Spending over three months in the heart of Shanghai and nearby regions of China means I have about a month to touch up a language I can understand but can only smile in response to. It means going through the same education system my parents underwent, even if just for a fraction of the time. Growing up a Chinese-American girl who never possessed a single memory of living in the country, I felt somewhat disconnected from my heritage. My friends and I often refer to visiting China as “going to the motherland,” and yet, as I watch them extensively recall their trips to me, I’ve never felt so disconnected from the place I hail from. How can I call a place “motherland” if I can hardly speak my mother tongue?

Instead, I visited the motherland by pestering my mother to tell me tales from her adolescence in Tian Jin, so much so that she eventually taped a three-paged list of her life stories to our living room wall. I could choose one story each night for her to narrate—popped rice street vendors, her family’s first pet cat, riding a her mother’s motorbike, after school adventures, and occasional sibling quarrels. Living vicariously through her, these stories connected me to a culture that existed beyond the boundaries of my American upbringing. Not only did they introduce me to the world my mother grew up in, but they also sparked an insatiable curiosity about my heritage and to visit China and personally live the experiences she described.

So, what’s on my mind as I wrap up my first year in college? Beyond the never-ending bowl of stress I am constantly drinking from, I’m also sipping from a porcelain cup of nervousness and excitement-flavored Pu’er tea.

Due to my lifelong desire to travel to China and the regions that my parents frequented in their youth, I’ve spent my childhood studying Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture to preserve ties to my roots and prepare myself for future exploration of China. Recently, I’ve also been attending a TON of student-organized cultural festivals, such as Chinese dance performances, Chinese New Year celebrations, and Night Markets hosted by the vibrant Asian American student associations. Earlier today, I just attended Michigan’s largest student-hosted Asian-Pacific American culture show, with a guest performance from singer-songwriter Dhruv! Performances like these make me feel more connected to my heritage, as well as my fellow Asian-American peers. I’ve been to Chinatown more times this year than I have my entire life, finding comfort in the yellowing signs with large characters that require 100% of my brain power to read, aunties and nai-nai’s playing cards next to pigeons in the park.

Thus, the upcoming months, to me, will culminate as a meaningful pathway to fully experience my heritage: exploring the same landmarks and myths I learned about in my adolescence and visiting the food stalls and markets my mother told me about when I was a child, and experiencing it first-hand and internalize China’s complex history and rich culture.

doing some research!

As I map out my next few months, pinning cultural landmarks, such as Yu Garden and Qibao Ancient Town, I hope to trek to on Google Maps, saving Instagram Reels I see, and watching YouTube videos titled “places you NEED to go to…” and the alike, I also accompany that search by finding nearby places I could indulge in my favorite hobby: FOOD!!

I absolutely love to snack and try new eats, and with Chinese food, it’s all I’ve grown up eating: chinese restaurants with grandma’s lining circular tables in a ballroom-sized dining area, the Bubee thermos’ I brought to school (photo attached for reference).

From duck gizzard to spiced grilled liver to pig ear to chicken feet, nothing is too far fetched or out of reach for me, and I’m excited to try it all where it’s made authentically and originally. Some foods I’ve eaten in the past that I am DETERMINED to try in China include dragon’s beard, spicy lamb skewers, jian-bing, tanghulu, dumplings, baos, and any kind of dimsum or street food! I’ve created a growing list of shopping districts and night markets where I can accomplish: Tongbei Road Street Market, Dongchang Road Night Market, and Nanjing East Road Pedestrian Street, and Changli Road Street Food Market, to name a few. The list goes on, and on, and on! I love food, can you tell?

I’ve also been reading through the blogs of other students who have partaken in this same study abroad program, and after perusing their enthusiastic debrief of their day and night, I’m even more excited to make new friends through this study abroad program as we explore and map out our summer together. I’m taking note of what events to go to, and I’m so excited to discover what city will greet me when I land, and what nightlife welcomes me.

packing…

I’m a tremendous overpacker: always 1-2 extra pairs of socks, pants, shirts, and whatever emergency clothing I might need to bring “in case something happens.” What if it rains mid-day and I have to change my pants? What if I spill something on my shirt? What if I get invited to a formal event that I didn’t know about beforehand?

But I also anticipate spending a boat-load of money while I’m abroad. I may be a struggling college student back here in the States, but for my months in China, my pockets will be bottomless. For these reasons, I need to carefully consider how empty my luggage should be when I first land at the Pudong International Airport.

studies, of course—

My reasons for studying abroad in Shanghai go beyond just breathing in Shanghai’s bustling city life and inhaling steaming snacks from food stalls, I’m also so incredibly excited to study at Shanghai Jiao Tong University! As a programmer, I’m particularly hopeful for studying in Shanghai this summer because I’ll be able to surround myself with the innovative mindset of the industries there. Not only will I be exposed to varying cultural perspectives and different educational environments, but I’ll also be actively progressing my journey in an even more engaging, enlightening, and memorable way. By studying at the SJTU-JI, despite taking academically rigorous classes, I’ll be learning new approaches to problem-solving, collaborative techniques, and technological innovation that will reshape how I approach my focus studies of computer science. And also, I’ll get to study in new cafe’s away from home, filled with delectable drinks and snacks!