Hello! My name is Emmanuel and I’m a senior majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Global Health. I chose to study in China over the other summer study abroad programs because of its rich and storied history, stretching back over three millennia.
My first week in Beijing was particularly exhausting, as I’ve never had to deal with jet lag before. On multiple occasions I fell asleep at 5:00 pm thinking I was taking a nap, only to wake up several hours later. Furthermore, it’s incredibly hot in Beijing. I was born and raised in Miami so am no stranger to hot temperatures, but the humidity in Beijing is incomparable.
On the positive side of things, the classes are amazing and I’m very much looking forward to the next seven weeks. I have no previous experience in Mandarin, which accordingly, has made communicating with locals very difficult. Nevertheless, the morning Chinese class is three hours long, Tuesday-Friday, and I’ve quickly found myself picking up simple words and phrases. The food is amazing, and super cheap, this combined with the fact that I’m open to trying almost anything has equated to me eating nonstop.