Community:
When Ifirst set off from Georgia to Shanghai, I didn’t know how to feel. I knew itwas going to be the greatest adventure of my life thus far, but I didn’t knowyet what kind. Coming here alone without classmates or acquaintances uponarrival, and what felt like zero Chinese language skills, was a scary thought. Truthfullyspeaking, I’m a pretty shy person, and knew this was going to be a challengefor me to start over, make new friends; but it was an opportunity for growththat I knew I would regret if I didn’t at least try. Though I heard rumors thatmy family had started taking bets on how long I would last here beforerealizing that I was crazy and could not handle all of the stress, and emotionsthat came with my decision. Once I arrived I just assumed that I would glidefairly invisibly through my two years here, receive my degree, and head back tothe states. After all, I was just one person, one student, in a sea of over 44,000. However, that’s not how it happened at all.Shy or not, and slowly without me even noticing at first, Fudan showedpresented a phenomenon that despite such a large number of students, therecould still exist a close knit community where you are not just a number. Studentsand organizations here all made me feel like I was a part of a Fudan family.The more I felt this way, the more and more I wanted to be involved in thatfamily. In fact, I like to say I’m theunofficial member of DIA, and I am so proud to say that I am from thisuniversity.
Inregard to future plans after graduation—before coming to Fudan I knew thatafter graduation I wanted to return home and pursue a career in diplomaticwork, specifical