Connor G. Asman ’16

At first I wasn’t interested in Hood because my mom got her Bachelor’s degree there and I wanted to do my own thing.  But after an overnight visit, I was really impressed by all the people I met.  Everyone was so friendly!  Also, I was taking a finance class in High School at the time and really wanted to minimize my student loan debt.  Hood’s financial aid package was very fair. 

Like many students, I was getting burned out at the end of my sophomore year.  I was having a good time but I wanted a break.  I thought about taking a gap year but I didn’t want to be behind my friends in graduation.  I was an orientation guide for incoming students and had to take them on a tour of campus resources.  When we visited the study abroad office, I listened while the director told the new students about studying abroad.  It was at that moment I decided. 

The director of the study abroad office was an expert on studying abroad in Asian countries and helped make the idea less intimidating.  You do not need to know the language to go.  That’s a myth.  I went to China because I wanted something totally different.  I wanted to travel far–to be brave, to try new things. 

I enjoyed life in Beijing.  CAPA did a good job of showing us lots of different traditional Chinese culture, food, and historical sites.  The most challenging part was balancing all the activities; we were very busy!  In the mornings, we had four hours of Mandarin with other students who only came to China to learn the language.  In addition, the CAPA students had other business and culture classes in the afternoon plus visits to different destinations. 

In my experience, higher education in China was more rigid with more memorization and less creativity and deviation from the textbook.  Higher education at Hood involved a lot of discussions and more exploration.

I really enjoyed walking the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, and visiting a famous Bonsai Garden creator’s studio and doing a traditional Chinese tea ceremony while surrounded by these beautiful gardens.  I have tried to grow my own since but it’s really hard!

Number one, do not be intimidated by the language barrier.  If you don’t know any Chinese that’s fine.  You’ll be put in a beginner course and will be able to build a strong foundation.  I was more interested in business than the language so I put my time into an internship and other courses more than putting all my time into Chinese.  If your main goal is to master the language, look for a focused language program.  My program with CAPA was more general and that was a good fit for me.  Many people in China spoke English and with a little Chinese you can complete the basics of life.

Secondly, by taking the leap and going somewhere outside the norm like China, you put yourself on a trajectory for a wonderfully interesting life.  Most students study abroad in Europe because they speak English and think they can only study in English speaking countries.  Study abroad in the country you are most passionate about.  After my trip to China, I gained a ton of confidence and wanted to do it again.  So I then studied in Seoul, South Korea for a month after graduation.  Two years after that, I thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and backpacked in the mountains for 2,200 miles consecutively.  It all began with my study abroad in China.  If you are interested in learning more about backpacking and immersive travel, you can visit my blog at Submerged Trails.