'Get a Ticket': Marina Beliaeva on Her Exchange Studies in China
Marina Beliaeva, a fourth-year student of the Bachelor's programme 'Asian and African Studies', spent a whole year at Fudan University. Over this time, she completed language courses, gathered the material for future researches and became a host at student events. Find out in the interview with Marina how to get into a university from the top 40 of the university ranking QS, what it is like to study Chinese economics in Chinese and what to do to look at the city from the tallest skyscraper in Asia.
How you chose the university
I have been studying Sinology for several years, and I feel confident speaking Chinese. That is why when I saw an opportunity to participate in the exchange programme, it was clear: I had to take the chance and go to China.
Of course, I wanted to study in a large city, Beijing or Shanghai, but I barely knew anything about them. I knew that Beijing was similar to Moscow in its atmosphere, and Shanghai—to St Petersburg. So, I decided to go to Shanghai.
Every year, fourth-year students-sinologists get an opportunity to go to China. As it is organised together with the Chinese government, there is no competitive selection—our study office invites students with high ratings and language proficiency. Several of my groupmates were invited but a part of them refused to go. In the end, they took me and my friend.
The programme allowed us to study at one of the best universities in China—Fudan University. In the ranking of the best world universities QS, it occupies 39th place.
How the educational process changed
I studied in the programme 'Chinese Language'. In the first six months, we dealt with four language aspects: intensive reading, extensive reading, listening comprehension and the spoken language. I also attended an additional course on Chinese idioms. The language programme was designed for one academic year. But it happened that in the first semester, I reached the highest level that the university could offer—the tenth. HSE University gave me strong knowledge. That is why for the second semester, I was transferred to another special course.
I had a choice: to study culture or economics—a standard division for all sinologists. As at HSE University, I was in the cultural track, in Shanghai, I decided to take new courses on business economics. This was completely new knowledge for me. 'History of World Economy', 'Intercultural Communication in Business and Management', 'Trade and Investments in China' were all in Chinese. There were no leeways for us because of our language proficiency, so studying was hard but twice as interesting.
I really like the course on external economic legislation. We learnt who could start a business in China and how foreign companies could do it. My friend, who also completed this course, even helped one Japanese company to register in China according to the rules which we studied and practised. Later, this knowledge may come in handy in building a career.
What you like about the foreign university
The first thing which came to my mind is a multicultural community. From the very first day, I was struck by how different the opinions about the same thing, course, or topic can be. However much we love the HSE community for its pluralism of opinions, there is certainly some room for improvement. Any boundaries can be expanded!
At HSE University-St Petersburg, I have a very active extracurricular life: I hosted at-home concerts, took photos at events, and often was among the organisers. I was sad about losing it, so I decided to take a closer look at extracurricular life in China. The events, in which I participated, were organised by the international office and resembled a lot our 'Cultures Day' in its national diversity. The programme featured songs and dances of the world, the show of national costumes, where students walked down the runway in traditional clothes of their countries, wall units which immersed the guests in the history and culture of different countries... Egypt, Thailand, Vietnam, India, the UK—all these countries were represented in the events.
I passed the selection of hosts for a New Year party for international students. It was held in English but all organisational questions—where each of us should stand or how to tune the microphones—were discussed in Chinese. I had to play by ear in different languages but thanks to HSE University, it wasn't a problem. I am very happy that I tried my hand there and made sure that I could handle it as there were people who got scared to speak Chinese.
How your daily life is organised
When I first entered the dormitory, the interior was modest with a minimum of necessary furniture: a bed, a wardrobe and a couple of shelves. Some things were lacking but I quickly bought everything I needed and set up the room in just a week.
I liked commuting to the university a lot. In St Petersburg, it took me an hour by underground train, and in China—eight minutes by bicycle. Shanghai has amazing weather for a northern person: it is warm all year round, and the temperature doesn't go below zero. I can wake up 20 minutes before a double class and go to the university in the fresh air—it is truly a new interesting experience.
Speaking in more detail about the climate, I was extremely happy that I could wear dresses and T-shirts until December! But I have to mention that however hot it is, Shanghai does not have central heating. If in winter, it is 5 degrees above zero, it is 10 degrees in your room. It was cool but it didn't seem like a big problem: I bought a hot water bottle, warmers for socks and put the air conditioner to the maximum temperature.
Three things that surprised you in the new country
Tea is not the main drink
The biggest stereotype about the Chinese seems to be that they drink tea all the time. Nothing like that: all the Chinese around me drank coffee! In Shanghai, there are coffee shops at every turn. The most popular one among the students of our university was 'Lucking coffee', one could make an order there remotely. In the morning, cups with ready-made coffee lined up there because all students put an order there immediately after waking up. For the fast pace of Chinese life, it is very convenient! It's a pity that there's nothing like it in Russia.
The most common shoes are slippers
The Chinese wear slippers or flip-flops regardless of the weather. Pouring rain or zero degrees? Bare feet and slippers! However weird it might have seemed in the first couple of months, by the end of the year, I also wore slippers everywhere, even during the classes—it really turned out to be convenient.
Authentic food
The food here is completely different. Everything is much spicier, fat-laden and more varied than in Chinese restaurants in St Petersburg. I tried different local specialities: pig's ears, chicken feet, 'duck's belly buttons' and pickled jellyfish. My recommendation is to walk past food courts and go to alleys where old ladies and men cook authentic national food. It is this food which defines the daily routine of the Chinese.
Three things one has to do during a trip
Climb the Shanghai Tower
It is the highest building in the East Asia—just imagine. From there, the whole world spreads before your eyes! At such a height, you fell especially strong. It seems like you can do anything—climb the top and travel around the whole world. When you enter a bookshop on the 58th floor, you see a wonderful view over Shanghai from a birds eye view. But there is one condition—you have to buy a cup of coffee.
Visit Disneyland
One of the most memorable days in Shanghai was when we went to Disneyland! It is a fairytale: there is a parade of princesses, characters from favourite cartoons, all of them sing the songs you've known since childhood... in Chinese! Tickets are relatively cheap but you cannot buy such impressions for any money.
Try malatan
For me, it is the tastiest dish in China. In cafes, where they cook malatan, there are a lot of ingredients before guests: chicken, meat, seafood, lots of greenery, vegetables... You can put anything in your bowl—they will cook it and pour up spicy broth. It is like a soup which you made yourself.
What the exchange programme gave you
Expanding of the horizons and world view. Asia is an absolutely different world. Here are different people who live and think differently. I got used to it and after coming back to Russia started to look at usual things from a different angle.
In addition, the Chinese are workaholics. If they study, they do it headfirst, persistently and for a long time. At least, it is true about the people who surrounded me at the university. They motivated me all the time!
Besides, my level of stress resistance has significantly increased! In a year spent in another country, you get in such situations in which you would be completely at a loss in your native country. In addition, you have to speak Chinese and sometimes do not have enough vocabulary! At times, I felt perplexed but the experience turned out to be useful. Now, I definitely can do much more with less nervous costs!
What you dream of now
I want to enrol in a master's programme with a focus on 'Business Art' or 'Art Management'. All my research works in Shanghai were about art events in the city. By my departure from China, I collected all the research data for my thesis in this sphere about the use of AI in modern Chinese art. I asked my friend to help me, and together, we went to the Shanghai district M50 which features more than a hundred of commercial and public art spaces. We visited more than fifty galleries and collected the opinions of their founders, staff, artists and guests on the introduction of artificial intelligence in art. It was very interesting for me, I would like to study modern Asian culture more profoundly.