Jessica Lau: Walking 1,000 miles beats reading 10,000 books

The business world is becoming more and more globalized; in fact, not only is the business world but also the world itself has become more globalized. Everyone is connected in one way or another; it could be through purchasing something made from a country across the World, having a relative living across the Ocean, watching a movie filmed in a country you’ve never heard of or talking to a friend you met through the Internet. We are all connected.

When I was a little girl, I heard about this Chinese proverb, which says, “Xíng qiānlǐ lù shèng dú wàn juǎn shū,” which means, “walking 1,000 miles beats reading 10,000 scrolls/books.” I knew the meaning and accepted it but I never really truly understood it. Then when I got older, gotten different overseas experience and exposed to diverse cultures in different countries, I started to gain a much better understanding of this proverb. That was when I discovered that it is one thing to read and learn about a culture from a textbook but another thing to experience it myself. I believe that to truly understand a culture, the person must live there and be embedded in the culture him/herself.

I went to study in Amiens and was arranged to live with other girls that were also on a study abroad program. We shared one toilet, bathroom, kitchen and living room; I have never lived in a place where there’s only one toilet and bathroom nor live with anyone else but my family so I knew it would be an interesting learning experience. Living with the two girls allowed me to be more observant and read people’s body languages more effectively because I knew different cultures have different ways of expressing their thoughts and feelings. Also, the experience living with my flatmates made simple tasks such as dish washing, cleaning and kitchen arrangement became a great learning experience. I didn’t even think there could be so many different ways of doing dishes.

When I was studying in Amiens, the school was scheduled in a way where I get to take different modules each week and the modules are 3 days per week. Just going to school with this system was a great learning experience. In the beginning, I resented the system because I couldn’t imagine how it was possible to learn, complete the projects, prepare the presentations and write an exam within such a short timeframe. But then afterwards, I completely accepted the system and find it very interesting. It was through this system that I have learned more about life and myself. In fact, now I’m having a hard time adjusting back to the system at my Canadian school. 

It was also very interesting to see and experience how different parts of the world view things differently. For example, living in Vancouver, we are used to the diversity of ethnicity. We are expose to Chinese-Canadians, Indian-Canadians, African-Canadians and other nationalities so no one is ever surprise nor ask further when I say I am “Chinese-Canadian.” But when I was in Europe, I encountered a number of individuals who would ask me “Where are you from?” And when I respond “Canada, I am Canadian,” there were quite a number of times when people would look puzzled and other times when people would respond “No, you are not. Don’t lie.” And even when I defend myself and tell them I am Canadian, they still seem annoyed with my response. After awhile, I understood why. Some just did not believe that I was Canadian since I was obviously Chinese and other times, people were wanting to ask about my parents nationality and hearing “Canadian” was not what they expected nor satisfying to them. But in Vancouver, that answer would be sufficient.

The experience I had, things I learned will forever be a part of me. I have made some really good friends, built some amazing friendships and shared countless unforgettable memories, which I will cherish forever. I broadened my knowledge and horizon of the World. Words just can’t express the study abroad experience and I know the experiences will be different for everyone but no matter how the experiences differ, they will all be amazing, impactful and memorable. One must experience study abroad him/herself to truly understand it.

There is a Chinese idiom from the story of “Frog in the Well” and to avoid being that frog in the well, one must travel, embrace and learn from different cultures. I believe people are different and unique in their own ways and so much can be learned from these differences. I hope I will be able to use what I learned to achieve my career goal in helping to increase the understanding and appreciation of diversity and in aiding people to embrace diversity and empower people with different cultural backgrounds.