Alex COX

Student of The University of Queensland, Australia
Exchange to Peking University, China

Ever since the end of my senior year in high school, I knew that I wanted to spend an exchange semester in the People's Republic of China.

In my third and final year of studying International Politics at The University of Queensland, I finally got that chance with the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Awards. This grant assisted me in living out my dream of an exchange to China.

I lived in Beijing for one semester and studied Mandarin at Peking University, helping me to realise another dream of mine - to be proficient in Mandarin. Having studied the language for over 6 years, it was thrilling to use and learn it organically and to see my skills improve in a short period of time. There is no other or better way than learning a language in its native speaking country.

I have seen and done so much during just one semester that at times it felt like I was in an adventure story. When I was climbing up the Great Wall, I was suddenly aware that this was real life and I was lucky enough to go through it.

My exchange experience has been fantastic, although there has been one small downside... it has left me hungry to do further exchanges to experience and learn about more cultures and languages!

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