Knowledge is power. Knowledge and experience of China is an increasingly valuable asset in many industries. There are more and more people learning Chinese now, but plenty of them think that they just need to study at home and look at China online. It is not necessary to go to China. I want to say that it is better to see once than hear a hundred times. Go and come to China, take a look and take a walk!

However, do you think that living in a foreign country is easy? You cannot imagine what difficulties you will meet in your life abroad. Two years ago, when I came to China I was so excited but I was scared at the same time. That time was not easy, because when I decided to study in China, I was not sure if I could adapt the different culture or not. There are three things that are challenging for me, i.e., eating different food, speaking different language and living in a different environment.

First, it is not easy for most people to eat anything in a strange country. We always prefer to look for food we are used to in our country. When I came to school, I have only eaten rice and I tried to find restaurant which provides Kazakh food. Fortunately, I found it but it is too far from my dormitory. But in these two years, with help of my Chinese friends, I tried so many traditional Chinese food in Yancheng, hot pot, Chinese hamburger, Lanzhou noodles, dumplings and so on. Among them, my favorite is hot pot. If you want to try it, it is not wise for you to go alone. My Chinese friends told me that eating hot pot with friends can only be delicious. For me and my friends, hot pot is not only eating delicious food, but also talking with good relations and feelings. Hot pot is a cooking method, a way of eating, and a cultural model as well.

Second, speaking different language comes as the biggest challenge to everyone. Luckily, in Yancheng Polytechnic College we have great teachers who help us to study Chinese as fast as we can. They explain new words one by one and teach us to write Chinese characters hand by hand. Then, I started to draw Chinese characters better and nicely. I found that Chinese characters are really interesting and attractive. There is a Chinese character “明”, which means bright. I found that “明” is composed of “日” and “月”，in which, “日” is the sun and “月” is the moon. The world has the sun and the moon, so it will be bright. You can image that how smart the Chinese people are!

Third, to adapt to another completely different living environment is also a big headache. But it is not too difficult for me in this regard, because I used to study in the United States for a while, so my adaptability is not bad. I still remember that when I first arrived in Jiangsu province, I was impressed by the clean and spacious roads, the trees and the well-organized traffic. There are a lot of flowers on the side of the road, I think that’s why the air smells so fragrant. During the holidays, my friends and I have traveled to many cities in China, Beijing, Nanjing, Changzhou, etc.. What an amazing cities! But it is very strange, every time I go to travel for two or three days, I will miss Yancheng, it is like my home. Yancheng does not have such magnificent historical buildings as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, nor the cultural attractions of the Confucius Temple and the Qinhuai River, but the fresh air, clean streets, warm-hearted people, and most importantly, the warmth of home. Just as the saying goes that east or west, home is best.

In conclusion, the best way to learn real aspects of another country is to travel to that country as information floating on the other media do not provide adequate knowledge about that country. Chinese universities have a growing reputation. Anyone who has chosen to study in China to differentiate herself from others in the workplace, explains: “If you survive living in China, you can survive and be prepared to face anything in the world”. The experience of studying in China allows you to be an open-minded person, independent, ready to adapt and be flexible, which is exactly what every employer is looking for. As we all know, Chinese culture pays attention to peace and friendship. Relations between Kazakhstan and China are also based on friendship. I am studying Architecture major and I hope that I can become an “architect” in the Belt and Road, hope that the construction of the Belt and Road will be better and better, and more and more young people from Kazakhstan can study in China to build a better tomorrow together with Chinese young people.