What I Did in Beijing …

Beijing is a city rich in history and culture. It is full of different people with diverse backgrounds and interesting life stories. It is a city filled with endless places to visit, numerous opportunities for adventures, and plentiful people to interact with. Without a doubt there is never a dull moment in Beijing. Read full profile »

I came to Stanford with the idea that I would participate in one of their study abroad programs. After a magical ten weeks living with a Shinto priest and his wife in the rice fields of Northern Japan during high school, I was set on going to Stanford’s Kyoto center and spending a bit more time in Japan. Sadly a lack of engineering and Japanese skills meant that Japan was beyond my reach, so I thought I’d apply to the Beijing program. Japan and China, are, as it turns out, kind of different places.

Make the most of your time abroad to really immerse yourself into Chinese culture: which might include making friends with Beida students, chatting with taxi drivers, and just going out to explore the city whenever you can.

The most meaningful part of studying abroad for me, however, was the opportunity to learn about China on a more intimate level and getting to know the country from the inside. Despite my Chinese heritage, my formal learning about China has always been within a Western framework, so I’ve always been very aware of my American bias when it comes to processing information about Chinese events and politics. When studying abroad in China, however, I was able to really interact with native Chinese people, and thus learn about China from a more grassroots approach.

The most difficult aspect of going abroad to Beijing has been trying to explain to others just how incredible the program is in every way, shape, and form. Beijing is an absolutely amazing place to be and, in my opinion, the Stanford program there is one of the absolute best. Many have asked me what exactly makes the BOSP Beijing program so tight. I hope that I am able to convey the information in the next few paragraphs….

I originally viewed my participation in the Stanford-in-Beijing program as a reward to myself. I had begun studying Chinese on a whim my freshman year at Stanford, and somehow managed to stick with it for two years, without ever taking classes or developing any interest in Chinese history, culture or politics. I had struggled with repetitive characters, strict laoshis, countless “skits” and “speeches,” and thousands of mangled tones. I deserved to go somewhere where I could prove to myself that my struggle was worthy.