How Jim rediscovered the motherland and forged a happy new connection

At the welcoming party for international freshmen at Changzhou University on Oct 21, Jim Kwee Fat Ip Ping Sheong, a graduate student from Mauritius, shared his life and learning experience in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, with more than 100 new foreign students.

His story began five years ago, when he became one of the first international students at the university, under an agreement signed by the Changzhou municipal government and his hometown, Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill, Mauritius - Changzhou's international sister city.

As a Chinese-Mauritian, Jim had longed to see China from a young age. His father, a Mauritian-born Chinese, met his mother in Meizhou, Guangdong province. After their marriage, his mother emigrated to Mauritius to live with her husband. Currently the family runs a small restaurant there.

"Every year on New Year's Eve, my family performs the Chinese ritual of homage to ancestors," says Jim, 24. Since his childhood, Jim has enjoyed listening to his mother talk about her early years in China.

In 2011, his dream of a visit came true, with the successful launch of Changzhou University's international communications program.

Since 2005, the university had been building an international communication platform through various channels. Now, more than 70 cooperative agreements have been signed with institutions in more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, the UK, Canada, Germany, Spain, Finland, Russia, Chile and Japan. In 2013, the school's Thailand Research Center was built in East China.

According to Yang Lin, secretary of the Party General Branch of the Institute of International Education and Exchange, the university is now running six cooperative programs with St. Francis Xavier University in Canada, National University of Ireland and New Jersey City University in the US. Over a decade, the programs have seat 350 students abroad for further education. All of them started their careers smoothly after graduation.

"By providing the students with individual training plans and entry into international course systems, the university focuses on the cultivation of their personalized strength, practice and innovation capability, as well as an overall English culture and learning atmosphere," Yang said.

Yang listed what she calls the '4E' goals - English linguistic competence, emotional management, teamwork and intercultural exchange ability, which she considers most needed in the training of students seeking international development platforms.

Jim enjoyed singing and performing ukulele in various activities for the international students. During his university time in China, he has received plenty of help from his Chinese friends, and his teachers are always extra patient, he says.

Over the past five years, he and fellow townsman Sharon Shi Youne Too Yok not only passed the HSK4 test but also won acclaim in Chinese writing.

In 2014, Sharon's delicate words and expression of family-like love for China touched the judges and she won first prize in the "Chinese Dream" essay contest sponsored by the Ministry of Education. In 2015, Jim won a prize in the "My Story of Jiangsu" essay contest.

"I met my partner here in Jiangsu," he says. "We love each other and are both fond of the province. I feel like I belong to it. I would love to give my future to Jiangsu."

In July, Jim and Sharon both received bachelor's degrees from the university. Now working hard with his study in the field of engineering management, Jim has set his mind to work in China after graduation.

"My dream is to settle down here in China with my family," he says.

Contact the writers through xuxiaomin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 11/11/2016 page20)