“I’m Doing a Student Exchange in China”
Egor Malakhov, who is in his second year of study at ICEF and currently on exchange at China’s Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), shares his travel notes and impressions of studying and living in China.
About China, Chengdu and SWUFE
I am doing a student exchange at SWUFE in China’s Chengdu. I am here thanks to ICEF with its multiple exchange opportunities and have chosen SWUFE to study together with my friends from other departments. This place has lived up to all my expectations.
To begin with, Chengdu came as full amazement. Unlike Beijing and Shanghai, which have adopted many of the European attributes, Chengdu has preserved its authenticity. It is probably the only place where exchange students can experience the versatility of Chinese culture. The campus turned out to be very beautiful. With two large buildings housing canteens, a huge library, multiple academic and administrative buildings, dorms, a gym and a pool, it’s simply huge. But the most surprising thing to find here is the bridge over the pond that leads to a green lawn with the imposing clock tower that chime the start and end of classes. It is what gives SWUFE’s learning environment a special touch.
About learning environment
I find the faculty to be very inspired by what they teach. They are always interacting with the audience during lectures. The lectures are very content-intensive and informative and are given to relatively small-sized audiences of about 20. Here, many of the formulas including the financial ones that we in Russia have to prove, are to be simply remembered and are illustrated using multiple examples.
I especially like the part when the teachers explain how things are done in China and I then give my feedback on how the same works in Russia. It is at these moments that I realize the benefit of being an exchange student. The curriculum offers a wide range of courses. I’m on a special study plan that ensures I don’t fall behind core courses at my home university while exploring the ins and outs of the Chinese economy.
Classes here have a longer duration than in HSE, lasting for 2 hours and 30 minutes with three 10-minute breaks. I find it quite productive. With this many breaks you don’t feel tired and can easily stay focused. And they use music to signal the start and end of each break.
About facial recognition system
Access control uses facial recognition, not the electronic pass cards that we use in HSE. I still marvel at the way it works. This system has received from me one photo and there wasn’t a case it denied me access. It seems to recognize me no matter my hairstyle or facial expression, even if weary. It would be nice to know more about its recognition algorithm.
About dorms and rental options
I was offered a dorm in the central part of the campus 40 minutes’ drive from where I study, but I chose not to use transport and rented an apartment. The average rent costs between 13,000 and 25,000 rubles, which isn’t too much compared to RUB 10,000 or so that you pay for a room in the dormitory.
About communicating with locals
You can expect a lot of attention from the Chinese students. They will offer to help with whatever problem you may have. And they will do their best to have you on their team. The local people are friendly to Russians, you can feel it everywhere in China: people in the street want a picture with you because you are a Russian and many restaurants will offer welcome drinks or food. Even the police and security seem to be more loyal to us than to the locals.
But, no matter people’s friendly attitude, communication outside the campus can be difficult. Simply because very few people can use such basic English words as “chicken” or “no spice”. So you’d better learn some basic Chinese phrases like bu dong / ting bu dong, which means ‘I don’t understand’, lá / bú lá – ‘spicy’/ ‘not spicy’, and xièxiè – ‘thank you’.
Or, use real-time translator if you have one, or as a last resort your phone calculator if you need to translate numbers.
About e-mopeds
As for moving around, people here use electric mopeds as the cheapest, fastest and most convenient transport, not e-scooters as in Russia. Almost every road has bike and moped lane, but the traffic seems to be always intense and obeying the traffic rules isn’t a habit here. They honk at you even when you’re walking on green light. It takes time to get used to it.
Final notes
In a nutshell, life is cheap here; it’s comfortable because of the climate and fun because of the culture and cuisine. My advice is come to Chengdu and experience its benefits for yourself. When I first heard about this exchange programme I thought it was available only to a select few, but I was wrong. I am glad that ICEF continues this exchange and as far as I know its students may soon be able to stay in Chengdu for as long as two years as double-degree students.