Tani BURGE

Australian National University, Australia
Exchange to Peking University, China

My exchange semester at Peking University was by far the most rewarding experience I have had at university. Not only was I thrilled to get accepted into “Beida” (as it is colloquially known), China’s oldest and most prestigious university, but the thought of improving my language skills, immersing myself in Chinese culture and travelling throughout both China and South-East Asia all added to my pre-departure anticipation. Beijing did not disappoint.

As China’s capital city, Beijing is truly a thriving metropolis. Upon arrival, I knew I wanted to live with a Chinese family, in order to improve my spoken Mandarin. After a few days struggling to translate the classifieds in the local Chinese newspaper, I found a room to rent in an apartment with a retired couple in ‘Wudaokou’, the student capital of Beijing. The location could not have been better, in the heart of the student nightlife district and a 10 minute bike ride from university. My academic experience was fantastic and over the course of 6 months my Mandarin language skills improved dramatically. Peking University is well-known for its strong language program - I undertook four language courses – written Chinese, spoken Chinese, Business Chinese and Listening Comprehension, which constituted a full time load.

My overall language improvement, however, was not defined by classroom-based instruction. During every university holiday I went travelling with my classmates. We travelled to Shanghai, Xi’an (to see the Terracotta Warriors), Guilin and Yangshuo (Southern China), Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam. My most memorable experience was undoubtedly a 30 hour train journey from Beijing to Guilin, with three of my Peking University classmates. Instead of forking out the extra 5 dollars for sleeper tickets, my friends and I decided we wanted to ‘travel like locals’ and bought hard seat tickets. We did not quite envisage what we were signing ourselves up for. Once the journey was underway, we realised that ‘standing’ tickets had also been sold in great number. It is nearly physically impossible, however, for anybody to remain standing for 30 consecutive hours. It was only when I had a person lying underneath my feet, somebody else’s child in my lap and three people squished into my ‘hard seat’ with me that our communal sense of humour started to wear thin. At that point we discovered there were still 18 hours to go. In hindsight it was a character-building experience, and one of my fondest memories of China. Needless to say, we all bought sleeper tickets for the return journey! The friendships I made in Beijing were lifelong and defined by our mutual experiences of such a unique culture.

My whole exchange experience, however, would not have been possible without the generosity of the Cheung Kong Group and the Australian Government. The financial grant they provided gave me the means to make the most of my exchange, and I am unspeakably grateful for the opportunities that were afforded to me as a result. I strongly encourage all students to undertake exchange. It changed my life!

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