Eme Mba was a student in Ghana when an education agency contacted him about the possibility of enrolling in a Chinese university. He looked at the offer, spoke to his parents and decided to go east to study Medicine in Hebei North University.
“Personally, I am adventurous,” Mba told me recently, via a Wechat call from China. “It was interesting from the very start. When you get to China, you realise that everything is well planned and the lights are all bright. For someone like me who was not really into having fun, I was impressed. “When I first got here, it was extremely cold. I’d wake up in the morning, and wouldn’t want to leave the bed. Overall, I am glad I came. But I miss my family.”
Mba, who is studying in English, has also found room to express his creative aspect while studying. A prodigious musician, he plays the guitar and sings to a variety of audience in public spaces.
“Even some Chinese people who don’t speak a lot of English appreciate my music,” he said. “I have had people walk up to me while performing and tell me how much they love my songs, the ones I wrote.”
Mba’s Chinese is at the intermediate level and he believes learning the language is about patience and persistence. “All you have to do is to start learning and work hard,” he said. “Also my advice is that if you have the opportunity of speaking the language with a native, take it. You might make mistakes, but you will learn a lot from those interactions.”
It was initially difficult to adjust to not being able to access western social media like Facebook and Twitter. But all that soon changed. “The internet here as much to offer to those in China, and you don’t need to rely on foreign sites.” he said. “The Chinese are self-reliant. And I have to tell you, that makes life here very easy.”
Nigerian Confucius 