Study Abroad in China: a Semester of Memories
My semester abroad at Sichuan University has been wondrous and truly an experience. I have learned a countless amount of new things about the culture, language, and relationships. Sometimes I haven’t had the easiest time, but I have learned that all those experiences make me the person I am and aspire to be today and in the future. I have talked about so many of my experiences traveling around China, but I haven’t revealed much about my campus life. To me, my campus life was probably the experience that most impacted me while I was there. I made wonderful friends, experienced the Asian education system, laughed, cried, and overall had a blast. I would definitely love to go back to China sometime in the future to study and learn more about the people and culture. This adventure has been filled to the brim with wonderful and crazy memories, and I have loved every second of it.
Campus
Sichuan University is located in Chengdu city in Sichuan province. Sichuan province is located close to Tibet. The university is well-known for its STEM disciplines. There are actually three different campuses. The one that I was at was the Wangjiang campus located close to the center of Chengdu. The total student population is 70,000. The campus is quite huge and contains parks, banks, cell phone companies, shops, restaurants, etc. While I was staying there, not only did I go to my classes, but I also exercised at the gym on campus. The campus has several outdoor tracks, ping pong tables, basketball courts, and soccer fields. I was fairly surprised to see how small the gym actually was and how outdated their equipment was. The campus was very peaceful with all the greenery covering the campus. It was beautiful in fall to see the leaves changing colors. Many students took advantage of the picturesque scene by having full-blown photoshoots. On campus, there were also ponds covered in lotus pads. It was stunning but be forewarned to not get to close unless you wanted to get attacked by mosquitoes. The buildings were a mix of modern and traditional. The traditional buildings featured black and red colors while the modern ones were a plain grey color. Overall, the campus was a sight to see, and it was a pleasure to be able to enjoy it for a semester. Disclaimer: I was really bad about taking photos of the campus, so there are few photos of it.
Canteens & Food Options
On campus, there are approximately seven canteens that we could choose from. It is very inexpensive to use our student meal cards at the dining halls. The meals were quite delicious, way better than ones at my home university. I got good-sized meals for about $8 USD. Some of the canteens offer a variety of food including steamed buns, dumplings, soy milk (so delicious!), noodles, soups, etc. Others are focused on certain foods for example, one of the canteens is solely dedicated to dumplings and noodle soups. Another of the canteens is Muslim so it doesn’t offer meat. However, it has the delicious bread that they usually serve.
Also, there are some markets and shops on campus that offer pancakes (jianbing) and other delicious food options. During our break from class, I would usually go to the corner shop and buy a delicious pancake or this wrap that had fried chicken in it. It was to die for!
There are also off-campus options available. Outside of the little north gate, there are many hotpot, chuan chuan, traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean restaurants that offer delicious food at great prices. It was common for me to go during lunchtime or dinner to grab some of the food there. Food was definitely one of the perks of living at Sichuan University. There were so many options that I didn’t get sick of eating the same thing over and over again. Food is another thing that my friends and I bonded over. We would often go to a restaurant and chat about life and other topics. It was relaxing and enjoyable, and one of my favorite memories from my time there.
On and off campus there were many coffee shops for those who preferred to study or just relax. There were two coffee shops on campus that I really enjoyed which offered amazing shaved ice drinks and flower tea. The off campus coffee shops were very impressive, spacious, and nicely decorated. I really enjoyed studying and doing homework there after school and late into the night.
Dorm Living
There are two international dorms on campus. The West dorm, which is where I resided, was a double room with a sink and shower. It was just like a hotel room. The East dorm was not as nice and featured smaller rooms and bathrooms at the end of the hallways. Unlike the Chinese dorms, which have a curfew before they close for good at night, the international dorms were open 24/7. The dorm had washing machines that I had to struggle to figure out since they were all in Chinese. There weren’t any dryers, so we had to dry our clothes out on the rooftop. The dorm didn’t offer a communal kitchen area, and only had a tiny microwave! The rooms were very cozy, and the air conditioner/heater worked fairly well. Overall, the dorm experience was decent and was a nice home for the semester.
Class Schedule
Since I was part of the PLU program, I had to complete additional English courses while I was there; besides the actual Chinese courses. Monday through Thursday in the morning, I would have 3 hours classes that focused on reading, writing, speaking, and listening. After a while, I didn’t feel like I was learning that much from the second half, so I dropped it. In the afternoon, depending on the day, I would have English classes like Tai Chi, Chinese culture, Chinese history, etc. The students in the Chinese classes were from all over the world and varied in age. I made some really good friends while sitting in class. Our teachers were fantastic and so patient with us. From my classes, I learned so much about the language and culture.
Friends
My friends were so important in my life during my semester. We would go out, make late night runs for food, relax, dance, sing, study, etc. together. It was truly a blast to get to know them better and become friends. It was undoubtedly sad to leave because I probably won’t see them for a long time. I am beyond thankful to them for making my study abroad experience in China such a good one.
My on campus experience totally impacted my life in positive ways that I would have never imagined before going to China. It was amazing to experience new traditions, culture, language, and relationships. I am already thinking about going back for another year. We shall see. It would be a dream come true to have another opportunity to see some of my old friends, make new ones, expand my language ability, and gather more on the culture.