Jana Lai

The University of Adelaide, Australia
Exchange to Tsinghua University, Mainland China

Since my exchange to Shanghai during my early high school years, all I ever wanted was to return to China and study the language. When it came to the end of year 12, I had an opportunity to spend 12 months studying in Beijing, however the exchange fell through. From then on I put the idea of going abroad to study to the back of my mind, thinking that I had missed my opportunity. So when I found out that I had an opportunity to study Chinese at one of China’s top universities, Tsinghua University, I knew that I couldn’t miss it.

In September, I left home and landed, after a 2-day long journey, right into the heart of Beijing, where I was greeted with pollution, crowds and heavy traffic. I had prepared myself for the worst, as I had no idea what was going to happen. Arriving at the university was no different to my arrival to the city; I was met with lines, small spaces and lots of forms to fill in that I did not understand. Fortunately, I had embarked on this exchange with a fellow classmate and friend from Adelaide and it was with her that I shared a room in the university dormitories and my experience.

The Tsinghua University campus is only slightly smaller than Adelaide CBD, so the only way to get to and from class was on bicycle, along with the other thousands of students. This was the first time I had ever ridden a bicycle on main roads that I had to negotiate with screaming buses, taxis, pedestrians and other cyclists. This was probably the most challenging part of my whole exchange. At the university, we met many other Australians but we also made friends with people from all over the world. Even now I have remained close friends with people from Germany, Canada, America, and Brazil, anywhere you can think of, there is someone! All the classes I attended were taught in Chinese and to my delight, I managed to keep up with all the work we did. I also decided to broaden my cultural experience and signed up for a martial arts class, where the teacher told us rain, hail, snow or shine she expected us there, a brush painting class and a music class where I learnt to play a traditional Chinese instrument called an “Er Hu”

But it wasn’t all about work; I also spent plenty of time experiencing the city. Near the university, because of all the Korean students that studied in the area, there was an interesting fusion of Chinese and Korean stores, restaurants and services. More often than not we would go and have Korean barbeque for dinner or steamboat on cold windy days. If we wanted to have our hair washed we could go to the local Chinese salon or if you wanted to spoil yourself for a few extra yuan you could go to the nearby upmarket Korean salon, the choices were endless! It was fantastic that everything was so convenient and once I had acquainted myself with what the surroundings had to offer, it became home.

However I wasn’t ever confined to just around the university, the nearby subway station gave us all access throughout the whole area and we spent most weekends exploring a new part of the city. With friends we also headed out of Beijing and did trips to places such as Shanhaiguan, where the Great Wall meets the ocean. Going out of Beijing and into the smaller surrounding provinces displayed the economic and industrial growth that the big cities were experiencing and how China still has much room for improvement. At the end of my scheduled classes, I embarked on a journey by train first to Tibet, then to Shandong where I met my great aunt for the very first time and parts of my long lost family and finally to Shanghai to be reunited with my host sister and her family from my exchange many years ago.

Going on this exchange to complete my language studies really was the icing on the cake. The saddest thing about my exchange was when I had to leave and say goodbye to the place that I had called home for 6 months, all the friends that I had made and the end of an experience that I could never have again with my friends or on my own.

Even though I come from a Chinese background and have traveled to China and south-east Asia before, this exchange really opened my eyes to the potential of what I could achieve later on in my life. For anyone thinking about going on exchange during their university life, they should definitely go as it will be the most fulfilling and life-changing experience.

To the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship Programme, this is such a fantastic exchange and I really can’t express how much your support means to me. I wish you all the best of luck in continuing this invaluable exchange programme where you change and will continue to change so many lives. Those 6 months were one of the most enriching experiences in my life that I will cherish forever. Thank you.

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