I liked the youthful atmosphere in Xi’an much more than in the much more “adult” Beijing. Staying at a college campus in Xi’an helped immensely. Our first cultural exchange was fun. The student’s English was very impressive, even if they continually said that it was poor. None of their majors were even English.

Their mannerisms and interests were very similar to that of student’s in the US. They were very fun to speak too. They continually took pictures of us and asked us for our WeChat and QQ information (sites similar to the banned Facebook). Unfortunately, I didn’t have one and couldn’t make one while being here. Many girls called Carly and I beautiful, pretty, or gorgeous, which is socially awkward phrasing in the US. I imagined that it must have a slightly different meaning in Chinese and just translate a tad strangely.

The largest differences is that education is very nearly free, their dorms and facilities are a tad bit overwhelming for us (four people in a room, no laundry room, curfew, strict gender segregation, public shower building, and, of course, the Chinese-style toilet that I never quite got used to), there are many private shops on campus (practically a mall—convenience stores, hairdressers, coffee shops, bar, clothes shops, grocery store, etc.), and, most surprising for me, that there is mandatory military training every year. Dr. Fang said it’s less to propagate conformity and more to promote self-sacrifice and respect, but it still made me sceptical.