Hello everyone!  My name is Tejitu Tedase Kebitan I Come from Ethiopia. I am studying Communication technology at Nanjing vocational college of Information technology. Before I came to China I was been Universty student at Arsi University Ethiopia.

I arrived in Nanjing one year ago, with a mixed set of emotions and a thirst for new experiences and knowledge. Being awarded a scholarship to study at the prestigious NJCIT had made me ecstatic beyond belief, as I have always wanted to visit China for its rich culture and history. However, in the midst of the late-night ride from the airport to the university, the reality that I had arrived in a new city with too many people hit me. Coming from Shanghai to Nanjing, as I arrived college. I was in my dorm room on the Nanjing Campus, I was anxious, perplexed and fearful about how I could adjust without being able to utter a single word of Mandarin. Would I be able to explore Chinese culture and everyday life while studying? How was I going to figure out the metro? What would I eat, if I can’t ask what’s on the menu or read the words myself? A hundred more questions kept me up the whole night.

Armed with a helpful orientation book provided by NJCIT, I embarked on a journey to explore the campus and study the layout. After a long and tiresome walk, I realized that a bicycle was of the utmost importance. The campus was huge with beautiful gardens and little bridges, walkways, student facilities, canteens and small restaurants and shopping malls outside the university， this was the university I had dreamed of attending.

The second life lesson I learned was to always carry a note or a picture with the NJCIT address, as it is easy to get lost in such a huge city or miss the bus stop. However, getting lost was exactly how I met my closest Chinese friend Xiao wang an student at NJCIT, She not only assisted me in finding my way back to the college, but she also taught me how to order things online and many things that may seem little, but helped me better adjust to life in a foreign environment. The key to adapting to a new place is to make friends,Rather than waiting for people to talk to you, approaching them and conversing is far more rewarding, and is the best way to gain new knowledge or a friend.

Gradually I began to lose the apprehension of eating out, with the aid of a translator application on my phone and a list of my favorite types of food. After a few weeks, I started to get a hang of how to do things; I was becoming more familiar with the surroundings. However, survival was my top priority, not enjoying the experience of the wonderful opportunity that I have been given to experience China.

Within a month of my arrival to Nanjing, I was lucky enough to visit Qi Xia Mountain on a trip organized by NJCIT and Teachers, Attending the Culture Festival and visiting the  Temple opened my eyes; I was in a country with one of the earliest civilizations and some of the richest histories and cultures, and it is moving towards becoming the new powerhouse of the world. And what do I do? Limit myself within my comfort zone and explore like a tortoise, when I had less than a year to stay and experience everything that I could.

I love Chinese and I am glad to see that an increasing number of people from other countries and I want to learn Chinese.

We take many related courses every week e.g. language lessons and literature lessons. We also learn some traditional Chinese art such as calligraphy.

As a student, I’m always trying my best to acquire more knowledge and to learn more skills which can help me to become an excellent Chinese teacher in the future.

More importantly, as a student of  NJCIT  college, I see many fancy things that I have never seen before and get to meet some talented people who are very smart and hardworking.

The student life at this university enriches my life and broadens my horizons. What’s more, I have been more independent since I came to this university.

We even celebrated some China festivals together e.g.Qi xi Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival This was a meaningful experience for me.

And now, I have a language-learning. I can learn more Chinese from him/her at the same time.

As students, we all live in dormitories with our classmates. Dormitory life is an important part of student life.

I get along well with my room-mates. We have become more like family than friends.

The student life at NCJIT college is an absolutely unforgettable experience for me. It’s playing an important role in my life.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on map king it complicated” – wise words from Confucius. I decided to drop all the negative thoughts I had associated with limiting my travel and exploration. The main factor that limits anyone while traveling is the budget; however I was able to minimize the costs by traveling to the cities where friends and acquaintances resided. This way, the accommodation costs would be exceedingly low, if not free, and who knows the culture better than someone residing there.

The most precious life lesson I gained since moving to China is to create a positive attitude and not to limit yourself based on attitude, finances and dreams. Dream big, get creative with a small budget and have a positive attitude, and it will make studying abroad memorable. My time in China has made me realize my passion for learning about other cultures, taught me not just the importance of learning in the classroom, but also of learning from every single person you meet.