We are ahead of a few days to ring out the old 2023 and ring in 2024 in good spirit. The outgoing year was unique for me as I experienced joyful memories traveling abroad for the first time to the historic land of Confucius.
I do not know why it took me too long to jot down the reminiscences that have been flitting around my head for the past two or three months. It could be because of the mundane activities that did not give me a break or my own tendency to be inactive. Whatever the case, here I am to relate to you every feeling, memory and experience I had in my campus life while I pursued my study at Beijing, China.
When I arrived in Beijing in December 2022, the city was pretty cold. My professor forewarned me to take care of myself implying the weather, yet I didn’t expect Beijing to greet us with biting cold. My clothes couldn’t spare me from shivering. My frigid hands were also unable to firmly grab my old luggage bag.
A black automobile transported me to CUC Convention Center for ten-day quarantine period. The center was like a guesthouse and it had the necessary accommodations including two bedrooms, boiler, cups, brush and toothpastes. During my stay in the center, I uploaded some important Chinese words from Bai Xing, a people person who welcomed me at the front desk of the center. She taught me words like laotie, zaofan, wufan and wanfan which carry the meaning of pal, breakfast, lunch and dinner respectively. Knowing these words was lifesaving by the time. Although I had a Chinese language class once a week, I learned a lot from natives in an effortless way.
After a ten-day stay in the center, Eric, a person whom I knew on WeChat ,while facilitating my travel from Shanghai to Beijing, took me to another hotel where I spent almost two months together with my classmates until the university gave us a green light “now you can communicate and mix with the community”. The most challenging thing in Beijing next to the harsh weather then was the total and lately partial lockdown for COVID-19.
For safety reason, there were tiresome and hectic checkups everyday wherever we went. I was still wondering how China achieved even the three percent economic growth in 2022 while every movement was under contentious surveillance. By the time when China was under lockdown for zero COVID policy, every restriction was removed in my country-Ethiopia where even wearing face masks was not compulsory unless in some peculiar areas like health institutions. I was telling this to Mr. Eric in our way to the hotel, while trying to keep the balance of my luggage bag on the rear rack of his bicycle. He told me China had also a plan to lift the lockdown shortly.
Fortunately, the lockdown was lifted within two months and I began my Campus Life at the Communication University of China (CUC) which is the most prestigious communication school in the country situated in the east of the capital city.
Life in campus was not boring thanks to my classmates and teachers. I was surrounded by three fellow Ethiopians and other students from different corners of the world. Most of my classmates were very funny and humorous. They knew that life is flimsy and the only way to make it not boring was through cracking jokes and enjoying moments. Every time we met, they had something to joke on, to mock or to tease and to create some easy but funny games. It is possible to say we had created our own ideal gathering somewhere in a friendly country.
Since we were from different nations, we had different cultures, languages and lifestyles that gave us a feature of harmony in diverse minds. Our music, dance, cuisine tastes and even our reactions for the same thing were dissimilar. Especially during the first two months, we were frequently gathering in one of our classmates’ rooms and exchanging views on various issues.
I still remember the night we gathered in one room to watch the 2022 world cup final match. I was the fan of Argentina national team and the rest were supporting the French national team. It was a very delightful night for me as the team which I support won the cup.
During the day time, in our lecture rooms we attended our classes most of which we finalized during the first semester. The rest were intercultural communication skills and Chinese language classes. Both subjects were memorable as each class was full of activities and participations. Both teachers were diligent and well versed in the 3Ps of teaching— plan, prepare and present. Especially my Chinese teacher Julia Chen was the most hardworking and lovable person who tried her best to enable us know and practice Chinese language though we didn’t perform as she wished due to our own weakness and the short-term design of the scholarship program. Anyways, thanks to Julia, we managed to greet people and buy some goods from market communicating in Chinese (Zhongwen).
During the first months, had it not been for the technology, generosity and sincerity of the Chinese people we could have perished from famishment due to language barrier. Luckily, Chinese people (Zhnogguoren) are mostly empathetic and supportive. They easily guess the meaning of the words we utter to express what we want. They positively respond to our interests.
Fortunately, when the year began to roll up, we became capable to articulate what we want to buy, where we want to go or what we would like to eat since we had learned these expressions in class thanks to the language course we took. We began like “wo xiang” to say I would like to and then add verbs like mai, qu or chi that carry the meaning to buy, to go to or to eat respectively.
Following the conclusion of our study, we enjoyed various trips organized by the university. We had visited Shanghai, Datong and other Chinese cities. These cities showcase the staggering economic development and cultural richness of China.
Not only the trips, we, the students, had also organized our own programs and enjoyed the remaining period of our stay in the university. The get together in front of our dormitory building and the food fair are the most unforgettable ones. In the cultural dishes introducing program, every student cooked and brought one or two of his/her country’s food. Then s/he gave explanation about the ingredients, the preparation of the food and how it must be served. We, the Ethiopian team, brought doro wot (Ethiopian traditional chicken soup made with red pepper and butter), enjera (flat bread made up of teff flour) and shiro wot, a stew made of bean flour.
The picnic on the other hand was colorful for the active participation of almost all of my classmates bringing cookies, hot and soft drinks. Our intercultural communication lecturer Nina Wang was also there with us contributing Chinese tea (cha). Next to her, our Ethiopian student named Wubalem was making Ethiopian coffee with all its ceremonies. She came decorated with folk costumes and sat behind the traditional coffee making instruments including the Rekebot (a small coffee table), the Sini (small cups), the Jebena, (coffee pot) and the Etan (frankincense). Another Ethiopian student named Gebreyesus explained about the coffee ceremony, the traditional instruments and how Ethiopians serve coffee.
All the students and our lecturer were amazed by the colorful ceremony of Ethiopia’s coffee making tradition. The students were mainly impressed by the strong taste of the coffee, the color and design of the cups and the Rekebot. In fact, these two traditional tools were carved in the fashion of the historic architectural symbols and cultural heritages of Axum and Lalibela.
The love and support the Chinese people showered us with was a salient reason for me and my classmates to complete the study successfully. They were cheerful for standing beside us in every situation. I am thankful for all Chinese people who helped me to have a memorable experience and successful academic life.
I am such a kind of a nostalgic person who evokes and enjoys good memories. I still remember the joyful times I had in my campus life when I was an undergraduate student. And now, I got another lovely experience from China which boosts my joy whenever I think about it. I am grateful to everyone who put me through this including the people and government of China, CUC and my organization-the Ethiopian Press Agency. I thank them for facilitating the scholarship opportunity and making possible the unforgettable memories I had experienced during my stay in Beijing, while conducting my MA studies. What all I think today while saying adieu to 2023 is to continue serving my country that embraced an all-out growth by employing the knowledge I gained from CUC. I know everything will go smooth in life if we manage our emotions and focus on what we can do. I hope 2024 will bring joy and success to everyone.
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 23 DECEMBER 2023
