《An awe-inspiring voyage》

Name：MANTILLA PIZARRO WERNER JULINHO
Nationality: Peru
University：Shanghai International Studies University
Tutor: Zhang Xinyu

As one of the most prolific Chinese female writers, Sanmao (三毛) once said: “a person who at least has a dream, has a reason to still strong (一个人至少拥有一个梦想，有一个理由去坚强)” , and I could not agree more with this wondrous quote, which I utterly consider the basis of my life’s project.

After 2 years and a half of uncertainty, whether international students will be able or not to come back to the classrooms to attend SISU’s courses, due to the fact that an unexpected pandemic detrimentally attacked the whole world, I finally made my way to China, to carry out my dream in its entirety.

At the onset of establishing in Shanghai, getting used to the life in here, especially coming from a Latin-American country, which its differences are notable in comparison with China, was almost an insurmountable challenge. Nonetheless, as the time went by, everything started to be smoother, not only because the internal strength the human being has to adapt to new conditions and scenarios, yet also because I bumped into marvelous people whose help had a fundamental value in my growth and development here, in China.

In February the 20th, 2023, we officially started classes, and I was considerably excited to meet for the first time, face to face, with my peers and teachers, a fact that since 2020 I was constantly longing for. Furthermore, I have always looked forward to have this sense of belonging, that I do pertain to this university, that I indeed am a SISUer.

Having met with my peers was an interesting moment, because I have never thought in my life I could be, in the same place, with a cluster of people coming from parts of the world that I only saw in books and films. People from Serbia, Vietnam, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Russia, Nigeria, and of course, me, from Peru gathered in the same place, getting the most out of the classes and the experience of being students in a full of prestige and transcendental university as SISU, was one of the most relevant moments I have ever enjoyed, especially for the things these people have to share with me, which made me greatly enthralled.

I have to acknowledge that because of SISU’s organization of a plethora of activities, such as visiting many traditional-touristic places in Shanghai, or some extracurricular courses that entails Chinese arts, such as calligraphy, paper cutting, etc., me, my peers and other international students coming from different classes could consolidate many long time friendships and enriched interpersonal relationships. The way how we think, the background of our hometowns, our customs, beliefs and other elements that constitute ourselves make this experience on campus one of the most important in my life, having changed myself up to the extent of feeling pretty satisfied with the results obtained.

Aside from the importance of my peers in this new adventure, and the full of joy times we have undergone, my teachers are not the exception whatsoever. Under their guidance, thorough expertise in the field of education and linguistics, and a sanguine attitude towards us, I could become a more professional and well-learned student. Moreover, the spaces that all of my laoshi always created were safe for us to express our opinions freely, with sheer assertiveness to respect each other and to feel completely motivated to extract the most from the classes, which I have to aggregate that because of them, my interest towards pedagogy has increased significantly, concluding that I am in the right path of my career.

Another aspect that cannot be overlooked is the rapport built with the teachers from OISA, that has also had a huge impact on me. They always give us accurate and on time information. Besides, they care about us, providing us with lots of opportunities that will enhance our professional and personal lives. For example, I remember once I went to the office to ask for some information, and all of a sudden, one of the teachers asked me if I wanted to participate in an audition for the institutional advertisement. At first, I was somewhat shy and reticent, because of my personality, which is not liking being in the limelight most of the time. However, she kindly encouraged me, telling me to not be afraid, and that I could sail through it. As a result, amongst the people who cast for the main and supporting roles, I was selected for the supporting one. This experience gave me the opportunity to be one of the faces of this SISU’s advertisements, which made me feel so proud of myself, because the director also congratulated me, saying that my participation was full of naturalness and charm. Hereinafter, I started to have more confidence on myself, being aware of the potential that I have to whatever challenge is needed to be faced.

During this time, at Shanghai International Studies University, I have noticed the huge positive changed within me. In my professional life, through SISU I could made incredible friends, which our relationships will also be mutually benefited from the bridges we may create in the near future, in order to improve our countries and personal lives. Also, my Chinese level has reached to a point in which I am really fluent, to the extend to hold long conversations with Chinese people, read complex texts and understand whatever conversation I can be involved in. In my personal life, the life on campus has helped making me a stronger, more determined and a less shy person, believing in myself that the sky is the limit, and I am capable enough to overcome any difficulty.

SISU will always be in my heart, because thanks to it myself has been shaped up to the professional I am nowadays. This is only the beginning!