Qinxin and her Chinese friends taught calligraphy to some of their foreign classmates .
areas , parents allowed their young children to ski so that they interacted with nature from real-life experiences early on . For Swedes , nature is not just something that exists around them , but also something that is part of their identity . The Swedish are always proud of their intimacy and interaction with nature .
Cultural Exchange Due to the fact that Sweden is so distant from China , many Swedish people that I met showed interest towards and curiosity about Chinese culture . I joined the East Asian Association at my exchange institution ( Linkoping University ), in which the locals who were interested in Asia would participate in the activities and expect to make friends with Asians . I taught Swedish and other European students how to write Chinese calligraphy . While converting their English names to Chinese characters and trying to write them with a writing brush , local students told me that they learnt a lot in the process , such as that individual Chinese characters have meanings on their own .
Additionally , in the Drama Communication course I took , my teammates and I performed a traditional Chinese fairytale called Butterfly Lovers ( 梁祝 ). This fairytale is widely known by Chinese people but not by many foreigners . It is a love story of a young couple whose families have different social statuses , causing them to encounter obstacles in coming together . Even though the stage decoration and props were simple , we successfully spread this famous story to more people with diverse backgrounds . After watching the performance , some of my friends
Qinxin acted in Butterfly Lovers ( 梁祝 ) to share this famous Chinese play with her peers .
were amazed by the plots while some were confused by the values behind it . For example , the female protagonist commits suicide , because she is forced by her father to marry someone else while also finding out her lover dies because of depression . Many people thought the action of her committing suicide was a way of showing devotion and dedication to true love , while others believed that she was just giving up her future life and trying to escape from reality . Sharing different opinions enabled me to hear how others understood and perceived my culture and to respect diverse ideas . At the same time , I was content about sharing things from my cultural background with foreign friends .
Besides what was mentioned above , there were many more instances that either caused culture shock or offered me a chance to teach others about my culture in an accurate way . The experience of being an exchange student in this Scandinavian utopia enabled me to realize that stereotypes and misunderstandings always exist , but we should try our best to resolve them . I always find the blending of cultures captivating and I would like to have more opportunities to explore culture-related areas in the future .
Qinxin is currently majoring in English Education . She likes observing things around her and recording them through photography and writing .
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