As I'm writing this first post, I am sitting in my favorite chair at home, by the Christmas tree, and thinking about what awaits me when I arrive in China. I've been planning on this study abroad trip for so long, it's hard to believe it's finally almost here. It was so easy to say "I'm going abroad next year," or "I'm going abroad next semester." Now, I'm not so far away from saying I'll be leaving next week.
I still have a lot left to do before I leave, like getting my last vaccinations. I'll be spending the next few weeks working a few hours at my part-time job between packing and spending time with friends and family. Before I leave, I thought I'd give an overview of why I chose to go to Chengdu and some of my goals.
About Chengdu
Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan province in China. The typical study abroad destinations in China are Beijing and Shanghai. While Chengdu isn't the biggest city, it does have very rich culture and history, as well as being famous for its giant panda research center. One of the reasons I chose Chengdu is for it's culture, since that is what I have focused on as an Asian Studies major at MC.
I'll be studying through the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) at the Southwest University for Nationalities. My studies will focus on Chinese language, which is another reason why I chose my program. Here is a picture of the university:
My Goals
- Get to know Chengdu: From what I've heard, Chengdu is a lively city, and was named the fourth-most livable city in China. I want to explore the city every chance I can.
- Get out of my comfort zone: SWUN has a student population of over 29,000 - drastically different from MC's 1300 or so students. While I will have the comfort of my small USAC group, I hope to put myself out there and experience new things.
- Try everything at least once: This goal is mostly in reference to food, but can be applied to all sorts of things. I'm sure I'm going to accidentally eat something I know I hate at least once, so I'm going to use blissful ignorance as a tool and take things for what they are. Who knows, maybe I'll come back as a mushroom-lover (I sincerely doubt it though, I loathe mushrooms).
- Journal: One of my best friends got me a wonderfully punny journal for Christmas, so I'm going to use it to document my experience, along with this blog. In my journal, I'll keep some of my more personal thoughts and feelings, which will hopefully help me reflect on the experience as a whole when the time comes.
That's all I have to say, for now. I'll hopefully be able to update again when I arrive in Hong Kong for some traveling before I head to Chengdu.
Thanks for reading,
Kayleigh
凯丽
