Ready for Uni Independently

Walking on the pavement, we could sense the vibrancy and energy in the air. It was September 3^rd, the day when GDUFS welcomed her freshmen. Red and yellow banners with witty and interesting language strived to capture attention. Volunteers of different faculties dressed in colourful T-shirts, wore hearty smiles, and helped the students with their luggage.

Freshmen walked on the Main Road

Five language majors – Serbian, Farsi, Bengalese, Turkish, and Czech – are added at GDUFS this year, and students enrolled in these majors are checking in today. Driven by curiosity, we headed for the 4^th Teaching Building, where the Faculty of European Languages and Cultures is located, for more information. To our surprise, the hallway of the building was very neat, since there hadn’t been much people there. Desks were lined up tidily.

When we found YE Junting, the class assistant of Serbian language, he was using the “Campus Today” APP to confirm a freshman’s check in. About his impression of the freshmen, he pointed out that there was an obvious difference between Cantonese students and students from other provinces: “Most Cantonese students talk with me in Cantonese, as perhaps they feel the special immediacy between me and them through their mother tongue; they appear to be more outgoing.” As for freshmen from other provinces, he confessed that they were more reserved and timid: “GDUFS is definitely a brand new place for them, and they need more time to adapt to this environment.”

The class assistant used the APP to confirm a freshman's check in

As we were talking with YE, two freshmen came over for the formalities. They were both enrolled on the Serbian Language major. ZHANG Yuchen, a girl from Xi’an, expressed her reluctance to part with her family: “I am one hundred percent ready for my new school year, but I still can’t help missing my dear hometown.” She also mentioned that before she got to the teaching building with such a relaxing smile, she was helped by a warm-hearted volunteer: “Before I came here, I had already sent over some of my luggage by express delivery. However, I could not find the way to get my delivery because the campus is almost four times bigger than my high school. Luckily, a volunteer in a pink T-shirt took me to the delivery pick-up spot, and moreover, she helped me carry my heavy luggage. It was so kind of her!”

Volunteers with hearty smiles

“The volunteers are sophomores, and they did prepare a lot for your arrival,” smiled ZHANG Yuehuan, the new counselor of the Faculty of European Languages and Cultures. She spoke highly of the freshmen: “They are much more independent than I thought. I really hope that they can adapt to the new environment as soon as possible.” She also talked about the freshman training scheme that on which all teachers had made great efforts: “We will provide our students with the best learning resources and opportunities.”

“I chose Serbian as my major for two reasons,” said TANG Jing, who walked beside ZHANG Yuchen. “I know that mastering Serbian will be of help to the Silk Road, and also, learning a lesser known language may help me find better jobs in the future.” She was very independent, because not only did she decide what to study at GDUFS by herself, but also because she came all the way to Guangzhou from Changsha and finished the enrolment on her own.

When asked about what she looked forward to at GDUFS, she answered: “living in a dorm with my classmates. I’ve never done that before,” she bid me goodbye happily, and then went into her new dorm.

Both independent girls are already well prepared for the challenges and adventures at GDUFS. Hopefully they will wake up to a bright and wonderful morning the next day.