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QIN Jian Yong

Student of Fudan University, China
Exchange to the University of Adelaide, Australia

"Tomorrow is another day."

Just as in nature there is a time for revival of life in early spring after a harsh winter, I started my new life amid the cold winter in Australia after a hot summer in China.

It was true that I lost something that I thought to be the most important in my whole life near my departure for exchange study – someone that I was struggling to love with every piece of my heart. Nevertheless, it is so true that you will never know what will be there for you until you walk out of the door and embrace the world. For what it is worth, it is never too late to pick up every piece of yourself and reshape them to whoever you want to be.

Australia is not only a wonderland with spectacular scenery for people who were born in the Northern Hemisphere like me, but also a treasure land of knowledge with lots of best minds to interact with. What I did not expect is that in the southern part of this marvelous land lies a tiny but amazing city full of ancient aboriginal culture and charming aroma of alcohol – Adelaide.

Adelaide is everything I was able to imagine, from the adorable koalas in the conservation parks to the tiny spiders occasionally visiting my room, from the sunrise with a cup of wine in Barossa to the romantic sunset and twilight on Glenelg Beach. Amid the beautiful surroundings, I found that I truly enjoyed to be alone and started to recover by compiling the bits and pieces of my soul.

No doubt, traveling was a must-do during my recovering process. I went to Melbourne and Sydney during the mid-term break. In Melbourne, I met an old friend who had once been to my home university for exchange study as well, and I introduced to my old buddy my new friends from Australia, Malaysia, India, Korea and all over the world. I guess that is my favourite part of the Aussie culture – its diversity and inclusion. And it was when I listened to their stories, learned about their culture and shared different views with them that I realized how big the world is, how small I am. Actually, there are many things waiting for me to learn and many places for me to visit.

Obviously, I made use of this exchange opportunity to recover from within and rebuild myself. Life should be much more interesting if I can meet and connect with new friends and young hearts. Out of my expectation, I built up a connection and tie with Adelaide University Choral Society, an organization where all of those versatile and interesting guys having fun with music notes. It was virtually a family where we called each other honey and also pet's names. We sang together and had interesting, amazing and fabulous time. I am bound to be grateful for the reason that it was in this family that I met someone who looks like a movie and sounds like a song. All I want is to preserve my memory by capturing the precious moments in my mind.

It is such an honor to write down my feelings and share my experiences with all of you in this way. I must express my sincere gratitude to people who gave me this precious opportunity to study in Adelaide and who supported me with financial assistance. I shall head back to China soon but I will never forget my extraordinary exchange life in Australia.

In the end, here is to all on the road of dream:
I hope you make the best of every piece of your life.
I hope you see things that startle you.
I hope you feel things that you have never felt before.
I hope you meet people with multiple points of view.
I hope you live a life you are truly proud of.
If you find that you are not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

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