News » BDC Financial Services welcomes back Amy from China.

19.05.14

BDC Financial Services would like to welcome back Amy from her exciting trip to China. We would love to share her experience with you and following is a short blog from her trip.

On April 10th I travelled to Hangzhou China for one month to assist teaching an Applied Management paper at the Zhejiang University of Water Resource and Electric Power in Hangzhou city. Hangzhou is home to some of the most beautiful gardens, 17 Universities and 2.4 million people.

As we arrived in the airport and travelled to the apartment, I was first amazed by the architecture and secondly by the traffic. Not only are we driving on the wrong side of the road but there seems to be no use of familiar road rules. My first experience at the supermarket also proved very different as I swiftly walked past the turtles, chicken feet and duck heads.

The first day of teaching came round after an adventurous weekend. The learning style was similar but also different in many ways. After class the attentive students help and teach the quieter students, a system which seems to work for them. The students spoke English well and all worked very hard.

The following month brought about many new experiences and friendships. The University very kindly took us on a trip to their beautiful national park and I visited many historical landmarks and shopping centers. The month flew by and before I knew it, it was time to leave.

I stared out the window of the taxi on the way to the airport, looking down on the greyed out city, I found myself pondering over how I have changed in this short time. Patience, confidence, hospitality and open minded are the words that pass through my mind.

I learned to become more accepting particularly with new foods, but also with a new style of learning and teaching. I was endlessly in admiration of the kindness and hospitality we received not only from friends, but strangers and this is something that I will take with me and I can grow from.

Patience, this is something I find particularly interesting. 2.4 million People in one city, 18,000 people in the University I worked in alone, yet nobody was in a rush. I expected madness, pushing on the bus and bumping into people on the streets. Instead I found a peaceful city with a steady pace and not one person objecting to a 2-3 hour wait just to get into the subway station (on the public holiday).

Finally confidence, well that goes without saying. Crossing the road, catching a bus, speaking to strangers, making new friends, speaking in class and navigating by myself were all challenges and well worth taking. From these I built courage and confidence.

China is such a beautiful and developing country, I look forward to returning in the future to see how far they can grow.