THANRADA SRI-ANGKURA
Nationality: Thailand
Grade 2018 student in the Master’s Program of International Trade, School of International Business
Professor: LU Jian
Acceptance speech
When I knew that I won “the Chinese Government Outstanding International Student Scholarship”, I was very excited and happy. For me, this award is a recognition of my hard work in studying in China for the past three years, and it also symbolizes my wonderful experience of studying at SWUFE. I not only achieved good academic results, but also received care and help from school teachers, and gained many friendships from Chinese and foreign friends. For me, SWUFE is not only a university but more like my sweet home in China. Although I will graduate soon, I will never forget the time in SWUFE, and I will always be proud of being a student of SWUFE.
My Story of Studying in China
How time flies. So far, I have been studying in China for nearly three years. I still remember how I felt on the first day when I arrived in Chengdu. I was very unaccustomed to the weather, Sichuan dialect, and food. Fortunately, I could speak a little Chinese at the time, so I made many friends soon. Although as a foreigner, I didn't feel excluded. The tolerance and enthusiasm of Chinese classmates and teachers made me gradually adapt to and love the campus life here, and had a sense of belonging.
In the first year of studying in China, I first studied Chinese at the College of International Education. It is a very interesting experience to learn and communicate with friends from all over the world. SWUFE International Student Family has students from more than 100 countries. Although everyone comes from different countries and has different cultures, we have become partners on the journey of studying in China. The multicultural exchanges and collisions have broadened my horizons and made many good friends from different countries.
I really like to participate in various cultural activities of the university, because every activity can open a window to experience Chinese culture. We learned to make Zongzi with uncles and aunts in the local community; we played Chinese chess and sang pop songs with Chinese schoolmates; we experienced Chinese calligraphy and tea culture with our teachers. At the same time, I participated in many volunteer activities as well. I worked as a volunteer teacher and introduced Thai culture to students at Chengdu Paotongshu Primary School; I attended the Sino-Thai Entrepreneur Exchange Conference, the “Belt and Road” Li Bai Cultural Festival in Jiangyou City, the Sino-Thai product matchmaking conference, and some other social activities, served as a volunteer translator for many times. I was trying to give back to Chinese society with actions. During the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 2019, our international students in SWUFE celebrated by singing and sent out blessings to our second hometown!
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 disrupted our peaceful and normal life and brought tremendous changes to our studies and life. When I saw the pandemic outbreak in Wuhan at my home, I recalled that in 2019, our professor took us to Wuhan for investigation. Wuhan is a very beautiful city, with completely different scenery and food from Chengdu. I hope I would have a chance in the future to visit Wuhan again, to see the cherry blossoms and eat hot dry noodles.
During the pandemic, our international students out of China did not delay our daily studies. SWUFE quickly organized our classes from offline to online and started the new semester as scheduled. Although online classes were very different from the regular classes, and we all faced many difficulties and challenges, all learning plans proceed as usual with the assistance of teachers and professors. My Master's thesis is about to be completed.
This year, I am going to graduate soon. I am very reluctant to leave China, but I believe my story in China is not over yet. The friendly relations between China and Thailand have a long history. I will definitely continue to give full play to my strengths and contribute to the development of China-Thailand friendly relations.
