Saftar Gasimov: my story of studying in China

Six years ago, when I was in the Confucius Institute of Azerbaijan and had just started to learn Chinese, I never thought that one day I would have the opportunity to come to China to study. In 2016, I was honored to win first place in the 16th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students and the 3rd Azerbaijani University Students "Chinese Bridge" Final. At that time, I began to think that I should study in China. In 2018, with the support of a Chinese Government Scholarship, I came to Chengdu, Sichuan, and started my master's program at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE). When I first came to this completely unfamiliar environment, I was very worried about whether my language level could meet the academic requirements, and whether I could overcome cultural barriers and integrate into a Chinese campus. However, after everything started, I could feel the help and support from the teachers and classmates all the time, so that I quickly adapted to the life of studying abroad.

Having studied at SWUFE for more than two years, I benefited from the guidance of my professors and the help of my classmates in my academic work, and made great progress. Outside the classroom, SWUFE provides our international students with many opportunities to learn about Chinese culture and social life. The annual “International Cultural Festival”, local community activities, and the SWUFE Global Academy, for example, not only allow us to experience Chinese culture firsthand, but also to enhance exchanges between Chinese and foreign students, so that each can increase their knowledge and gain friendship from the other. At the same time, I also participated in many volunteer projects and entrepreneurial start-up activities, which broadened my horizons and helped me to deeply understand the changes and development of Chinese society. All these influences have made me more confident and improved my cross-cultural communication and social practice abilities. I am convinced that these experiences will become wonderful memories in my life.

During the coronavirus outbreak in China, although I was in my hometown, I remained concerned about my Chinese friends and SWUFE’s teachers and classmates, and strived to do something for the prevention and control of the pandemic. Subsequently, the pandemic spread globally. A team of medical experts from West China Hospital of Sichuan University sent by the Chinese government to Azerbaijan came to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. I was honored to be an interpreter to assist the Chinese medical expert team working in Azerbaijan. My translation work was mainly based on medical content. I encountered a lot of difficulties at the beginning, but I supplemented my medical vocabulary by studying at home every day to prepare for translation work. When I translated content that I was not familiar with, I often felt that I was not expressing it clearly enough, but the Chinese and Azerbaijani experts understood what I meant and communicated smoothly. It seemed that the previous hard work of learning medical vocabulary had not been in vain. I'm proud of this translation experience for a lifetime. I was honored to be able to assist the Chinese people at such a difficult time! Not only did I gain an important experience in my life journey through studying at SWUFE’s memorable campus, after a "hand to hand fight against the pandemic" I also integrated into the big family of China. This makes me realize that I will continue to make contributions to the friendship and development of China and Azerbaijan!