Studying Mandarin in China!

Patricia Gonzalez Start Date: Mar 11, 2018 - End Date: Sep 6, 2018

My Travel Story

by: Patricia Gonzalez Start Date: Mar 11, 2018 - End Date: Sep 6, 2018
After studying Mandarin for several years I have been invited to go to Chongqing (China) to study Mandarin, practise with local people and learn about this awesome culture, through tea and martial arts classes; and cultural visits.
The university is paying for my accommodation and food there, although I have to pay the flights, the insurance and the visas. I have been thinking for weeks about asking for help here and finally I have decided to be brave and ask for help to achieve my goals (I have been dreaming with travelling to China since I was a teenager)!
This visit will impact in my education due as a candidate to globetrotter I could say that travelling teaches us many things, not just about ourselves, but about the world. These new learnings are something that I can implement in my day-to-day
life or even to get a job. For example, after one month living in Italy and learning their language I was hired in an Italian restaurant in my country and I worked as a translator.
After the travel to China I think that the most clear thing that is going to enhance my employability is the language, I’m studying a computer science degree and China is one very important country in this field, speaking their language I would be able to work in this emerging economy.
I’ve seen many examples of artists (Van Gogh, El Greco,...) that demonstrate us that new places and new experiences could inspire us much more than the places where we usually live. As a web design student, inspiration is an important part of my life and work. I know it is not the same to draw a painting than to build a website, but they involve a big creative process that depends on colours, shapes,… Through these new experiences and the new sights lived in China, new ideas can come to my mind and they could be captured in a logo, a web theme, a banner or even an application.
But the most important thing, and the thing that motivates me to go, is that I'm going to explore a new culture, that I have always wanted to explore; I'm going to make new friends and I'm going to experiment a new language. I am excited to explore this country and return home as a new person!