When I first came to China at exactly 2:55 pm in Guangzhou, I was tired because the long flight which took 3 flights and about 20 hours from Liberia to China. I was seriously exhausted, everything is strange, especially the language. On the other hand, they have some pretty good technology at the airport.

To my destination

Leaving Guangzhou at 7:25 pm on my next flight to Fuzhou, that was when I met my first Chinese friend who was an elderly man. Throughout the flight, we had a very good conversation about China, Fuzhou, and about the school that I am intending on studying. 9:15 pm was the time that I arrived at Changle airport, Fuzhou.

In front of the school gate

I arrived at school at 11:45 pm, at that time everything was quiet and dark. There were just few people going in and out the school. After that, I approached this security guy and tried to ask him to let me in. However, because of the language gap, we couldn’t understand each other really well. The only solution was to give him my Admission Letter, then he let me in.

In the school

After standing confusedly for about 30 minutes with my heavy luggage, there was this Chinese gentlemen who reached out to me and lend me a hand. Unexpectedly, he was a teacher in the school, he then started to make lots of calls. On the third call, he was able to contact with Miss Jiang which I was certain about. She then sent some students (Chinese/International Students) to pick me up to the dorm.

At the dorm

At the dorm, I was formally introduced to all Chinese and International Students by Miss Jiang which made me feel like home. When I got in my room, however, there was not any bed at all. Out of the blue, it was so kind of the students by providing me pillow, blanket and the bed sheet. After that, each and every day, they helped me out with my daily life, from using the shower, the washer, Taobao(online shopping), going to the canteen and also helping me to see the doctor when my leg was injured.

Position in class

Few days after we started our classes, there was a need for class leadership, so Miss Jiang along with the rest of us agreed to form a leadership for the class. Actually, I was reluctant to become a part of our class’ leadership as I thought it would be better for me to focus more on studying, but after lots of encouragements, motivations and supports from my classmates (Chinese/International Students), I was able to make up my mind to serve them. After a process of voting, I won the position of the Vice Monitor, which was very exciting, heart-warming and it gave me the responsibility to work with them.

Adaption

Another fact, with the speed of light, I acclimatized to the food, and specially, the chopsticks which made me having hard time using it, the culture, lifestyles and the technology of the people here. With just a single phone, you can do almost everything in China. How cool is that!

Conclusion

I want to send my biggest gratitude to, first of all, the government of the people’s Republic of China for such a unique opportunity for foreign students to study in China. Secondly, I appreciate the Fuzhou University of International Studies and Trade for its extraordinary contributions and passion towards education and youth capacity building. Thirdly, a special thanks and appreciation goes to Miss Jiang for her unlimited supports, care, love and advice giving us every day. Lastly, to all students (Chinese/International Students), you guys have been extremely tremendous, loving, caring and I really do appreciate it. My first impression of China was one of a kind with a lot of unforgettable memories and I am looking forward to having more outstanding experiences both in studying and life in China.