Green, Wilson Reflect Upon Time in China

Hey Exeter,

Today marks eight months of our year abroad in Beijing. We are accustomed to squat toilets, frequent stares, crowded streets and a bit of pollution. We have come to love APEC “blue,” the Art District, knife-cut noodles and our host-family. Although School Year Abroad (SYA) China has been an once-in-a-lifetime experience—we have gained a high level of proficiency in Mandarin and have become fluent in Chinese culture—being away from Exeter has been bittersweet. In key areas such as faculty, academic support and course selection, Exeter takes the cake. However, in terms of forcing you out of your comfort zone, we believe SYA is the better institution.

SYA fosters an environment in which students gain a deeper sense of self. Contrary to the belief that the SYA experience is without hardship. SYA China is painful, difficult and can leave you discouraged. SYA China students have come to know that SYA Europe is a vacation, because Western culture encompasses both the United States and European countries.

On the other hand, living in Beijing is a more authentic form of cultural immersion. To shift from Western culture to Eastern culture requires one to dive in headfirst. There are, of course, high moments when you recognize a recently learned character as you walk down the street or when you understand what your host father, someone who speaks like he has eggplants in his mouth, is saying to you, but low moments always follow.

As an American in Beijing, sometimes you feel that the world is moving around you and without you. This can be lonely. Other times, you feel that you’re split between two worlds: the Chinese life you’ve come to accept and the American life you’ve left behind.

This is only exacerbated by the amount of time spent in China. All in all, SYA China has been the most challenging year of our lives. However, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been the most rewarding.

The first rewarding thing that comes to mind is our SYA classmates. Going through this experience with 40 other students has made it much more bearable.

Most notably, two friends of ours, Jen and Brandor, make our hard times tolerable. Laughs shared with our fellow classmates about commonly faced experiences and hardships with host families have made our months in China seem condensed into weeks.

More than that though, only people who’ve faced a culturally immersive experience know how hard it can be—we know that after we return to America, seemingly no one will be able to understand our experience; even we have trouble articulating it sometimes. Being able to depend on the friends we’ve made here, however, not only means that we have a support system while in China, but it also means that we will always have people who understand what it’s like to live in China, even after we graduate from SYA.

The Chinese teachers at SYA are another gratifying aspect of this experience. These teachers are impeccable and are some of the best teachers we have had.

We do recognize, however, that without the preparation and instruction received from Exeter, we would not have been placed in the top Chinese class, nor would we have fully understood what a good Chinese teacher entails. Here, with a tingxie everyday and a Chinese vocabulary of 5,000-plus characters, we are grateful for the education we receive.

Not only are they excellent instructors, but the Chinese teachers at SYA are also a support system for the students. They are there to help us think through our academic and personal problems, stay available at seemingly all hours of the day and night (whether in person or on WeChat) and converse with each student in only Chinese, speaking to us as fully functioning members of Chinese society rather than as students who are trying to practice grammar structures.

Our experience at SYA has provided us with dedicated, understanding faculty who do not fail to support development—not just the development of our language skills but our own development as well.

Perhaps the most rewarding thing we will take from our SYA experience has been the opportunity to heighten our global awareness. Exeter’s motto of non sibi fits perfectly into our newfound sense of responsibility to the world. Only after leaving the comfort of Exeter and, more broadly, America, have we truly understood what it’s like to be a member of the world, politically and socially.

Not only has there been light shed on America’s political and social ties to China, but there has been an increased understanding of America’s global standing, and that is something that could have only been reached had we made the decision to leave America for such a long time—if we had not chosen to leave Exeter for a year, we fear our world view would remain America-centric, especially because we have both been born and raised there.

Exeter can educate you about the world, but the skill of self-advocacy that the Academy truly rewards encourages students not only to read about something, but also to go and experience it—that’s hard to do from the comfort of your dorm room.

SYA has solicited our belief in the power of going abroad, and we would like to push it forward and encourage all Exonians to try to spend time abroad—if not a year, then a term, if not a term, then a week.

Exeter offers so many opportunities for students to meet new people, experience new cultures and obtain a worldly perspective, and it would behoove all students to take such a chance—seize the day, as they say.