‘hello,I am Pelin…'a Turkey girl with dark hair and big eyes introduced herself happily,meanwhile,shaking hands warmly with a student reporter. Pelin, who just arrived in China for a month,is the first exchange student from Dumlupinar University in Turkey. She is also the only girl out of four exchange students in our university this year
Such “brave,outgoing,and sincere “personality was the comment made by many Chinese students to this Turkish girl born in post-90s generation. Pelin was very independent even back to her childhood. Moreover, she likes adventures and challenges. Young as she is, she has already been to 16 countries. “when I told my parents that I was going to study in China, then my father surprisingly asked me whether I was crazy or not”,said Pelin who were trying to mimic her father's tone. “But I thought it over for a week, I still decided to come, although it did take a lot of guts”she said with a shrug.
When we are concerned about her whether she could adjust herself to the new environment or not,yet Pelin said firmly, “I ' ve completely got accustomed to it. I like Chinese food,especially Chinese noodles. At that time, a Chinese student along with her jokingly said , “ That's right. Now she is trying to use chopsticks,everytime it seems to be not enough only to use a pair of chopsticks,even plus extra half.” Pelin,a Muslim,is really fond of eating out at a LanZhou Noodles restaurant. Due to her black hair,she is often mistaken for a member of XinJiang students. “ Because I want to look alike other Chinese students, so I dyed my hair into black after coming to China. ” said Pelin.
Because never being introduced to Chinese before, Pelin now has some troubles in learning.Therefore,she works much harder than others. After class,she often consults with her Chinese new friends about Chinese and Chinese culture. “Comparatively speaking,my spoken Chinesewas much worse than other exchange students,so I need to work harder to catch up with them,maybe after a period of time,Icould talk with you in Chinese as Brettdoes” Pelin said. Brett is an exchange student from Salisbury University of United States.
The cooperation with Dumlupinar University may date back to 2005, the two universities had already launched many bounds of exchanging teachers. In the second semester of this year, Dumlupinar University is going to send more teachers to Anqing. This is the first time of the exchange student program's star-up. And the program wins the support from the Ministry of Education in Turkey. Not only will it be free for our students tostudy in Turkey, they will also enjoy certain living allowance every month.
It is the first time to launch the student exchange program with Dumlupinar University. Additionally, the bond between our university and Salisbury Universityhas also been furtherstrengthened. We have welcomed three Salisbury students this semester, who love Chinese culture.
As early as the end of August, John, Sam and Brett have already arrived here. With the help of teachers and students, three of them have totally got used to their new campus life. John, who is introverted, yet fond of adventures, often works out with other students on campus. Furthermore, he is also obsessed with Chinese kungfu. Sam, an outgoing and handsome boy, is a big fan of dance. Besides, he even showed his talents in Students' Magician Association, making lots of friends. He also gets a part-time job. However, Brett totally put his heart into learing Chinese, wanting to become an old China hand. He tries to learn it in all kinds of ways, say, through buying many books todig into and practicing spoken Chinese with students.
Because John, Sam and Brett,all of them have certain knowledge about Chinese, they have less difficulty in learning Chinese culture and history than Pelin. Based on their different levels, teachers adopt different methods to teach so that it is much better for them to understand and absorb knowledge. In order to help them fully get to know Chinese culture and history, Mr.King, specializing in Chinese history, particularly took them to Wan River Culture Park and Yingjiang Temple.
‘I made many friends and learned a lot on campus. I think thiswould become an important journey in my life.I just want to make it more meaningful,so I try to learn Chinese culture as much as possible.' said Brett. Obsessed with Chinese culture,Brett is very strict with himself, he takes the Chinese calligraphy optional class and the specialized course--TheAppreciation and Singing of Huangmei Opera Art.
The International exchange programisalways an important channel to increase foreign interactions. It has been working very well since carried out. It sets up a platform for cross-culture communication which also plays a vitally important role in broadening students' international horizon, improving professional skills and striving for diverse developments. Effortsand achievements by Anqing Normal University on this project have gained the affirmation and support from our partners.
