When I write this article, I just met my classmate Gianmarco and the president of EM Association Pelicano in Shenzhen for the EU-China Youth Forum and 2011 Universiade Youth Festival. I am very exciting to hear their views about China. They were shocked when they arrived in Shenzhen. They told me China is very dynamic and night life is much more colorful than Europe. I was shocked as well when I arrived in Europe, not by high buildings, but quite and old cities. EITEI(Erasmus Mundus MA Economics of International Integration) is one of EM programs for students from the world to study together in different places. The students in EITEI program can choose three places from UK, France, Belgium and Czech Republic. I studied in Lille, Antwerp and Prague. I'd like to say something about the life in Europe from my view.
EITEI provides a platform for us to know each other. 36 students in the program are from 23 countries. A year of studying in three different countries with people from so many different nationalities and hence we learn a lot from it. We have different cultures, different historical experiences and political views and we are from countries at different levels of development. During this program, we have time to absorb the ideas and views from different people. I remembered we spent lots of time to debate immigration, race discrimination and belief difference. From these discussions, I learn how to endure different views in one group. It is important to better understand the other's choices and constraints, its hopes and fears, its past experiences and its view of the world. Because we come from different places, we need to take over many difficulties. We help each other all the time--combining our energy and dynamism, and making the most of our myriad of commmon interests.
it is a good opportunity to know the people and local cultures in Europe. I went through more than 12 countries in this year. Before the trips, I tried my best to know the history for the destinations. Every trip is an unending journey and can combine the current thinking with historical impression together. When I stayed at Lille, I always took my bicycle to the countryside. When I saw the houses, the garden, the horse, the land...I was very surprised. Everywhere looks like the picture described in our Chinese article "Utopia Dreamland". In Belgium, it is very cheap for students to travel the country(5 Euros to everywhere by train), so I almost visit every big cities in Belgium. We have a comprehensive understanding about the beer and chocolate industries. More interestingly, we are wondering how Belgium goes so well without central government for such a long time. During the trips, I have the chance to see the Strikes in France, the "Rose Monday" in Koln, the May Ceremony in Wien, the Beer Ceremony in Prague... Among the cities, I prefer Prague the most. It is hard for me to find words to express my feeling about this city. Even though I come back now, I can remember the names for the streets and places. Anyway, the trips open many windows for me and change my mind.
The communication process is reciprocal. We absorb knowledge from their cultures and customs. They know more about China from us. During this program, we were always talking about Chinese history and current issues. Sometimes I invite them to taste Chinese food. I am very satisfied that some of them now can cook some Chinese dishes. In Antwerp, I am grateful to have the opportunity to organize the 2011 Chinese Spring Festival with the members of CSSAA. Most of my classmates came to join the festival. When they tasted the Chinese food, saw the Chinese traditional KungFuand Guzheng performances, and won the gifts, I could feel they really enjoyed the festival. This is just one exampel in this year. They are always some music or beer festivals with different subjects. Besides studying, partying is a very important aspect of this program. After a day of classes and hard working in the library, a party in the evening is welcome to free your mind of the daily issues. Partying life is a typical characteristics in European universities.
One more thing I want to emphasize is the friendship. I am very lucky that the members in our group are so kind and friendly. In everywhere at anytime, there are friends help me when I was in need. Their support made my life much more colorful in Europe. Thousands of pictures record our life in this year, and memories never fade. When end of this program is approaching do not let that sadness outweight all good times that we had, it is just the beginning of our friendship and will continue forever as the Vltava river in Prague. In Czech Republic, I am very lucky to have the chance to visit my friend's cottage every weekend. We have spent so much fun together! We did travelling in the countryside. We have been biking many times, hiking in Czech mountains. We tried golf and skydiving. I had a very good time with their family and we keep in touch all the time to share our news to each other. This kind of experiences make me to know much better about their daily life and local cultures.
All good things come to an end. We spent very intensive one year together in three different places. We had lots of fun, plenty of new common experiences, and lots of common worries. The most important thing is that we benefit a lot from each other, from this program, from the trips and so on. Thanks to the strength of effort we all were sharing on the way to achieve our common goal, this year will always stay deep in our memories. I am looking forward to seeing greater unending legends from their long journey. Thanks to WISE for providing such a chance, making me have an unforgettable experience.
Je pense, doncje suis!
（WISE2008级硕士生 易金超）
