2010-11 Student Photo Essays

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I knew that studying abroad in China would set me apart and allow me to take the next step in my education that would benefit every aspect in my life. My future plans are to go on to graduate school and pursue a master's degree in International Relations.

Your studies will take up a lot of your time while at PKU. If you don't stay focused and prioritized you could fall behind. But, as with anything, there has to be balance, because you can't work all day with no play. During the week, we usually focus on class, and on the weekends, we relax and take trips to explore neighboring cities.

If you are as lucky as I am, you will have very understanding and supportive teachers who are there to help you without any hesitation. Here is a picture of me with my teacher and a classmate from Thailand.

Being from Los Angeles, there is always talk about how horrible our traffic is. When I visited New York I felt that L.A. traffic wasn't bad at all in comparison. Now I have an entirely new perspective on traffic. Beijing's traffic doesn't even compare to the other two.

Considering the traffic here, I would never dream of driving, so the next best options are bicycles, mopeds and the subway. To be truthful, the latter is probably the safest, because even riding a bike takes a lot of adjusting.

Traveling is one of my favorite things to do while here and it is very exciting. While en route to Guilin, we spent a total of 48 hours (there and back) on the train, so to pass the time and stave off cabin fever, we took a lot of pictures like this one.

The highlight of my semester was taking a trip to the Great Wall. I knew I would visit it at some point in my life, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that at 20 I would be able to see it in all its grandeur. It is an amazing place. Be prepared to wear very sturdy walking shoes!

We planned a weekend trip to the Summer Palace. It was quite a prodigious place. It's so large that I plan on visiting it again later in the year just to see what I missed the first time around.

Tianjin, just 30 minutes away, is known to remind visitors of Europe. We visited a place called China House. It reminded me of Gaudi's House at Guell Park in Spain. China House is made of china, porcelain, and glass bottles. Think of it as a mix of Gaudi's House and the Watts Towers.

Since I wasn't able to visit China during the Olympics, I was satisfied with being able to visit the Bird's Nest two years later.

Here is a picture of the 60th anniversary celebration for all past study abroad students at PKU. It was so big that CCTV, which can be compared to ABC in America, broadcasted the event.