I wish someone stopped me from insisting on this couch as a kid.
I intended on writing this blog during the 8 hour layover between my flight from New York City to Amsterdam. Instead, I’m writing this from my couch at home. Well, why did that happen? Because the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry (it took me like 15 minutes to find an applicable idiom on google). Also, because Delta delayed my flight to NYC because of weather. However, the benefit of this delay is that I have some time to comfortably reflect upon what I want from this trip to Beijing and why I decided that going there in the first place even makes sense for me.
So who am I? My name is Aayush Gupta, and I’m from Indianapolis, IN. I’ve lived there for about 19 years now. I’m a pre-med sociology major and a global health minor. I’m going to be a senior in college, which doesn’t really register with me yet. I’m a big football and basketball fan. I know basketball is pretty popular in China so I’m excited to shoot around with some of the people there. Of course, playing basketball was not the reason I chose to go to study in China for two months.
For me, I wanted to visit a country that I had read a lot about. I volunteered in the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis for six years, and there was a Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit that I helped work on. From that point on, I had an interest in China and seeing firsthand some of these places I’ve read about is something I did not want to pass up.
As a global health minor and a sociology major, I’ve written a bit about issues of smoking. Smoking is a prevalent issue in China, and it’s pretty interesting from a sociological and a global health perspective to try to get a feel for why people smoke. As someone who wants to be a doctor someday, I think it’s also valuable to explore traditional medicine. As a first generation American, I’ve had some exposure to traditional medicine from my parents, especially my mother. In India whenever I got sick, my aunt would mix some herbs together, give me some sour tasting drink, and somehow I would feel better. I think it’s worthwhile to take a course in traditional medicine because it can better inform the way I deal with potential patients in the future.
So basically, everything we’re doing in Beijing is right up my alley and is the perfect fit for me! I can’t wait to get out of these airports and get to China. Now, back to waiting on my couch.