From an early age, I began to like Chinese culture a lot. When there was a chance to study in Beijing as an exchange student, I took it at once. In my first 24 hours in Beijing, I felt very nervous. I didn’t see one foreigner. But on my first day of school, I was greeted by many foreign faces. The students came from all over the world. I would be in a class with Chelsea from Norway and Charlie from my motherland — the UK.
None of us had studied Chinese before, but our language skills improved quickly. By the end of the first month, we could all make simple sentences. Some of these sentences, though, were quite funny. We often sent our language teacher Sophie into wild laughter. We had a happy time together.
The first month was very tiring. There were so many new things to learn. Thankfully, our school organized many events for students. We talked a lot about cultural differences and our future plans. It was a great chance for us to practice speaking Chinese.
In October, my Chinese friend Zhen Hua showed me around the city. He took me to some of his favorite restaurants. Chinese table manners were very different from those in the West. Eating Chinese food was like an adventure, and it became my favorite part about living in Beijing.
My six-month stay in China made me excited. I want to visit China again to look for more adventures.