US students studying at Suzhou University get a taste of traditional Chinese culture at a Chinese embroidery class during their Summer vacation on July 14. Photo: IC

Sabrina Kostusiak is paying her third visit to China in January as a program assistant for the CUNY (City University of New York) Brooklyn College China Study Abroad Program.

Kostusiak, originally from Buffalo, New York, first visited China in 2011 when she was in junior high school, and again in 2016 as a junior in the college on similar short-term study programs.

Studying abroad in China is trying, but also transformative and rewarding, Kostusiak recalled. "That experience was the most challenging but the best of my life."

Immersing herself in Chinese society, Kostusiak got a new insight that you just cannot get from textbooks.

"I knew there are a lot of misconceptions about China. I think Americans are taught a lot of things that are just not true about the Chinese."

Chinese people are as friendly and inclusive as New Yorkers, Kostusiak said.

"All the people were so kind and wonderful and welcoming to me and all of my friends. That is one of the things that stood out to me so much as I went," she said.

Alexander Lopez, a senior at Rutgers University, New Jersey, was also impressed by the Chinese hospitality when he was in China on a two-week program in May. "Everybody was so interested and curious in you and willing to ask questions or to speak to you," Lopez said.

Diverse culture

Like many of their counterparts, both Kostusiak and Lopez became fascinated by China's long history, diverse culture and dynamic society.

A major in English and Education, Lopez was amazed to find that in addition to the official language Mandarin, Chinese has several major groups of dialects, each with their own variations.

"Just follow one line of something about China...and compare them from the north and the south, you get to recognize the huge puzzle that China really is," he said.

Kostusiak said that what she appreciates most about Chinese culture is the importance placed on family.

Every time Kostusiak met with Chinese people, she was introduced to their whole family. "It was so wonderful and something that I really miss out here in the US because it seems everyone was so individual."

Popular destination

Rapid economic growth is making China one of the faster growing destinations for US students studying abroad.

According to the Institute of International Education, China ranked sixth among the top 20 destinations for American students studying overseas in 2016. About 12,000 Americans were studying in China in 2015-2016.

Education exchanges between the US and China have been "transformational" over the years, said Elizabeth Howe Bradley, President of Vassar College in New York.

"In the beginning, there were very few Chinese students that will come to the United States and almost no American students that would go to China," Bradley said.

Now, about 350,000 Chinese students are studying in the US.

"The model of education we use as a college is deep in the liberal arts, meaning people engage with important narratives from our past to come to a common understanding that can actually influence decision-making in future."

"We're the leaders of the world and should be interacting together and getting to know one another," she said, adding her dream job would be helping US and Chinese students go to each other's countries.

No group is more poised to alter the trajectory of the US-China relationship than young Americans and Chinese studying abroad in each other's countries, commented a story posted by foreignpolicy.com about a survey on US students in China.

"Those who become fluent in both China and America - not just both languages, but both cultures, modes of doing business, and frameworks for interpreting the world - are likely to thrive in the new century as much-sought, and much needed, cross-cultural natives," it said.

Newspaper headline: Exchange of Ideas