Photo: Carlos and his fellow Chinese language course students!
What was the best part of your course?
I attended IR209 China's Belt Road Initiative: Development as Grand Strategy and the Emerging Global Order. The best part of my course was the visit from the Swiss diplomats, they shed a lot of light on how policy makers feel towards China regarding international relations. It was amazing to gain an additional and different perspectives on the topic and more specifically about the Belt and Road Initiative.
I must also say that I really liked having a Latin American professor, for me it was delightful, I wholly enjoyed learning from Álvaro.
How do you think you will use what you learned?
I am writing my dissertation on the course, so I look forward on using what I’ve learnt to finish it and possibly on participating in a roundtable on China for my university in Mexico. The range of possibilities for applying the knowledge I gained is vast, not only referring to the course, I will look forward to using it while studying or working in the future.
Photo: Carlos with fellow IR209 students and Dr. Álvaro Mendez
What did you think about life in Beijing?
Life in Beijing was a unique experience, I arrived with something in mind completely different to what I lived. The environment was different from home and the cultural and language barriers were something I didn’t expect to be so harsh on my or fellow classmates, so it took some time to get used to it. Still, the opportunities I have found to be open to anyone make me consider if I’d like to go back one day and, perhaps not in Beijing, come back and stay.
What did you think about your fellow students?
I was amazed by the differences among us, we all come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different countries, and we all came together for this experience so we learnt a lot from each other. Also, the capabilities of some of the students was on top of what I had experienced and just by sharing class with them it pushed me forward to study and work hard the same way that they did, I really enjoyed this aspect in particular.
What was your overall highlight?
My overall highlight I think it was in a broad sense just going there and studying, from start to end the experience was amazing, just doing my daily routine had me with a smile, from waking up to going back to sleep each day was unique on its own and it was above all my expectations.
What are your top tips for potential students?
I have some tips for potential students that I would like to add. Using a VPN is a must if you want to keep in touch with people back at home, even for reading the news. A Chinese SIM card as well as a Chinese bank account come in handy, having to use Taobao in China is really convenient, though I would not recommend to go through the whole procedure only to stay for two weeks. Other options rather than Global Village are good to consider but you have to be prepared for not having the same benefits as staying in Global Village, such as being so close to the university, coming back with friends and not having to register at the local police station.
What is your most memorable moment?
My most memorable moment has got to be the moment I met with the other guys in front of the gate to all go to class together, we met up before class to receive our student IDs and that’s where I met who I would be spending most of my time with while having a great time all the time.
Is there anything else you want to tell us?
All in all, the day to day experience in Beijing I’d like to say helped me out to grow up as a person, the way my day would go – waking up, commuting, attending my classes, eating at the canteen, hanging around with my friends, coming back – is something I was definitely not prepared to live, I expected a lot out of it and still my experience was beyond all expectations and that made me so happy, even now.
Thank you very much to Carlos for joining the LSE-PKU Summer School class of 2019 and for sharing your wonderful photos and feedback with us!