Thursday, July 31, 2014

T-16 days

In about sixteen days I will be loading myself onto a plane headed for China. It is hard to believe that this dream is finally coming true.

 

After months of waiting, preparing, and buying necessities, I am coming to the end of my time here in the US. Although it is bittersweet to move myself halfway across the world, not knowing a single classmate, to a country, where by everyone's account here, is exactly opposite, I feel nothing but excitement for my new journey. So, to test this blog, I've decided to recount how I got here and address some of the FAQ I get when I tell people I'm going to China for college.

 

I first heard of NYU Shanghai from my dad. He came home one day and said he heard about NYU's new campus in Shanghai on NPR and just generally told the family about the broadcast. To be honest, I didn't really think much of it, but come December, when I was scrambling to find more schools to apply to, it stuck in my mind. I thought to myself 'there is no chance you will get in here, but it would be fun to apply'. After that, it became amusing to tell people that I merely applied to the campus. People seemed very interested in the program, but I always told them 'It was never going to happen'. In the mean time I was taking Chinese in school and I knew I was going to China on a 10 day school field trip. We were going to visit three cities in China, one of them being Shanghai. I causally informed my teacher that I applied to NYU Shanghai and was wondering if it were possible to visit it while we were there. My teacher kindly got in touch with another Chinese teacher who had a student going there already. I was about to contact him and ask my questions and when we went to see the NYU Shanghai building (at the time under construction) he and his friend talked about the campus and the likelihood that I would get in. It's hard to explain but I felt an attachment to the school and I instantly decided I REALLY wanted to go. For good luck, before we left, I threw a quarter at the building. One of my chaperones told me if I did that I was sure to come back.

 

I'm still convinced that quarter was my ticket in, because just three days after coming back to China I came home from a particularly hard Lacrosse practice, only to sit down on my bed and open my email. I scrolled through the usual junk college emails from schools I never even applied to, to find one email from NYU Shanghai that's subject read: Your NYU Shanghai Admissions Decision. I guess it should have been obvious from the heading but I thought it was just going to tell me that my decision was coming to me on April 1st like most other colleges had politely informed me. As I began to read the email for this information, I realized it was something much more. It read "Dear Madalyn, We are very happy to inform you that the admissions committee for NYU Shanghai has completed its evaluation process" (at which point, I'm thinking, 'that's great for you guys'...but I kept reading) "and you are one of fewer than 500 students--from among 52,000 applicants to NYU this year-- to be offered admission to NYU Shanghai". There are very few words to describe the feeling of surprise and happiness I felt. I must of called 30 people to tell them the news. And if you ask my parents I was hyperventilating from excitement the whole time. I never believed that I could be one of the accepted. And I am so proud, thankful and blessed to be chosen.

 

After that euphoric day on March 19, 2014, the questions began. You're going with a friend, right? It's just for a semester, right? You're not going to have to speak Chinese all the time, right? There's a way out if you don't like it, isn't there? Aren't you going to miss home? Aren't you going to die of pollution?

 

To clarify: I am not going with a friend. It's for all four years :) and although all the classes are in English (besides, obviously, Chinese) I am still living in a foreign country, so speaking or being forced to converse daily will (hopefully) be inevitable. I don't want there to be a way out, I love it too much to give up on it. Of course I will miss home and family, but opportunities like this don't come around very often and I would stupid not to accept it. I find that in my life I have tried to challenge myself as much as possible. I set goals and try to meet them. I don't think I wanted to lose that part of me and China seemed like the best way to challenge myself intellectually, culturally, and emotionally. A chance like that, to be able to grow up, and form opinions and a new understanding is the entire reason higher education exists. There was no way I was going to pass on an opportunity to find myself.

As for the pollution, Shanghai is not Beijing, and the pollution in Shanghai is not as bad as it is there. Just to reassure you, no matter how bad the media makes it out to be, in all likelihood, I am going to be just fine. And I'm bringing a mask.

 

I can't wait to share this journey with all of you and I promise that I will update this at least once a week while I am there.

 

Best,

Maddie