By Letticia Gan Pei Lee
Bachelor of Communications (Hons) Public Relations
Class of August 2006

My life took an unexpected turn when I was awarded a Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) scholarship to pursue an MA in International Communication at the University of Nottingham-Ningbo, China. I was working at a book fair in Kuala Lumpur right after I finished my last examination paper when I received a call from the Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and informed that I had been selected as one of the UTAR scholarship recipients to study in China. At first, I was reluctant to go because I was looking for a job to support my family and also eager to start my career.

I grew up in Malacca and earned my Bachelor degree at UTAR. As an arts major, I have a great interest in music, people and culture. I waited for a month after the submission of my dissertation proposal to the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and was very glad when I received news that I had been accepted. Although I had heard a lot about China, but what I knew was from the media or textbooks. At the start of my five-hour journey to China, I had mixed feelings of fear and excitement about what I was about to face. Upon my arrival at Ningbo airport I was greeted by smiling Chinese students from Nottingham's Young Volunteers, and instantly any fear I had was gone as I was bombarded with questions about Malaysian culture, my flight, and life in Malaysia.

When I first arrived at the university, I was amazed by the greenery in the university. There I was standing in front of the first foreign university to establish an independent campus in China. Students will be able to get an East-meets-West experience while studying in this university. Standing near the clock tower (which exactly resembles the one in UK) makes you feel as if you are on the UK main campus. University of Nottingham-Ningbo is a highly multicultural university.

There is a large international student community at the university. I met all kinds of people and got to learn more about their culture. Besides Chinese students, I met a lot of interesting people from India, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Brazil, Australia, UK, Japan, Lesotho, Germany, etc. On any given day at the University, you can hear so many languages and accents spoken. In classrooms, you get an international flavour when students from around the world give their viewpoints. Students there were encouraged to take the initiative rather than wait for the lecturers to spoon feed them with information. I also enjoyed watching Spanish, German and French films as part of the cultural experience.

While pursuing my Masters degree, I was also able to take part in drama and Christmas singing, become a tour guide-cum-translator for the University, and help out in the university's Arts Troupes. As an international student, I was determined to explore more of Chinese culture and its people. I had the opportunity to visit many places in Ningbo and nearby provinces. One of my greatest experiences was to volunteer to teach English in a Chinese rural school. Students there were so eager to learn English even at their young age. I still vividly remember one of the students, aged nine, who was in tears when he explained to me his eagerness to learn English.

In my one year in China, I learned to be independent and was able to cook a decent meal. I brushed up my Chinese and learned German. Apart from studying and researching, I became a personal English tutor to two Korean students. My parents and God have motivated me to continue to pursue my goals. Without my parents? constant encouragement, I will not be where I am now. The chance to study abroad with so many talented students is something I never thought I could have. The international experience has definitely been worthwhile.

I am thankful for the opportunity to study abroad, but the most important aspect of my experience abroad was actually being able to make a positive impact on people's lives. My international experience is an indispensable asset to my personal growth and it has increased my academic potential. The experience that the university offered me is something I will not find anywhere else.