the culture and tradition of Chengdu. I arrived to the school and was quickly debriefed by the front gate lady in full spoken mandarin. Due to my limited language knowledge at the time, she knew to be patient and spoke in slow articulate manner to me as my mind scramble for phrases like “Yes, I understand” and “thank you.” I quickly settled into my room and gathered a few UF students to venture into the city of Chengdu, Sichuan before our first day of Chinese classes.
The courses I took were Beginning Chinese and a Chengdu history course. Although I am able to understand a limited amount of Mandarin, I was challenged to speak and write more. Chinese is a tonal language that requires discipline in memorization and application. Aside from class, I found fun ways to practice the language like striking up casual conversations with restaurant employees/students, translating English lyrics to Chinese, writing journal entries in Chinese, and going over lessons once more with my UF classmates. In a class with four students, each student was given one-on-one attention outside and inside the classroom setting. As the summer continued, our Chinese teacher became our tutor, to a mentor, then a friend, and by the end of the trip, we called her our mom away from home.
From a practical standpoint, I accomplished a lot during that summer. Culturally, I struggled the first few weeks eating Chengdu local’s spicy dishes and discovered how the new subway system made a big impact for locals, as well as myself. Academically, I struggled, studied hard, and by the end of the last few weeks, I never would have imagined Chinese locals asking me for directions on how to get to the downtown area. By our western standards, I also met people who lived in impoverish areas. As some of sincerest people I met on my trip, they expressed curiosity and was interested in learning why foreigners like myself wanted to come to China and what it was like growing up as a Chinese American. From long conversations explaining what Thanksgiving was to talking about the 2016 political campaign, I found those from the less privileged backgrounds were intrigued by the experiences I have had, making me more aware of how fortunate I am to be lucky enough to have the chance to study abroad in a city like Chengdu.
Although I did not decide to extend my stay, my time in this city made an everlasting impact on me and the longer I stayed, the more I was sad realizing I would have to leave soon. As many students travel abroad each year from UF, there are still those that have yet to consider the possibility. With that said, I would love to help you begin your international journey here on campus so if you have any questions regarding study abroad, learning more about the Gilman Scholarship, what ISP is, or simply want to get to know more about me, please don’t hesitate to reach out by email at vcheng2@ufl.edu