As glorious and exciting as it may sound, I’m only a sophomore and I’m studying abroad a semester earlier than most do. It feels as though just as my relationships in DC were solidifying and entering their prime, I had to leave all that for a new journey, a new community, and a new set of friends. Well, I know I will miss my family, Fraternity brothers, friends, and colleagues dearly, but I also have to remind myself of some of my motivations for studying abroad, especially so early.
The Chinese language and culture are my passions. There are certain things in life that are just so profound, so intense, that they are touching right down to your soul, and that is the way I see the Chinese culture. When I started studying both, I quickly realized one whole lifetime would not be enough to fully grasp and understand all of their nuances. I studied first year Chinese at GWU and then studied third year Chinese this past summer at Middlebury College’s 8-week intensive Chinese program. Middlebury’s program really instilled the importance of a seamless Chinese experience if you really want to be excellent at the language and navigating the culture. From then on, I knew Chinese was not just a hobby, or a language that you can peruse in your spare time; it’s a continuous lifelong journey. I’ve got a long list of places to go, things to see, people to meet, and memories to make while I’m China, and I’m incredibly excited for it, smog and all. Something else I’ve got to think about in China is how this passion of mine will fit into my professional life in the future but I figure with a lot of enthusiasm and a little luck, things will turn out alright. After Middlebury, I’m going to call this the second leg of my journey into the Chinese culture and I’m ready to embrace this experience with arms wide open.
For more on my experience at Middlebury, you can read a statement I wrote for the college here. I’m sure I’m not the only feeling this bittersweet goodbye, so what are some of your thoughts and motivations for leaving the west behind and heading to China?
Todd, this truly touches me from the bottom of my heart. Being Chinese has never given me a chance to appreciate my own culture and language the way you do, much less the passion to think of it as a lifelong journey. As a native Cantonese speaker, mandarin is as much a second language as English is to me, but with my experience of learning another language and embracing a different culture, I can guarantee you that when you look back at the end of these 4 months, you'll not only be proud of who you have become, but realize that the trip has been more than worth it. Perhaps before you even know it, you're already part of the Chinese culture and free from the unreasoned assumption of your own American culture. Keep on trucking, Todd, you have a lot of promise somewhere in there.
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