My first week in China
On 31st August 2017 I boarded a plane to Beijing to start my year abroad at Tianjin Foreign Studies University to study Chinese. I don't think it had really sunk in that I was actually moving to China until a couple of weeks before I left and those weeks were spent being suitably scared. I seemed to have underestimated how many things needed to be sorted before moving abroad; for example, unlocking my phone, sorting bank accounts and leaving jobs. I also made sure to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends and enjoying the cool weather, the countryside and the fresh air of Scotland.
The goodbyes were very hard. I was concious that I was potentially not going to have as much access to internet and social media as I would have if I had been studying in Europe, for example. Although saying goodbye to my friends and family whom I see everyday was incredibly upsetting, I knew that it was part of growing up and that I was leaving to go on to do something very exciting and to study something I loved. Even though it was daunting at times, I was so grateful that I was able to go on this scholarship to China.
Our journey consisted of 12 hours of flying, 4 hours at Beijing airport trying to find our bags and 3 hours on the bus to Tianjin. We stopped in Doha in Qatar very briefly on our way to Beijing. When we arrived at our new home for the next 10 months we were all exhausted after such a long journey. It was so surreal that we had actually arrived after months of waiting!
Our first few days consisted of trying to get used to the time zone, exploring the area, making our room feel like our home and buying Chinese sim cards. It felt strange to be in China again. Everywhere you go everything is different from Scotland. The buildings are huge and there are lots of people everywhere! Walking the streets can feel crazy at times as you catch a glimpse of an old building that looks shrunken and out of place against the sparkling skyscrapers. We also managed to get the hang of crossing roads - something that is a very different experience in China!
Tianjin Foreign Studies University is a campus so we have everything we need close by. The university is very modern and the buildings are quite different from the rest of Tianjin.
Although we have been trying lots of new Chinese food, and enjoying it, we treated ourselves to a Pizza Hut for Owen and Robin's birthday.
One night we went out for dinner. We ate a lot of dumplings and I ended up speaking French, Spanish, Chinese and I even learned a bit of Korean. It is really nice to be part of an international community.
This week has been very strange. Things have changed so much and it seems like I have been here for a month rather than a week. I am looking forward to starting classes so that I can understand more of the language and be part of the university.
Ailsa Brown x
1. 北京 Beijing
2. 天津外国语大学 Tianjin Foreign Studies University
3. 中文 Chinese (language)
4. 中国 China
5. 苏格兰 Scotland
6. 天津 Tianjin
7. 法语 French
8. 西班牙语 Spanish
9. 韩 语 Korean