New Places, New People

May 25, 2016

For the majority of this dialogue, we will be in Kunming studying at Yunnan University. We will be learning Chinese language and culture. While studying here, we will be staying at the international student hotel. Each room has 2 students and we are all spread out throughout three floors of rooms. The rooms are pretty decent sized but the bathroom is what really stands out. For one, the shower is just that, a shower with no tub or glass window. There is one drain in the middle of the bathroom so the water goes down when we take a shower. I have never seen this sort of thing outside of a gym locker room so it was a surprise to see that the only thing that separated the shower head and the toilet was a thin curtain. Overall, the accommodations are decent. Everything is very conveniently located. The bank is right around the corner and there are many clothing stores and restaurants.

Everyone on this dialogue is very approachable. I cannot say that anyone is very intimidating. I consider myself a very sociable person but I must admit that it has been difficult to talk to others. It is more because everyone has either had class together or get together to study Chinese which is hard for me to participate in since I know nothing. Even so, it sort of feels like being back to freshman year where we would all come into each others room just to hang out. Everyone I have been in contact with have been very patient with me and the others who know nothing. I sometimes feel as though I am comedic relief since I use a lot of hand signals to express what I want. I do not mind though. During our free time, we would find ourselves with our doors open, to welcome others and also the nice cool breeze. We would bond by yelling out Chinese words on the TV from the subtitles and by teaching me and my fellow beginners new words. Who knows… we might actually learn how to have a conversation in Chinese by the end of these weeks.

I am here to learn and experience another culture. Even though I have only been in China for a week, I feel as though I am learning a lot and I am trying my best to try new thing even if my stomach hurts a little bit or makes me want to go back and get another one of those pork buns. I still have 5 weeks left to go but I am super excited to see what this trip has in store for us. (hopefully we get more pork buns! – again so highly recommended)

Written By

Jessica Palma-Perez

Hi, my name is Jessica. I am an entering senior at the business school, studying management. Growing up, I have had the dream to one day travel the world on a hot air balloon like in the movie. At this stage in my life, I have come to the realization that I cannot ride on a hot air balloon around the world but that should not stop me from going to all the places I would love to go to one day. I have chosen to go on dialogue programs these last couple of years to be able to fulfill my passion of traveling while also learning of new people, their ways, culture, and food. People are all around us and not all of us act the same. In order to one day become a successful manager, I have made the promise to myself to learn more about the people around me. That is what I aim to do, starting with these short dialogues. We all have to start somewhere