What inspired you to go abroad?
I have always loved traveling ever since I was a little kid. My parents were fortunate enough to be able to take us to Florida to go to Disney every Christmas. As I grew older, I was able to travel more and had some amazing opportunities. I always knew that I wanted to go abroad specifically to China because I love the culture and the people and I wanted to know as much as I could.
Excursion #1
Why did you choose ISA?
It was really hard for me to pick from so many programs. I decided to go to the study abroad fair to ask some more specific questions about the different programs. I asked around to a variety of different programs but each one wasn't able to answer my questions directly and almost all of them just gave me their brochure and called it good. However, when I went to the ISA booth (International Studies Abroad) they were so personable and really convinced me that this is the program I should choose.
What was your favorite part about Chengdu, China?
My favorite part of my host city (Chengdu, China) was that it was a fairly small city with not a lot of other foreigners so I was able to be immersed in the culture more than I would've been in a bigger city. Another one of my favorite things about Chengdu is the lifestyle that they have there everything is really relaxed and laid back; everyone would be playing Mahjong or doing taiji in the park.
What made your experience abroad unique?
In front of a lake up in the Bi Peng Gou mountains
I had traveled abroad before my big trip in college. But whenever I traveled abroad I always with a big group of people that I was friends with and who I knew very well. However, when I did my study abroad in college I was traveling alone and I had never met with the people participating in the program with me. This made my experience pretty nerve-racking in the beginning but as I grew closer to these people my experience became incredible.
How did local staff support you throughout your program?
Our program only had one staff member in our city, but she was incredible. What made it better was that she was around our age so she was able to show us to all the spots that people our age really enjoyed. Personally, I grew a really close relationship to her and she helped me out a lot with school and she also helped me with my homesickness. We are still really good friends today and we try to take a trip to see each other at least once a year.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?
I wish I wouldn't have been so shy in the beginning of my study abroad trip. I didn't really talk that much unless it was with my roommate and I was really nervous in the beginning about trying new things. But as the trip went on I became more comfortable with the other people in my program and I quickly became the one who tried everything eating weird things and jumping head first into new experiences. My only regret is I wish I would've done these things the whole time.
Traveling to see the Le Shan Buddha
Describe a typical day in the life of your program.
On a typical day my roommate and I would wake up around 8 and go to the street vendors to get breakfast, which would usually be some sort of wrap. Then we would have language classes from 9-12 after which we would grab lunch on campus and then return for culture classes until 5. We would usually eat a big dinner off campus in the city and then go back to our dorms and work on homework.
What did you enjoy doing in your free time?
In my free time I really enjoyed visiting local parks and exercising. As I stated earlier, Chengdu is a very laid back city so you would often see people going on walks, drinking tea in the park and playing Mahjong, or practicing their Tai Ji. It was always really relaxing to go to these parks after doing homework for so long.
What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it?
All international students were put in the same dorms which I really liked because we were able to meet people from all over. The dorms themselves were very nice and basically looked like hotels so we were all really happy with our accommodations.
What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?
One thing every participant should know before participating in my program is to keep an open mind. I think things can often look scary and intimidating in a new country but the most important thing is to take it all in and try not to hesitate in trying new things.
Now that you're home, how has your program abroad impacted your life?
Now that I'm home I feel like I appreciate things a lot more. Although I loved China, there is a significant amount of air pollution. We often wouldn't be able to see the stars, sun, moon or even clouds. So when I got home it was a really big deal to see all of these things, that I believe people often take for granted.
"If I have to eat a fish eyeball so do you!"
Would you recommend ISA to others? Why?
I would 100 percent recommend my program to anyone interested in studying abroad in China. I had an incredible experience for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one that separated the program I participated in from others is that the staff was incredible. They really cared about giving you a good study abroad experience.
