One of the great things about studying here at Tsinghua is the vibrant social life extending across many nationalities. It's thoroughly an international affair.
The picture to the left was taken earlier this week at a friend's birthday meal (Fung, second from left bottom row).
In this picture alone we can find people from Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, Sweden, Hong Kong and of course the U.K. And this was just one of two tables.
It's one turbulent cross-cultural extravaganza of my ways/ flattitudes / and free styles. What a bunch of eccentrics, what do they all think they're doing here anyway?! Supposedly "learning Chinese".
It's seriously a real opportunity to learn something new from people from all walks of life. I often enjoy the variety of ways people articulate themselves- how they structure their ideas, what their priorities are, what has shaped their values...
It's only when thrown out of your comfort zone you can begin to realise who you are. When conversing with different cultures, you are compelled to be show self-awareness, self-consciousness previously redundant within your own culture, and to account for who you are and why you are. Or you can just offend people.
Moreover, when venturing into the thick of another culture, as we have in China, having many perspectives, I feel, allows you to make better sense of it all by sharing the experience.
Let me share it with you here :-)
Mail me if you want a definition for my ways/ flattitudes / and free-styles... onejasminetea@live.com
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