Jean Lim

The University of Queensland, Australia
Exchange to Shandong University, China

My name is Jean; I am an undergraduate student at the University of Queensland studying International Hotel and Tourism Management and Chinese. It was just last year in 2006 when I packed all my things to head off to China for a year of study towards my Chinese degree. As nerve-racking as it was, the anticipation of settling into a different country and place outside of my comfort zone was an exhilarating feeling, in addition to knowing that I was going to benefit from my exchange overseas in two areas, educationally and culturally.

I was grateful to have received support from the Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Programme; it without a doubt assisted me financially, which makes the experience all together more enjoyable. Being in a new country, you are fascinated with the many different places you can visit and the activities that you can partake in, that collectively further enrich your experience.

In July 2006 I arrived in the capital city of Shandong Province, Jinan. Jinan city is known as “the City of Springs” and situated in the Northeastern part of China. The University that I attended during my exchange programme was Shandong University. I’ll be honest in saying that my initial impression when arriving in China was nothing less then expected as a shock, to have finally arrived in the place where I would be spending my next 12 months. There was so much my eyes were gazing upon and so much to take in, although funnily enough the pollution in the air slightly precluded a clear view out of the bus window. This did not change my experience, just explains a characteristic of a typical Chinese city.

I participated in the summer semester at the same University that took place two months earlier. It was over the next two months where I was able to explore and become familiar with my surroundings and make new friends. I really believe that when moving to a new place, you need to put aside time to let yourself adjust to your new environment. The summer semester programme lasted a month. There were 26 students in total, from a range of different countries such as Russia, France, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Canada, and Australia. During the week, we had a combination of language courses and different Chinese cultural activities or shows. The activities ranged from Chinese calligraphy, to intricate Chinese paper cutting, watching Chinese opera, and learning about history and traditional artifacts. Weekends were spent traveling first to Beijing, seeing the Forbidden City, Ti’an Men Square, and climbing up the Great Wall. Other weekend destinations included some within the Shandong Province: such as Qufu, the hometown of Confucius himself; the city of kites, Weifang; and a developed coastal city, Qingdao.

The courses I enrolled in during my exchange were targeted to improve my Chinese language skills, and gain an overall cultural experience. We commenced in September and all my classes were instructed in Chinese, which at first was daunting, but I think was a very effective method for learning a language. The standard number of contact hours per week in classes was 22 hours. So throughout the week we were working on our Chinese on a daily basis, which was great for making a difference to our Chinese language competency.

I didn’t go home to Australia for a holiday; instead I went with friends traveling to different cities within China. China is exciting as it has so much to offer! There is the long history, the nature, unique ethnic minorities, and the variety of cuisines to sample. Each region in China has their individual accent, which can at times, as I observed, be a drastic variation in comparison to the standard Chinese that I had been learning, but nevertheless it was really eye-opening to realize that even within one country such diversity exists to be explored and appreciated!

I had such an amazing time on my exchange programme to China, learning so much and making great friends that I plan to keep in touch with. I regard my exchange as a valuable and rewarding experience that I won’t forget. I’d encourage those who have not been on an exchange programme to participate in one if there is the chance. Going on exchange isn’t only about educational achievements, but also about personal development. Your journey plays a part in building the character that you are continually growing into, so make the most of your opportunities in life and always have a desire to want more!

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