University Honors Program Experiential Learning Reflective Essay - Global Studies A !inese American in !ina Part "# $!

at% This summer, I traveled to China for 3 months to study at Shanghai University through the USAC program, intern at architecture firm FIDA, and visit relatives in Wuhan I planned to improve my spea!ing s!ills, learn ho" to read and "rite in Chinese, and learn more a#out Chinese culture These "ere my goals and e$pectations for my time a#road to meet academic, professional and personal goals Along the path to reaching these goals, I met fantastic people and learned that the #est e$periences are the unplanned, or happened "hen I "as "illing to change my plans At Shanghai University, I too! Chinese language classes and a Chinese %usiness &ractices and 'thics class Although I had originally signed up to ta!e 'lementary Chinese I and II, the program director recommended that I move to the Intermediate level after hearing me converse in Chinese (my native language) *ater, I decided to return to the 'lementary level during the second session #ecause I "as una#le to !eep up "ith the reading and "riting at the Intermediate level %ecause of the fle$i#ility in scheduling classes, I challenged myself at a level that "as appropriate for me to gain the most !no"ledge #y recogni+ing and accepting my limitations ,y language class si+es "ere small (3-. people), so I received a lot of individual attention to"ard improvement ,y Chinese %usiness &ractices and 'thic class "as also a last minute su#stitute for the Chinese Culture and Society and the /overnment and &olitics in China classes that I "as originally planning to ta!e Due to changed interests and some credit issues, I decided that I "ould #enefit more #y learning a#out China0s #usiness strategies and issues in class and the other topics independently and #y e$ploring the city %y spending more time "andering the old, the ne", the clean, and the grimy streets of Shanghai, I e$perienced a distinct and different culture Although I may have not learned famous dates in history or the names of past emperors, !no"ledge that I "ould have gained from ta!ing classes, I gathered a sense of Shanghai and Chinese culture and perspective on the life of an ordinary citi+en I "as also a#le to intern at the firm FIDA architecture and design in Shanghai 1ot only "as I tas!ed "ith ne" responsi#ilities to gain e$perience in architecture, I "as in an unfamiliar office environment "here everyone e$cept my #oss and another employee spo!e 'nglish Since office language "as specific to design and architecture, and my language comprehension "as limited #eyond everyday conversation, there "ere limitations in communication Since I "as also learning from these designers, the dou#le challenge "as difficult, and at times frustrating to deal "ith 2o"ever, they contri#uted to a positive e$perience interning ,y time a#road included personal travels to Wuhan to visit my relatives I "as a#le to stay "ith my grandmother and other relatives in Wuhan on three separate occasions of a#out a "ee! long 3n these occasions, my Chinese "as actively used as my relatives #arely spea! 'nglish These visits, spaced #et"een my studies in Shanghai, helped measure the progress that I "as ma!ing in Chinese ,ore importantly, I "as a#le to spend time "ith my family Part &# So $!at% Studying a#road in China improved my Chinese greatly since the teachings from each lesson could #e practiced on the street I #oth consciously and su#consciously "ould use the voca# and grammar that I "as learning daily and "as al"ays e$cited "hen someone "ould understand "hat I "as trying to say I #elieve that the improvements made in my Chinese communication a#ilities and e$perience of daily Chinese life also contri#ute to my development as an architect aspiring to "or! on international pro4ects Since the opportunity for pro4ects in China has #een positive, I #elieve that learning the language and culture "ill ena#le me to engage hands on "ith "or! in China As a Chinese-American that "as #orn and raised in China, learning more a#out my language and culture is meaningful to me in many "ays %eing a#le to return to China has reinforced my desire to stay connected "ith my cultural #ac!ground and allo" it to #e a positive force in my future

To prepare for my trip, I learned #asic voca#ulary and studied the history of the places that I "ould #e visiting in China I also made sure to familiari+e myself "ith deeply ingrained cultural ideas li!e respecting your elders This #ac!ground information "as useful to #e a respectful traveler %ecause of my research on the places that I "ould #e visiting, I made sure to ta!e note of the sights I "anted to e$perience, such as Shanghai0s &earl To"er and the Sil! Factory in Su+hou 5eading a#out 1an4ing0s history helped me to mentally prepare myself for visiting the 1an4ing ,assacre ,emorial and also #e a#le to understand some of the Chinese attitudes to"ard other cultures li!e the 6apanese I learned so much during this e$perience that it "ould #e impossi#le to descri#e it all As I "as physically in China to study Chinese, I engaged "ith other Chinese people everyday Those interactions, from ordering from the noodle-pulling man at my favorite near#y restaurant to "or!ing "ith the designers at my firm, energi+ed my e$perience Unli!e my fello" American students, I could #oth o#serve and emphasi+e "ith the people that I met ,y out"ard appearance as another Chinese person "as 7uic!ly 7uestioned as soon as I uttered Chinese using strange grammar or "ord choice To really fit in to a culture that I #arely remem#ered since leaving for the States at a young age, I made the effort to ta!e in the nuances of culture, from #asic greetings to the "ays that people ate %y adapting myself, I reali+ed that I could #e easily fle$i#le as a participant in these t"o environments In one setting "ith my American friends, I could #e vie"ed as a foreigner In another setting, normally #y myself, I could avoid the stares from other Chinese people %y learning to #alance these t"o identities as one, I en4oyed different dimensions of Chinese life Since I spent most of my time in Shanghai, I learned a lot a#out the city0s history and changes It "ould #e hard to concisely descri#e Shanghai #ecause there are so many different parts It is a uni7ue #lend of the old and ne", of domestic and foreign The "ell !no"n 8%und9 of Shanghai along the river is home to many historical #uildings of other nations that came to Shanghai to invest in trade It has #eautiful 'uropean architecture that contrasts "ith older areas such as Shanghai0s shu!imen homes "ith the narro" alleys In this area that is pac!ed "ith tourists, #oth Chinese and international, it is easy to see ho" Shanghai is rising as an international #usiness star It is also difficult to imagine China0s huge population or really understand its implications until e$periencing it firsthand on the streets It "as #oth a"e-inspiring and slightly terrifying to #e in the su#"ay station "here it seemed that people filled every occupia#le space China0s one-child policy does not seem so alien or unreasona#le as their main method of population gro"th "hen you see ho" it could #e a pro#lem Part '# (o) $!at% If I had the opportunity to have this e$perience again, I "ould ma!e more of an effort to develop deeper relationships "ith the Chinese people I met As a student "ith the USAC program, the other students and I "ere together for most of the time 'nglish "as almost al"ays used to communicate since "e all had varying levels of Chinese and "ere most comforta#le "ith 'nglish Although I en4oyed #eing "ith these other Americans, it "as very easy to #e 8 foreigners9 "ith them- "hich means that "hen together, "e mostly tal!ed to one another I had to remind myself at times that I "as in China to e$perience Chinese culture, not American and really push myself to interact "ith Chinese people I "ould advise peers of this situation and to #e open to e$ploring the near#y surroundings Although it is a great component of traveling to e$perience the "ell !no"n places of a city, "andering do"n dirt paths is 4ust as meaningful 1ot every great adventure needs to come from a guide#oo! of tourist spots %ecause I am Chinese, I never felt li!e I "as interacting "ith people "ho "ere completely different from me, #ut rather had a culture that I "as not completely familiar "ith Since I had never #een to Shanghai #efore, the city itself "as a "hole ne" realm of Chinese culture The local dialect is so different from ,andarin Chinese that "hen heard sounded li!e a foreign language "ithin a foreign language During my time, I really came to appreciate the Chinese people0s hard"or!ing mentality '$periencing the Chinese culture and meeting Chinese people also helped me to #e critical of parts of American culture I thin! as a glo#ally a"are citi+en, it is important to not vie" your o"n country on a pedestal and really allo" yourself to appreciate and #e accepting of differences "ith others %ecause of my Chinese #ac!ground, I had an advantage of understanding Chinese culture and could at times #e defensive of it to my American friends ,y e$perience has also taught me to em#race the daily surprises and stop my schedule-oriented self to appreciate them Some of my favorite moments "ere completely unplanned or occurred #ecause something else "ent "rong As a traveler in another country, it is easy to #e frustrated and "orried #y the unplanned 2o"ever, I thin! that e$tracting the positive from it only #enefits the e$perience and gives it more depth

Through my travel #log, I "as a#le to actively share my learning "ith others "hile a#oard Upon my return, I have #een fortunate to act as a representative of the USAC program , of the 2onors &rogram and as a participant of International Studies %y presenting my e$perience in these representative roles to various groups of people, I hope to have encouraged enthusiasm for traveling a#road and meeting ne" people %y sharing my learning "ith others, I have really #een a#le to reflect on the most important parts of my travels for myself