Amazing Experience in China

The decision to study abroad at TUC-FIU has been such an amazing experience so far. I have been completely submerged in a new environment, language, and culture that are unfamiliar to me. However, all of the faculty and staff are friendly and eager to make you as comfortable as possible. Dean Wang helped introduce us to the campus and students. I have had the privilege to become very involved on campus despite the language barrier. I feel that the Chinese students and U.S. students learn from one another about each other’s culture and ways of communication. With the guidance from volunteer Chinese students the U.S. exchange students have been able to travel around China to experience some of the history, monuments, culture, and cuisine. We have visited Beijing’s Summer Palace which is associated with the Qing dynasty's dowager empress Cixi, but has a history of more than 800 years as an imperial garden dating back to the 1150s.

We also visited the Tianjin Exhibition Hall where we got the opportunity to learn about Tianjin’s past, current times, and plans of development for the future through 4D dynamic cinema, interactive games, and very detailed luminescent city models. The Tianjin Museum was also a very interesting and entertaining museum that taught us about the political, economic and social background of the city. Tianjin Ancient Culture Street is perhaps my favorite place so far because it is filled with traditional little shops and delicious Chinese cuisine. With the help of the Chinese students and faculty of TUC-FIU I have opened my mind to another way of life and made some incredible new friends.

By Desiree Katrina Duncan