Click the link to view the full version: WASCZ | Living my dream in real China
I have spent just over a year in China now, and the person I am now coming out of this experience is someone I could have never imagined. My scholarship to WASCZ has granted me many learning experiences in terms of languages and culture, friendship, and the skills needed to achieve my dreams.
Before moving to Changzhou, I grew up in a village of 4,000 people outside London. I did not speak a single word of Chinese and to be honest, my knowledge of the world and life in general was rather limited. Thanks to the scholarship, my friends and my very patient Chinese teachers, I can now understand conversations in Mandarin, opening the gates for me to get to know those who I wouldn’t have been able to, due to the language barrier.
Last year, in a market in Shanghai, I used my Mandarin for the first time when I met a lady called Mary who owned a tea shop. The walls of the shop were lined with hundreds of different tea leaves, I was not sure what any of them were since the only tea I was familiar with at the time was English Breakfast and milk tea, but Mary was kind enough to teach me about herself and the history of tea. That was not all I learnt though, as the experience taught me that no matter how different we are, no matter where we grew up, no matter whatever preconceptions we have about each other, we are all just people. Mary comes from a city of 25 million and I, one of 4,000, but we both love music and a good cup of tea. We are both just people.
Mary was not the only person I have grown close to. Studying here gave me opportunities I did not previously have; one being joining a basketball team. Our team started small, but we persevered and have become a thriving community full of incredible girls, each putting in the maximum effort to become the best. Thanks to those girls, a large part of my Chinese vocabulary consists of sports slang, but I would not want it any other way. Although it feels awkward to say, that team became a family. Every time we won, those were the people I would be jumping and screaming with. Every time we lost (not too often, do not worry), those were the people I hugged. If it were not for this scholarship, I would never have met any of those amazing girls, many of whom I consider friends for life.
While I made many valuable friendships with the Chinese students here, I was fortunate enough to find a community with the other scholars. Although an airport check-in queue is not your typical meet cue, that was where I met some of my favourite people. Being away from home meant that we relied on each other and grew close as a result. I learnt to be independent, but I also learnt to value those around me and learn from them. On one of our first holidays together, we were all sat in someone’s room chatting until late into the night. At some point, someone posed the question, “If you could go back in time, would you still accept the scholarship?” All of us said yes. “Why?”, although I did not say it at the time, because I was embarrassed to admit it to a group of people, I had only met a month ago, one of my main reasons was because without the scholarship, I would not be sitting in that room spending time with them. That is the thing about this opportunity, it brings people together.
For me, the thing I am most grateful for, is how this scholarship enabled me to pursue a dream that I once thought would be a dream. I always wanted to be a music producer, but I only had the chance to learn music technology when I moved here. If not for this generosity, I would not have learnt what I needed to, gained the experience I needed, and may not have received an offer to study music production at NYU. I am forever grateful to the incredible music department at this school for helping me reach that point and providing me with many incredible opportunities I never had.
While the experiences I have had within school have been great, the best times have been during the holidays. This gave me the unique chance to learn more about China as a whole. I still remember the first time seeing the Bund, and all of us were standing in awe before Michael started shouting something about being in Shanghai. I still remember Imogen and I’s little day trip to Suzhou for the dragon boat festival, where we saw all the boats lined up ready for the annual race. Walking through the streets of Nanjing, trying pomelo for the first time and instantly adding it to my shopping list every following week. I still remember taking my parents around China and being able to introduce them to the place I called home for the past year. I remember their scepticism before the flight and their confused faces as they tried to adjust to the country upon arrival. Honestly, I was worried.
I have grown to love this place so much and I really wanted my parents to understand why. You can imagine how happy I was when I saw their grinning faces as they enveloped themselves in the culture, the same way I had. There was nothing purer than their excitement as they tried to use a few small Mandarin phrases I had taught them each day, or their bewilderment when I started talking to people in Mandarin and they saw how I had grown, or their tears of joy when they tried authentic Chinese cuisine (though the tears may have just been from the spice of the Mapo tofu). As I left them at the airport, my mum told me she was surprised. Given what she had thought about China previously, she was surprised how friendly people were, she was surprised how efficient everything was, she was surprised that the country was somehow more beautiful than she imagined. I want people to be surprised. Coming from a place where we do not learn much about China, it is easy to assume things. Only by coming here can we replace those assumptions with the reality. This scholarship allowed me to be surprised by the Chinese culture and to surprise myself with my growth throughout the experience. I aim to continue this chain of surprise by introducing more people to this extraordinary country.
I truly hope the scholarship program continues even after I graduate this year. Everything about this experience reshaped my way of thinking and changed my life forever. I would not be the person I am today if I had not boarded that flight. I hope that someone in the future gets that same chance. More people deserve to be surprised.
Every year, the Wycombe Abbey International China Scholarship Programme selects approximately 10 scholars to study at its campuses in WASCZ. These scholars benefit from an international curriculum seamlessly integrated with rich experiences of Chinese culture. They engage in meaningful interactions with local students, fostering cross-cultural understanding and growth. This unique platform allows Chinese and international students to learn from one another, make shared progress, and develop a deeper global perspective.
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