![\"Campus](\"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/files\/2015\/02\/Campus-Entrance.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a>CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT: I had to adjust to the food culture. Xiang\u2019An canteens have more or less the same cuisine every day, where rice and noodles are the staple foods. Some of the dishes are really enjoyable, some of them are new and interesting, but after a short while, I found that I needed to either change canteens or at least food choice in order to experience variety. I learnt that Chinese in South Africa and Chinese food in China is quite different. After all, they have to cater to the African taste buds. <\/p>\n PERSONAL GROWTH: OVERALL EXPERIENCES: PREPARATION: The few weeks before departure were very busy and rather stressful for several reasons. Trying to sort out travel … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9714,"featured_media":1849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44432,44742],"tags":[41283,41269,44688],"class_list":["post-1846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-semester-exchange-postings","category-xiamen-university","tag-china","tag-featured","tag-semester-exchange"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9714"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1846"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1846\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1860,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1846\/revisions\/1860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/summerschoolsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIn my class, apart from South Africa there are students from the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Germany, Armenia, Barbados and the US. Although quite diverse, I have not discovered any major cultural differences, because people more or less stick to their own country mates. However, I have found that students appear to be more laid back in their approach to class attendance. Similarly to Stellenbosch, there appears to be \u2018technology culture\u2019 and \u2018student culture\u2019, except the languages of communication are more diverse. Compared to Stellenbosch, I feel that the party culture is not as big at Xiang\u2019An campus, because the distance one needs to travel for entertainment purposes is a bit more than students bargain for. Most facilities and entertainment centres are at the other campus. Moreover, campus is quite quiet over the weekends.
\nIn Xiamen, because there are fewer foreigners than in other provinces, Chinese people are either shocked or excited when encountering foreigners. On the more positive side, I heard that at Siming Campus, Chinese people would often ask to take pictures with foreigners or take pictures of foreigners at a distance. However, this is not common at Xiang\u2019An Campus, because most of the overseas students study there and are seen in the same light as other students. On the other hand, some overseas students have experienced negative attention from Chinese people, which have made them feel unwelcome in the country.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nI definitely had to adjust to the rules about religion. I learnt that South Africa really has a lot of room for religious expression, whereas in China, the rules are quite rigid and a person can undergo harsh consequences if he or she does not abide by those rules. A law officer gave us the rules about religious expression at our first assembly for overseas students. It was quite shocking to me, but at the same time, I know China has had more severe policies in the past.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nI have learnt more about my strengths and weaknesses over these past few months. I have struggled with many things, but in particular, one of my struggles is learning to overcome the language barrier. I took it for granted that in South Africa, even if English was not somebody\u2019s first language, they could usually understand it to some degree. Most Chinese people at Xiang\u2019An Campus can only communicate in Chinese. Solving simple problems and doing daily tasks has become more complicated. Yet, of course going through these problems aids me in my Chinese learning, because I learn how to deal with problems in Chinese. Living in another country will automatically bring new challenges, regardless of form. Living in China has taught me to be a little more bold and thick-skinned regarding judgement from other people..
\nCHECK OUT ARRANGEMENTS:
\nBefore leaving Xiang\u2019An campus, we had to fill out a Dorm Check-out Application form, which we fetched from Xiang\u2019An\u2019s International Office. We brought our form, passport, air-conditioner remote, deposit slip (which we received at the start of the semester), dorm and room keys to our dormitory\u2019s Service Department Office. We also had to return the deposit slip to another dormitory\u2019s office in order to receive a deposit back. This of course had to be done during office hours, regardless of when you leave.
\nXiang\u2019An kindly offered free transport for students going to the train station and airport. In order to get a place on the bus, Wilma and I had to book a place on the bus in the International Office before a specific deadline.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nI feel that my stay at Xiamen University was generally a learning experience. I learnt more about myself, my strengths and weaknesses, my likes and dislikes. From an academic perspective, I learnt that it is very helpful to revise in pairs on a regular basis, rather than revise independently and less frequently. From an accommodation perspective, I also learnt that it is more convenient to discuss the ground rules for living with your dorm mates right at the beginning, in order to establish a healthy living pattern. If this is not done as soon as possible, then unnecessary conflict may arise and the living space may be an uncomfortable place to live in. Although this may be an obvious fact, I also learnt that planning ahead is quite helpful, especially in a culture and institution which is very different to my own. Flexibility was another lesson I learnt. Since a lot of circumstances arose and I came into contact with multiple cultures, I learnt to be a bit more flexible in order to adapt to my surroundings.
\nSETTLING BACK IN SA:
\nComing back to South Africa was in one way simple, in another way difficult. I was sad to part with people with whom I had made friends with, but on the other hand, I was ready to come back. The semester in China was an eye-opening experience and my Chinese communication skills certainly improved, but to catch-up with my family and friends in South Africa was much needed. I do not consider this my \u2018old life\u2019, but rather another season in my life where there are different challenges and adventures to experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"