BU in Shanghai: Our Students Write Home

I was awakened to the reality that I was about to live in Shanghai for the next three and a half months the moment I got to the Chinese Eastern Airlines counter at the JFK Airport to receive my boarding pass and unsuccessfully attempted to read the luggage restriction sign on the countertop. It was written in Chinese. My previous years of Chinese language studies were struggling to decipher the different radicals that I recognized but could not yet understand their meaning when combined in certain patterns. Admittedly, not even by the end of my semester was I able read the same sign at the Shanghai airport without having to turn to my handy Pleco Chinese dictionary app. The luggage restriction sign was only the beginning…

At the end of every day during my time in Shanghai, my mind felt exhausted. I was mentally drained because everything around me took double the effort to process. The most menial tasks, like wanting to buy shampoo but instead buy hair conditioner by accident, were a challenge. Even as my Mandarin improved and I felt more comfortable in my new environment, the challenges did not get any easier; instead, they were evolving along with the progress I was making. I no longer needed to look up the Chinese word for cucumber before I asked for a few slices in my Danbao wrap at lunch, but I still had difficulty expressing my thoughts to Chinese coworkers when I wanted to comment on a Wechat post that they shared with me. Translating became frustrating when miscommunications occurred, and my translation “hiccups” were certainly not far and in between. Fortunately, China was very forgiving and patient with me, and in turn, I learned to be patient with myself and all the unexpected complications that arise when you are immersing yourself into a new setting.

There is much more that I could write about Shanghai, but to put it plainly, living in Shanghai was an exhilarating experience for my own personal growth. Shanghai became my friend, and my experiences in China my mentor. The crucial part now being back in Boston and only a few months away from graduating is to apply the valuable insights that I learned and continue to let them mature as I go forward in life. 

 

Biographical note

Jocelyn Toll‘s interests have been influenced by her childhood experiences and growing up in a multilingual home. She was born in San José, Costa Rica, her mother is from Peru, and her dad and her older brother are from the U.S. Her family moved to Connecticut when she was 12 and that has been her home for the past ten years. She will be graduating in May with a degree in Hospitality Administration at Boston University and she hopes to get involved in ecotourism. She is passionate about environmental sustainability and strives to be an active proponent of global sustainable development in any way she can.