Nicole Leung's blog

So there I was, in Xinjiang with no predictions of what the five days would lead me. Even though I had scanned through the itinerary of the trip before departure and therefore had an idea of what would happen in the trip, everything remained uncertain. This could be shown by the fact that there were only ten of us in our sleeping car. Other passengers simply claimed their refunds.

The moment we arrived at a train station in Xinjiang I saw many policemen walking around. The station looked busy as usual, with many travelers rushing out the exit. Everyone in our group looked kind of worried, but I was surprisingly calm.

I’m back, literally.

First of all, I would like to apologize for the long hiatus. In May and June I was crammed with assignments and essays, and in early July I was very busy cleaning up my room and packing my luggage. And now that I am back in Toronto, I can finally sit back and relax while telling my unforgettable experience in China.

The last entry of my blog was dated back in May, and I have gone through a lot since then. I finished my year-long study period at Fudan University, and traveled to the north-western part of China. So, in the next few entries, I intend to write about my trip, then continue to write about my life at Fudan/Shanghai, and my general impression of the city (& the country as a whole) and its people.

Given all these opportunities to get in touch with the world outside, many of my classmates are very eager to study abroad after graduating from Fudan. I believe this is the same for most of the Fudan students as well. One example is that when you enter any bookstore on or nearby the campus, you can easily spot the different kinds of studying aids for GRE and TOEFL tests. Students also sign up for courses in preparation for gaining different kinds of foreign language qualifications (e.g. College English Test).

Studying and living in such a competitive environment, many students can now speak and write good English. They are trying hard to “internationalize” themselves in order to become more competitive in the future.

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Today’s focus will be on the trend towards internationalization at Fudan University. Universities develop a steady supply of talents for the society; so seeing how internationalized Fudan currently is, firms my belief even more so in a statement made by a lot of scholars– Shanghai will become an international centre for trade, finance, culture… in the near future.

It is not surprising that Fudan, as the best university in Shanghai, attracts many foreign students and scholars to come and conduct research or pursue further studies every year. Now that I am studying with the local students everyday, I am able to get a glimpse of how they are exposed to the outside world, and are trying hard to “internationalize” themselves. Below are some general observations I have made.

It is kind of late to start blogging in March when the semester ends in July. So I have decided to update more frequently before the cramming period starts. Well at least I should get all the introduction-to-my-school-life-at-Fudan entries done asap. So let’s get started.

On August 26, 2008, I arrived at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and kicked off my year-long adventure in China. At the beginning I really had a hard time dealing with everything on my own. Fortunately I survived all the challenges, and settled down quickly. Since then, life at Fudan has been fun.

Hello everyone!

In this “debut blog entry”, let me introduce myself first. I am Nicole Leung, a third-year Asia-Pacific Studies student currently studying international politics at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

Born and raised in Hong Kong (once a British colony), I never had strong emotional ties to China. Therefore, I take this exchange year at Shanghai as a golden opportunity for me to rediscover China, as Shanghai is the most spectacular city in this emerging country, experiencing immense cultural, social, political and economic changes. In fact, it was not until I arrived at this dynamic city that I started to realize how little I knew about China.