Sam PRUDDEN

Student of RMIT University, Australia
Exchange to Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics,China

In 2012 I was lucky enough to go on an exchange program to Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA) for six months. My experience in China was amazing from a number of perspectives including social, cultural, historical and engineering. It has also enabled me to build long-lasting friendships.

Living in China for an extended period of time really gave me the opportunity to explore how much the country contrasts to ours. It gave me insight into the society beyond the typical inner-city historical monuments, tourist attractions and images displayed on the news.

Everyday life took some getting used to, especially because I felt that I was a minority who stood out in public. However, once I became settled in and got used to the food, living and travel conditions, I really came to like it. I made friends with the other exchange students from around the world and also joined a cycling club at NUAA.

I spent a lot of my time cycling around the city and countryside. I felt that this was the best way to immerse myself and experience the distinct social contrasts within China itself – from vibrant and rich inner-city high-rise buildings to povertystricken families only blocks away. On a bike you are always exposed to the sights and smells, both good and bad.

The projects we undertook at NUAA were amazing. I was team leader for our UAV Design, Build and Fly project. The course gave us an amazing amount of independence and flexibility. It really tested our organisational, time management and engineering skills. Our UAV was successful in all set requirements. I have felt that the project really strengthened my skills for all university projects I have completed ever since.

We also learnt Mandarin as a course and had a teacher who became more like a friend to us. We went on several excursions as a class, and the lessons he taught us were crucial to our survival in daily life.

During the holidays I travelled to a number of famous tourist areas with my colleagues. Our aim was to learn as much as we could about the amazing history and accomplishments of the Chinese. We visited the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Temple of heaven and the Silk and Pearl Markets in Beijing. In Xian we visited the Terracotta Warriors and the amazing HuaShan (Shan means mountain). During the winter we travelled to Sichuan Province. We saw Pandas in Chengdu, the amazing scenic parks of Jiuzhaigou and the Valley of Nine Villages (which required a 13 hour bus ride each way). We also saw the Giant Buddha of LeShan and the Golden Statue at the peak of EmeiShan.

I feel that my most daring and crazy experience was during our National Week Holiday. My friend and I embarked on a 300km, 4 day bike ride with nothing but our bikes and backpacks. We rode through tiny villages, huge cities and endless farmland, staying in whatever hotels we could find at the end of the day. We conversed with people who seemed to have never seen Caucasian people in person before. Through a number of mechanical issues with our bikes we also really challenged our communication skills in Mandarin. Being so close to Chinese rural life and seeing first hand how little most of the people had was an experience I will never forget.

I would personally like to thank the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Awards for helping to fund my exchange. It really gave me the ability to achieve as much as I could and make the most of such an amazing experience.

© Copyright 2018 CK Group. All rights reserved.