When we first began our journey, traveling through the rolling green mountains of southern China, I felt my senses ensnared in a humid haze. My previous acquaintance with China's southern climate stemmed from a short story I had studied in a Chinese literature class. In the story, the narrator describes the region as damp and mysterious. There’s a constant drizzle throughout the story that encapsulates a mythic realm that is so tight and atmospheric it becomes a feeling of addictive claustrophobia. Similarly, our journey to Shantou was as if we were slowly succumbing to this suffocation of an otherworldly dream— a dream that, in its claustrophobia, created electrifying connections and beautiful friendships.
In contrast to the rigidity of Montreal’s northern winters, Shantou was a blurriness of time and setting. Perhaps this dizzying climate brought our cohort closer together, but in some way or another, we happened to just… click. As I was talking to Lucy, a professor who embarked on the trip for research, she remarked: “You know, everyone here is beautiful in their own, unique way. Maybe that’s why you guys are so close.” Our different personalities blended together in ways that encouraged us to discover new sides of ourselves we saw in each other. While I suggest preparing a flexible and open-minded personality before entering the program, everyone’s friendly temperaments and good humor made it natural to be open and kind. Instead, I recommend spending the time to build intimate relationships with each person individually— and with yourself. Alone time is hard to find, make use of it when you can. You’ll find you’ve grown a lot in just one month.
Living in a new, unfamiliar country is admittedly scary. You will have read or heard certain depictions of a new place, but it is important to make your own observations. We were lucky to be welcomed by a wonderful community that is Shantou University. The teachers and tutors were the most generous people I have ever met, as they were so willing to share their everyday lives with us. Despite coming from different cultures, we shared friendship and laughter in everyday moments from scoring the winning goal in soccer to resting our heads on each other’s shoulders when we were tired. Immersion can be overwhelming and frustrating. After the first day, I remember falling asleep to a mess of Chinese words swimming in my pool of thoughts. It helped at the end of the day to remember the conversations I struggled with, then carefully write down the new words I learned. I greatly appreciate our teachers’ and tutors’ constant support and encouragement throughout our broken conversations. As an Economics and East Asian Studies double major, I came into the language program desperately wanting to improve my confidence in Chinese. While my listening and understanding grew significantly, I found, more importantly, my motivation to keep improving grew even more. As someone who is interested in researching the economic development of countries through fashion, I found the motivation to build my vocabulary increased my curiosity and capability of asking questions. Our teacher was helpful in providing me with eye opening insight, and she encouraged my informal research when I went into the city’s center to ask shop owners questions on China's clothing industry.
Afterall, confidence is key. Throughout our time at Shantou, I was reminded that we were there to be open and to be present— To absorb as much as we could. I grew to learn how easy it is to approach strangers, ask questions, and be flirtatious. To simply live. I remember one moment on a weekend excursion in the tea fields of Meizhou, I retrospectively made the best decision to stray away from the group. I met three little girls, sisters, who lived in the local village. They were curious about our clad of foreign-looking misfits, asking where I was from and then shyly bringing me to their grandfather as if seeking his approval. He quickly invited me to a table inside and together we drank tea. He told me of his travels to Malaysia and Indonesia and the different tea cultures across the province as he poured cup after cup. I felt a warm and genuine feeling— sharing this moment with him and his family. Or perhaps it was simply the warmth of the tea.