A Special Interview About a Foreign Student's Happy Life in China

Part 1 Impression: an ancient and modern country
Z：You used to have a job in the IT industry in America, isn’t that right?
L：Yes, when I was in America, I worked in a rather small computer company, which sold rather expensive computers.

Z：Why did you quit your job and come to China?
L：Ever since I was little I have been interested in learning foreign languages, and traveling as well. When I first started college I studied German, and really liked it. I went to Germany for three months during the summer holiday, and when I came back to the US I got a job speaking German on the telephone doing market research. So, I felt my German was quite good, and it would be okay to start learning another language.I know it is not easy to learn a foreign language. I thought that if I wanted to learn it properly, I should just pick one more language to learn and concentrate on it. And my favorite was Chinese.

Z:Is it because you were interested in Chinese culture that you wanted to learn Chinese?
L：I didn't know much about China before. China is a long ways from the US. I had eaten Chinese food in Chinese restaurants before, seen Beijing opera on TV and also some Chinese traditional clothes, which are quite nice! I wanted to learn a language that was very different from English. I thought it would be really interesting. And by learning a very foreign language, I could then better understand different cultures, including my own. Also, Chinese has characters.

Z：Chinese characters are cool?
L：Yes, very cool, and very different.

Z：When you arrived in Beijing, and realized you don’t often see Beijing opera or traditional clothes, did you find that Beijing wasn’t as old-fashioned as you had imagined?
L：The people here wear very modern clothes. Nevertheless, I have seen a few girls wearing traditional Qipao dresses. And sometimes I see Chinese dragons sewn on the clothes, or other things. That seems very Chinese.

Z：I think some foreign friends came to China because they were fascinated by an ancient and mysterious oriental country. But China is in fact not the same as the one existing in their dreams. She is now developing into a modernized country.
L：Yes, perhaps some people may have this impression. They have seen movies about ancient China and thought it was still the same. Still some people think that Chinese people are all in blue clothes, carrying little red books, like it was thirty years ago. But all of this has changed too.

Z：But there are still a lot of historic relics that have been well preserved, like hutongs or courtyard houses. These days, courtyard houses are often sought out for rental by foreigners because they like the ancient Chinese feeling.
L：That is very true. When I first arrived in China and wanted to rent an apartment, I was a little disappointed. I had come all the way to China, and I wanted to experience a little bit of Chinese life and find an apartment with typical Chinese characteristics. I really like those traditional courtyard houses. Some even have little gardens in the center. I think it would be a lot of fun to live in one. I think a lot of people would like to find an exotic Chinese style apartment. If it’s the same as your home back in America, you just think, well, there’s nothing new and fresh about it. I think this is why courtyard houses in Houhai are so popular.


Part 2 Life here: happy all the time

Z：Since you arrived in China, have you ever felt it is different from what you previously imagined?
L：Actually I didn’t really know what China was like before I came. On the first day I arrived, I was a little surprised. I had never seen such a city. I have been to South America, Central America and Europe. But China is totally different from all of them.

Z：In which aspects and to what extent?
L：It’s hard to say exactly what the difference is between China and elsewhere. Absolutely everything seems fresh and different. The roads are wide. The skyscrapers are impressive. There are so many people on the street, and they all ride bikes. Even the way they walk seems different.

Z：Really?
L：Yes, but I can’t express myself well enough. I just felt everything was different. And on my first day here, I didn’t even know how to eat food.

Z：Did you not know how to use chopsticks?
L：No, I could use chopsticks. But I just didn’t know where to go to get food or how to order once I got there.


Z：Does that mean that you experienced some difficult times when you first arrived?
L：Difficult times? Not at all! After I arrived, I went straight to language school, where I made some new friends. I just had a little trouble figuring out how to eat food at first. And walking around the streets in Beijing can be quite challenging. But I soon got used to it and learned how to get around.

Z：You have learned Chinese very quickly. You’ve only been here for one year, but you’ve made a lot of progress.
L：That’s right. I’ve been studying in China for almost one year now. But I did come here before. I stayed one month the first time and went back to my hometown after that. And then I came again last year, ‘till now, it’s already been about 11 months.

Z：Have you ever encountered difficulties in studying Chinese, which you didn’t encounter in studying German?
L：Difficulties? I think a lot of people think learning Chinese characters is really difficult, but actually it’s not that difficult. Of course you have to learn a lot. And you have to memorize a lot of characters. However, the hardest thing is learning how to use the words and phrases correctly, because the meanings of a lot of Chinese words are very different from English words. For instance in German, a lot of the meanings of German words are very similar to English words. So it’s really easy just to look up a word in the dictionary and directly translate it. But there are a lot of words in Chinese that just don’t have corresponding words in English. Sometimes it takes several sentences just to explain a very common, simple Chinese word. But then you still don’t know how to use the word properly.

Z：How about writing Chinese characters? What do you think about it?
L：I can write characters, we all have writing class and write essays. But whether my characters are pretty or not, I can’t say myself. (Smiles)

Z：Can you not tell which characters are nicely written, and which are not?
L：Well, when I first started, I wanted to write characters very neat and nice-looking. But afterwards, I began to just write quickly. Anyway, now I think my writing is quite clear and easy to be recognized, even though it is not always very neat. When I first started to write characters, I practiced writing the straight line about 20 times a day to make it right. Yeah, at first I wrote every character very carefully, but now I just write them very quickly.

Z：After getting used to living in China, were there any especially happy moments?

L：Actually, I’ve been very happy ever since I got here. Maybe that is partly because I was always busy working in America before I came to China. Since I’ve been in China, I haven’t had to work at all. But also, I like to go out with friends, hiking, eating out, to Karaoke, and so on. I’m able to talk in Mandarin. And people here are very welcoming. They treat me nicely.

Z：which places have you been to after coming to Beijing?
L：I’ve been to a lot of places, such as The Great Wall and Qinhuangdao. We talked with a stranger in the metro and got to know each other. She said, “Come to my home, come to Qinhuangdao, I will take you all over the place!” Later we went there for a weekend, had fun, and ate a bunch of seafood. It was great. Besides there, I’ve also been to some places further away from Beijing, like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Tibet, Yunnan, I also went to the temple of Shaolin for one day.

Z：You have been to more place than I.
L：Really?
Z：Yes, I’ve only been to some places in Beijing.

Z：I heard you took part in the speech competition held by Beijing University, how was it?
L：It was fantastic! I didn’t know there was such a competition until 2 or 3 days before it began. As soon as I found out about it, I rushed to come up with a story in which a cat, who could speak, was introducing to us the world in 2048. I took part in the match and then was approved to the next round. They told me I had given a good performance and was popular with the audience. Finally I stepped into the final round of the competition. It felt really good to speak in front of so many people. That was an unforgettable experience.

Z：The audience must have applauded very enthusiastically.
L：Yes they did. I was encouraged. That was really exciting.

Z：Have you made some Chinese friends? Did you talk with them in English or Mandarin?
L：Yes, I have made some Chinese friends and we often talk in Mandarin. You see, it is a big opportunity to study Chinese in China for one year. I can’t lose it. If I don’t make significant progress after one year, that would be a terrible failure. So I talk with my Chinese friends in Mandarin most of the time. But sometimes we also talk in English. Some people really want to practice their English as well.
I often talk with other foreign students in Mandarin as well. I remember as I began with my study, I found it difficult to speak to other Chinese in Mandarin. They speak too fast, and I was not familiar with their vocabulary. So speaking with other foreigners is a very good way to practice. But I have always tried to speak with Chinese people as much as possible. I speak to everyone, the waitresses and shopkeepers, students at the cafeteria, people on the subway, everybody! At first I could only ask them where they’re going and what they do. This way I got a lot of practice.
Z：Do you read Chinese books or newspapers?
L：Yes, I read them everyday, such as the popular short story collections “Gushihui (Stories)”. And also some newspapers, which are quite difficult, but I can read them online, because it’s easy to look up unknown words that way. I also read youth novels, and I’ve read “Duzhe (Readers)”. I have not read any especially complicated books, because they are too hard and my reading is too slow.

Z：Then your Chinese must have improved a lot.
L：Yes, my Chinese improved a lot. But there is still a lot more to learn. My Chinese is not nearly as good as my English. (Smiles)

Z：Have you ever taken the HSK test?
L：Yes, I’ve taken the HSK. I took it in April and scored a 6. Level 6 is supposed to be good enough for college entrance. But I don’t think it would be enough.


Part 3 Leaving: I will be back


Z：Is your next plan to go to Germany?
L：Yes. I had the opportunity to spend another year studying in China.
It was hard to make a decision. But finally I choose to go to Germany.

Z：Do you intend to work again, in Germany?
L：I’ll go to study for one semester and then work.
Z：It seems to me that you like to travel around a lot. Do you want to try another country after studying and working in Germany?
L: And then, after thirty years I’ll have lived in thirty different countries? That’s not my plan right now. I think learning foreign languages is great. But to continually learn more and more new languages is just way too much. You’ll never be able to speak them properly. If you try to learn too many languages, you’ll speak them all just OK. But if you concentrate on just a few, maybe it’s possible to learn them almost as well as a native. And this way you could also better understand culture and the differences between countries. Of course I would like to go traveling to a lot of different countries. Whether or not I will live in any for a longer amount of time, I don’t know.

Z：How will you keep up your Chinese after you go to Germany?
L：Maybe I will find some opportunities to make friends with Chinese people, and opportunities to speak Mandarin. And I’ll also read some books. If I really need to I can always call China, and speak Mandarin. And I plan to find a job in a company that works with China.

Z：Then you can take advantage of your Chinese.
L：Maybe I’ll be able to use some. But I would also be able to learn about that type of work. I won’t just be studying the language, but also other knowledge.

Z： Is there any plan to return to China after going to Germany?
L：I very much want to come back to China. I can’t say when exactly I will be coming back, but I really want to come back. I think there should be some opportunities. Maybe the next time I can make a long stay here, which would be very good for me to learn Chinese better and to know more about China.

Z：OK. Finally, I’d like to wish you success with your Chinese!