I joined this group at the last minute, and I am so glad that I did. Before this trip, I was asked if I had any career interests in China, and the answer was no. After this trip, the answer is a definite yes. Before joining the study abroad, I never thought that I would spend so much time in China, or that I would know so much about the country.
I wish that every Bush School student could have this same experience. I have learned so much over the past three weeks. The lectures allowed us to understand the social and historical context of Chinese foreign policy, and the interaction with Chinese students and scholars was invaluable; the Chinese students gave us real insight into distinct perspectives and reminded us that even though we live half a world apart, we are essentially the same.
I feel that this trip was especially enriching for me, an IDEP student, since I have never studied China academically. Most of what I knew about Chinese foreign policy and Sino-US relations before this trip came from various news outlets and publications. This made me quiet in our discussion based lectures, since I was constantly absorbing new information. I am heading back to the United States with half of a notebook filled with notes from our lectures.
I am so grateful for this experience, and I look forward to coming back to China many times in the future.
- Andrea
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