My acquaintance, encounter and knowing each other with China

[Jordan] Lina Kamel Abd-Elrahman Al-Qura’An, Nanchang University

Sometimes, fate is a magical thing, like a running train that drives us to where we need to go and everything is so unexpected and so different.

Acquaintance from Barely Knowing

It all started from one night eight years ago. After I graduated from senior high school, I was pondering where to go to college. My family gave me several options, Britain, Russia and China. My motherland, Jordan, is located in West Asia. Due to its unique geographical location, we know more about Britain and Russia in Eurasia, but we know very little about China – the ancient country of the East. It is so mysterious, and all I knew about it is that China has kung fu, a large population and people with yellow skin. My father suggested that I choose to study in China. As far as he knows, the public security in China is very good and the development there is also great. There are kind and caring Chinese people. Following his advice, I surfed the website for my current alma mater – the beautiful Nanchang University. As soon as I saw its promotional pictures, I was attracted by its beautiful educational environment and special humanistic background, especially when I knew that Nanchang University recruits foreign students every year, and many students in Jordan have enrolled in Nanchang University. I’m even more convinced that this is the university I’m going to choose. At that moment, the train of fate carried me and my yearning to this mysterious oriental land and embarked an unforgettable journey of study.

Encounter and Fall in Love with First Sight

My first stop in China is Nanchang, which is the capital city of Jiangxi. The moment I stepped off the plane, I was amazed at the beautiful environment and its high green coverage. Sitting on the bus on the way to Nanchang University, I was greeted by tall buildings and all kinds of brands of vehicles. People were dressed in fashionable clothes. It was beyond my imagination that they live in such a happy country. The instructor on the bus smiled and introduced to us in English, “Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, it has built a powerful country with a pioneering and tenacious creative spirit. There are many beautiful cities that are developing like this.” Seeing this, I was overjoyed that I had made the right decision to study in China. Since then, I, together with many other international students, began to learn Chinese, get to know each other, become classmates with people of different colors and races, and enjoy our campus life happily.

Knowing Each Other Profoundly

Several years flew by. I learned Chinese from scrap to passing the HSK-5 test last year, evolved from an ignorant little girl to a first-year graduate student majoring in medicine. This country and this university have brought me too many unforgettable memories, it is my second hometown. In this land, I witnessed its rapid development and big changes. Chinese people are hard-working, hospitable and caring. It has many different cultures here, which are intertwined and closely connected. As I share 5G mobile networks and Muslim cuisine with my family, they are also proud of my decision and the changes here. In January 2020, coronavirus began to spread around the world. When I saw many foreigners attacking China without knowing the truth, I shared my experiences studying in China on the internet without hesitation. While my family worried about my health, China worked as fast as it could to contain the spread of the virus. Now many people in our country have also been injected with vaccines imported from China. I feel happy for the development of China, which is my second hometown.

Chinese culture has taken root in my heart, and I can’t forget it no matter where I am. The past eight years of studying in China have changed my life. I like to communicate with everyone here in China every day. I can feel their warmth. In March 2022, a new wave of epidemic spread to the city I live, but everyone followed the government’s instructions to stay at home until the epidemic was eradicated more than a month later. Chinese people are industrious and wise, and the government help everyone beat the epidemic in a most responsible way. Whenever some uninformed foreigners bashed China on social media platforms, I would use what I have seen and heard to speak with real data and tell them the truth. China’s great leader once said, “No investigation, no say.”

The responsibility of a doctor is to save lives, treat diseases and help the injured. If I had the choice, I would like to stay in this land and use what I have learned to help more patients and bring happiness to more families. Like Dr. Bethune, the Canadian doctor who chose to stay in and dedicate his life to China, I am convinced that China will become stronger and stronger, and its inclusiveness will make it stand tall in the forest of the world.

The story is from "My Beautiful Encounter with China" Essay Competition organized by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchanges (CSCSE).