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DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY | COMPETITION
Unified by Diversity
How we defied the odds to become best friends
I was nervously waiting in the main hall of the International College of Wuhan University in China to enrol myself in a 12-month intensive language course. The big contrast between the cold air-conditioned air inside the building and the hot soaring heat outside gave me goosebumps. The fake, overly shiny marble floor seemed to make it colder and the row of old train station-like connected chairs wobbled every time someone sat down or stood up, which made it even more uncomfortable.
It was a chaotic mess with stressed international students and impatient staff running crisscross past each other. People were slurping bubble tea through wide straws, messing about with papers and passports, licking popsicles, waving paper fans, and some were even on the verge of crying because they didn’t understand a word and were probably overwhelmed. “This is going to be a hell of a year,” I thought.
After two years of studying Chinese Studies at a university in The Netherlands, my home country, I packed my bags and set off for the promised land to fully immerse myself in everything that was Chinese. Little did I know, this journey would also teach me a lot about the rest of the world.
