The pursuit of higher education is commonplace in today's world, but in an effort to stand out from their peers, a number of Bahamian students are opting to seek tertiary education in a foreign country whose native language is not their own. The immersion course expands their horizons and makes their resumes that much more impressive. And that was the attraction of a year-long study of Mandarin in China for Larissa Sawyer.
Rather than settling for expanding her horizons in a familiar place, the adventurous 24-year-old opted to travel far outside of her comfort zone to make her dreams come true. Her destination was China.
"Going to China was about the challenge and the experience. There is nothing like being young and wanting so much to do more and see more while I can," said Sawyer. "After I completed my Bachelor of Arts in mass Communication at the University of West Georgia in May 2010, I knew I didn't want to stop there."
She recently returned home from the Asian country after the year-long immersion studies in the Chinese language and culture. Of all her educational pursuits, she says completing her intermediate certificate in Mandarin was one of the most difficult, but rewarding ventures she had ever undertaken.
"I made the leap to go as far as China because I didn't feel I got a rich enough cultural experience at my school, and I wanted a greater challenge. I'm not saying university was easy, but I wanted to take my mind to a whole new level of learning and doing something different that a lot of other Bahamians haven't done. It was an experience like no other," she said.
After graduating from her American university, Sawyer researched and applied to three Chinese universities. She was accepted into Tsinghua University in Wudaokau, Beijing.
"At first I really didn't like it (China) because I had to adjust so much. Everything was so different. I couldn't even imagine how different China would be. It was a serious culture shock in every way. The food, the people, the way of life was so different. I didn't eat much Chinese food, and to be honest I was miserable for most of my first semester. But by midway everything just changed and I saw China with new eyes. I became more open and accustomed to all the changes. I wouldn't say I dove into everything per se, but I became a lot more open to what I was experiencing."
She now speaks Mandarin at an intermediate level, and is happy she chose that course of study, rather than Spanish or any of the other more popular languages, because she is able to communicate with 1.3 billion people and her marketability grew as she entered the workforce.
Sawyer has already found use for Mandarin at home. She has given tours to Chinese visitors for a tour company.
She now works in marketing. Even though at her current job she has yet to utilize her Mandarin skills, she says she can see the potential for it in the future.
Her advice for Bahamians that have the urge to broaden their educational horizons beyond the norm is to just go for it. Looking back, if she could do it all over again, she says she would utilize government funding better when it came to paying for her expenses for her Chinese odyssey. There are Chinese scholarships available for Bahamian students offered by the Chinese embassy. Sawyer paid for her odyssey at a cost of $2,000 per semester, because she missed the scholarship deadline. She was also forced to live off campus since there was no room in the dormitories at the university. She advises future students to apply early so they can live on campus. She paid $800 per month in living expenses.
"You have to get your application in long before time," says Sawyer. "The deadline may be April but try to get everything in by February or March. Mail is slow and the application has to be accompanied with detailed medical information. There are lots of things you will have to do to get ready and in a way it's a little more work than the average university. But once you get over this hump you just go from there."
She urges fellow Bahamians who will follow in her footsteps to learn as much as they can beforehand about the country, because she says it can be a culture shock. Her shock and inability to adjust in the beginning she said, was mostly due to not doing in-depth research about her school or the environment she would be in. Doing an introductory class into the language she said would also make life easier -- if only for street communication.
"When I first got to China I had no idea about the language and all the books I had read that were supposed to help me didn't really. I had looked up apartments and saw some great ones online, but I didn't go to Google Maps to see just where these places were. So really finding an apartment was very challenging once I got there, especially without knowing the language. A hotel concierge helped me for the first few days and eventually I met up with some Bahamians studying and even living in the country. From there it got a lot easier. You really want to go prepared because if you can avoid awkward moments and frustration in your experience by all means do it."
But even if you do go as
prepared as you can be, she said not to assume you know everything because every area has a unique culture within the wider culture. Sawyer said it also helps to be open to meeting people from around the world. She got a shock realizing there were corners of the world she had not heard of -- like Kyrgysan and Tajikistan --and only came across them in the many other students she met in the melting pot that is Beijing.
"I think being in China will really humble a lot of Bahamians because it is so different and you get a wake up call just being there for leisure. You really learn quickly that The Bahamas is not the center of the universe and the Bahamian view of what is considered 'pretty' or 'smart' is completely different in China. Although the entire adventure was a challenge I can honestly say at the end of the day I experienced some of the best months of my life and I am now better off than I was before. I really hope more young people take advantage of their youth and go to places like China or wherever they want to go. You may not enjoy every second of it, but I can say you will not regret doing it because there is nothing like seeing the world first hand," she said.
If an Asian country is not their dream location to pursue further studies, Sawyer said more young people should really consider just going to any foreign country for studies.
"Travelling to a different place for school even if not China is invaluable for a young person. Being immersed in the culture makes you think about things differently and it gives a greater appreciation for what you have. You also get to meet so many interesting people and learn great things about their culture. But I think the greatest thing it did for me is make me realize is that if I could study and excel at what some people consider to be the hardest language in the world -- then I can do anything."

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