“Tandem has been very important for me because it has helped me to meet local students.”

26/06/2018

Last February, Lihui Yi and Shuhan Tang, two students of the Spanish Faculty of the University of Beijing, came to do an academic stage of about five months at the UAB. Despite their studies were very different in China, in the UAB they have studied at the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies.
 
When they arrived to Barcelona, Lihui and Shuhang Tang decided to adopt the names of Paloma and Janna respectively. It is a common practice among people of Asiatic countries when they start living in countries where the alphabet is completely different from theirs. They do this so people can remember their names and also in order to make easier its pronunciation.
 
The Unit of Community Involvement assigned a Mentor to them when they arrived at the UAB. Mentor is a program that aims to make easier their arrival and their stay at the UAB through mentorship or help between equals, as the local students themselves assist the newcoming international students.
 
During their stay, Joanna and Paloma have participated in various activities for international students and have joined often the Tandem, where they have been able to improve their Spanish. In this interview they explain their experience the last months in the Autonomous.
 
1) Why did you decide to come to the UAB?
 
Joanna: The program we wanted was only available in Barcelona. I have always wanted to live and study in Barcelona. That is the reason why I chose this program. I love the city, the beach... The weather is great. Moreover, I am a Barça’s fan and here I can watch the matches.
 
Paloma: Before coming to Barcelona. I did not know very much about Barça or Real Madrid, but as now I live with Joanna, she tells me about these things and I have learned a bit. Now I know more things about the topic. I did not know much about Barcelona or Spain either. I chose this university because many people recommended it to me as one of the best universities among the ones I could choose.
 
J: We love this. Now we are in a completely different environment to the one we had at Chine. The student’s study method is different, and so it is the teaching method of the professors.
 
P: We do not participate that much in class. We write more, it is more serious. I believe it is better the way it is done here, where we all participate answering the professor’s questions. The study method is more adult-like. In Chine, we just listen to the professor and we do not talk that much.
 
2) How is you relation with your classmates?
 
J: We do not know many classmates, but they are interesting and kind people.
 
3)You arrived in February. You will leave now or will you stay some more days?
 
J: We will go back to China at the beginning of July, but we do not want to go back. It has been very short. If we have the opportunity, we will go back to the Autonomous.
 
4) How was like your first day at the Autonomous?
 
P: Complicated. We wanted to attend to many classes and we do not know to how many we could go. It was very intense.
 
J: I arrived almost a week before the classes started. I came with my parents to visit Barcelona. We thought the Campus was huge: we could not find the buildings, the Vila... But we liked it very much. I believed its location is interesting. Our university in Beijing is at the centre and it is very little. Here we can talk sitting in the grass.
 
5) Have you participated in activities for international students?
 
P: Yes. At the calçotada. It was something completely new. We had never seen people eating like that. It is very curious. I liked the romesco sauce. We also had a Mentor: Jorge. Before coming, they sent me an email to ask for a Mentor, but I did not see it and I did not apply. When I arrived and I saw all my mates had a Mentor, I sent an email to Community Involvement and they assigned me Jorge. The first time we talked, he showed me many things and told me that if I had any trouble I could turn to him.
 
J: My mentor is Nayab. She is very kind; she has helped us a lot. When we have questions she always answers.
 
6) Would you ask again forma Mentor? Do you think it is important to have a Mentor when you arrive to the UAB?
 
J: Yes, it is a good thing to have a Mentor. When we arrived it was helpful to have contact with a local student.
 
P: They help us to know better this university.
 
J: And send information.
 
7) Do teachers help you?
 
P: Our teachers always ask if we understand it or if we have questions. They care a lot about our language level.
 
J: Teachers have sent us notes from previous students. It is a bit difficult to understand Spanish at class because we need to learn terminology and it is a bit difficult.
 
8) And with catalan?
 
Paloma and Joanna: No.
 
J: Our three subjects are in Spanish.
 
9) Would you like to learn catalan?
 
J: I find it very interesting, but my Spanish level is not very good yet. I believe that if I start studying Catalan I might get them mixed up.
 
10) Did you participate at the International Welcome Days?
 
J: No, that week I was in Madrid.
 
P: I just went to the welcome at the Cinema.
 
J: I regret losing it because I believe it was a great opportunity to meet other students and the Campus. But I was not at Barcelona that time.
 
11) What about the Tandem? Have you participated in it?
 
J: Yes, almost to all of them.
 
P: It was very useful.
 
J: At the beginning, I was afraid of speaking in Spanish because in China, although we study at the Faculty of Spanish, we do not have as many opportunities to speak in it. We study grammar and how to write or read, but we do not have time to practice the oral. At the UAB, the Tandem and having contact with local students has helped me a lot to improve my level of Spanish.
 
12) Have you meet people at the Tandem?
 
P: Yes, many people. Most of them from here, Barcelona.
 
J: And also from Italy, Germany, South Korea...
 
13) Do you believe that the Tandem activities are important?
 
P: Since I prefer staying at home instead of hanging out, the Tandem is very important for me, as it is my only chance to meet local students.
 
14) What was the most difficult when you arrived in Barcelona?
 
J: The fear of talking. But I do not have it anymore.
 
P: For me, the classes. The first time I went to a class I did not know anything about the teaching methods of the professors or their accent. It was very hard for me to understand the teacher. For students, exams are very important. It is very important to get a good mark at the exam. This is why I was very worried about getting good marks at the exams. I was afraid of not doing them well.
 
15) Have you passed well your exams?
 
Joanna and Paloma: Very well.
 
16) If you could go back in time, before you arrived to the UAB, would you change anything? Would you do something different?
 
P: No, because we knew students that had come to the UAB before us.
 
J: And they helped us choosing the subjects and finding a place to live. We live at the Vila.
 
17) Have you enjoyed living at the Vila?
 
J: I did enjoy it but at the beginning I thought it was a bit far from the centre. As time has passed, I have come to see it is a good place to live as it is at the forest and the environment is really good. Some days at night we can go to the bar to watch a match and I love it. And we also participated at the Festa del Gat.
 
P: I am very surprised to see how many parties are there. Students are always very happy.
 
18) Have you gone out?
 
P: Not yet.
 
J: Only to the Festa del Gat.
 
19) Do you like hanging out in Barcelona?
 
J: A lot. We go to the centre almost twice a week.
 
P: I love European architecture.
 
J: We always go for a walk to see the buildings and do some shopping. I love Barcelona.
 
P: Me too.