From Nanchang to Northridge, Friends to Be Made
By Jacleen Janzer
Daily Sundial
July 3, 2013
Feature
When she saw Los Angeles in movies – its sun-soaked beaches, its Hollywood – 23-year-old Wusheng Yu knew she wanted to learn what it was made of. So she made the journey from Nanchang, China, to study as a graduate student at CSUN.
And though the sunshine is a bit more intense than she bargained for, the people and experiences of California have been more wonderful than she’d imagined.
“I like the weather here…actually, no, it’s too hot,” she said. “I like the people here. They’re friendly, warm – they want to talk to you, make friends with you.”
Wusheng is studying TESL, Teaching English as a Second Language, and excited that she is getting the experience of teaching, in her graduate program. Becoming an English-as-a-second-language teacher is what she aspires to do, and she wanted to gain some experience by coming here.
She’s discovered many ways in which Northridge differs from Nanchang.
“There are different kinds of freedom, you can act as yourself, whenever you want.”
Wusheng points out, however, that food is much better in China, and that Chinese food in the US isn’t that great.
“It’s kind of Americanized…not real,” she said.
Despite the differences in culture, Wusheng feels that China and the US share good people, and the rewarding experience of getting to know them. Though she says that people in China tend to be of mild-mannered nature while those here tend to be the opposite, she feels that people of both cultures are wonderful at their core – and tend to make good friends.
Changyue Xie is a good friend of hers, and like Wusheng, is a CSUN student from China. Changyue says that Wusheng is a great person to know.
“She’s clever, and makes everyone feel comfortable,” Changyue said. “And she’s a very good teacher.”
Wusheng says that her family is what she misses most about China, along with the home-cooked meals her parents made. Though Wusheng has made many friends at CSUN, the experience of living here has sometimes been daunting.
“I have to cook, I have to take care of everything myself, and a lot of things are unfamiliar to me. But I’ve kind of adapted to the environment here,” she said.
Actually, coming here has marked her first time abroad, and it’s one of Wusheng’s proudest accomplishments.
“A lot of students want to go abroad to study, but they don’t dare - because the language is different, the culture is different, and you have to take care of yourself. But, I made it.”
Having recently completed the first year of her 2 and-a-half-year graduate program, Wusheng has had plenty of time to travel through California - one of her favorite places is San Francisco. She prefers the climate and weather there to that of Los Angeles, and knows she could easily enjoy living there.
That said, Wusheng is very much open to whatever – or wherever – comes next, on her way to becoming an English language teacher.
“I don’t really care that much about the place,” she says, speculating on where she may end up, “but I wanted to gain some experience here, and then maybe go back to China, or maybe, Japan. I like Japan.”
For more information on international programs at CSUN, visit http://www.csun.edu/international/ .
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