The SIBC trip to Beijing was the first time
in my life that I had traveled outside of North America and it was one of the
best experiences of my life. After this excursion to the Far East, I now want
to travel everywhere in the world and see as much of it as I possibly can. I
love the novelty of being in a foreign place where even a simple drive down the
street can become an experience in cultural immersion. That is perhaps the most
important thing I got out of the trip and I know it will affect my decision in
both where to study abroad and where I choose to travel when I am abroad.
When I think of my week-long experience in
Beijing, a hundred great memories come to mind, but there are a few which stand
out in particular. The first novelty which comes to mind is the food. While the
meals in the PKU dining hall were quite similar to what we experience at Notre
Dame, mainly just swiping in and then picking out your food, the restaurant
experience was quite different. Most meals in restaurants involved common
dishes which were passed around or shared between the eaters at the table. This
struck me as very different from say, eating out at Buffalo Wild Wings, where
you order one thing for yourself and wait 30 minutes for your food to come. In
this case, the food is brought out over the course of the meal, with dishes
slowly being added to the table until it is inevitably filled up. I’ve found
that this sort of communal eating is more conversational and was a welcome
change to what I’m used to. Also, chopsticks were a perpetual challenge
throughout the week. It was very hard at first to work them, and it was odd
having my fine motor skills tested in such a strenuous way for the first time
since Kindergarten. But, after many mistakes and suppressed smiles and giggling
from waitresses, by the end of the week, I felt somewhat comfortable using the
chopsticks instead of a fork. And so I’m proud of that.
Another aspect of the trip which stuck out was the hospitality of the students
at Peking University. They were incredibly friendly and were willing to talk to
anyone at any time just for the sake of having a conversation with you. Many
times, I had some of the PKU delegates just come up to me out of the blue and
start up a conversation. This was awesome and something which you don’t see too
much of at home. And besides that, I found them genuinely curious about our
thoughts and our experience at their university. They were constantly asking if
we were doing okay and what we thought of their campus. They were also quick to
recommend a restaurant or pick up bottled water for us and deliver it to our
hotel room. They wanted us to have a wonderful time and their friendliness went
miles for our experience.
Finally, the city of Beijing was incredible. The city consists of a series of
rings which expand upon each other and makes the city seemed to stretch on and
on. I found this quite different from a city such as Chicago in which the
downtown area seemed to be retained to just one area or one street. In Beijing,
I thought we had passed the downtown area only to find the line of skyscrapers
stretched on and on and on. The city is massive, which is slightly intimidating
especially trying to navigate the city but it is also amazing to see so much
going on.
Overall, the week-long trip was awesome and anyone who is considering applying
for the trip next year should not hesitate – you will never regret spending
your Fall Break in Beijing!
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