Amandurdyyeva Aynazik is a 25-year-old pretty girl from Turkmenistan. It’s her fifth year she has stayed at Tianjin University, which is like her second home in China. After getting her bachelor’s degree from Tianjin University, she continues to stay at Tianjin University for further study as a Master’s student.

She came to China in September 2018. She chose her dream university – the oldest university in China’s modern history – Tianjin University to study, as she said: “Tianjin University is the first modern university in China and ranks well among Chinese universities and international universities.The majors and disciplines attract the attention of many from all over the world, including me.”

While she hadn’t time to congratulate her dream of studying at Tianjin University coming true, she went through her first hardship – language. Since she didn’t study the Chinese language before she came to the University, her first year seemed not easy. However, this magic second home turned her hardship into friendship, enjoyment, and happiness. During her first year, she met two Chinese female students in the cafeteria, and they became good friends.They have helped her to improve her Chinese. They used to go to the library for self-study and if they would have free time they would eat in the canteen or go out together.For her, her fast Chinese improving story is a kind of enjoyment and a kind of happiness.

Another life lesson during her first year at Tianjin University was that it was easy to get lost in such a big city or miss the bus stop. One day, she was lost in the city. When she was worried, she met student Li Haisu, an undergraduate student at Tianjin University, now her closest Chinese friend. It turned out to be romantic magic again. Haisu not only assisted her in finding her way back to the university, but also taught her how to order food（pizza) online. From then on, she always carried a note or a picture with the Tianjin University address.

“The key to adapting to a new place is to make new friends. Rather than waiting for people to talk to you, approaching them and conversing is far more rewarding, and is the best way to gain new knowledge or a new friend.” Amandurdyyeva Aynazik said.

She loves the atmosphere of creativity at Tianjin University. She thinks creativity is a particularly important ability. Tianjin University encourages students to have innovative thinking and the courage to explore and practice while reading a lot of books to better integrate into social work well after graduation. Tianjin University prepares students with “global competence”, and improves students’ abilities by encouraging them to do more practice and internships and participate in social activities during the school period so that students can participate in more world-class competitions.

Before coming to Tianjin University, her dream was to become a high school teacher. But during her study at Tianjin University, her life changed a lot. Amandurdyyeva Aynazik has met a lot of vocational teachers who gave her professional experience. She changed her dream. She didn’t go back to her country to be a high school teacher after she got her bachelor's degree from Tianjin University, but chose to stay at Tianjin University for further study. After graduating with her Master’s degree from Tianjin University, she wants to go back to her country and be a University teacher.

She thinks she is a very lucky girl, because she was able to come to China to study the major “Teaching Chineseto speakers of other languages”. She learned a lot of Chinese history and knowledge during her university life. Now she still has two years of graduate school. In the next two years, she wants to research the comparison of vocational education in different countries and Chinese education in different countries and similar topics. She looks forward to learning new things during this postgraduate course.

She said: “Studying in China is an excellent opportunity to explore this world's most popular country.You can experience China's unique blend of ancient and modern civilization, as well as its scenic beauty and bustling nightlife.I also meet new people and visit new places with students around the world. Studying and living in China is cheaper than studying and living in other countries such as the U.S.A, Japan, South Korea,etc.”

Apart from student life,there are lots of things she loves to do, such as traveling. Every year during holidays, she would visit new places in China. During these trips, she met new people and the beautiful life there taught her a lot. She was able to better understand Chinese profound history and culture. Travelling is her favorite hobby, assimilating a new culture, getting to know people, understanding diversity, discovering new places, and learning about the history of China, its geography, and people’s way of life.

She said: “Traveling gives me experience and teaches me about life in a way that nothing else can. I am leaving a piece of my heart in China but China will be in my heart forever.”

By: Sun Xiaofang