I also learned about the historical perspectives and conditions that made it possible for China to have the political, social, and economic system that it has today. China's strong imperial history and nature define the country's current political system, including the current situations with Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the South China Sea. I had the opportunity to learn about how China sees itself and its role in the world by attending the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China and by learning from my political science professor, who happens to be a Chinese government official. I also got to see a nationalistic presentation of China's modern history through a movie specifically made to celebrate the CCP's anniversary, called "My People, My Country" ( 我和我的祖国).
Considering that I am Hispanic and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I learned that is fair to say that there are both ups and downs to how Chinese people typically react to foreigners. In the news at home, we sometimes catch a glimpse of an anti-foreigner or anti-immigrant sentiment, and these issues exist all over the world, often to a greater degree than we experience at home. In China, I never experienced any sort of discrimination or discomfort when it came to my ethnicity, race, or even my sexuality, and I never heard of any of my fellow study abroad classmates experiencing anything of the sort, either. Those people that we were lucky to meet, and maybe even build friendships with, were nothing but welcoming and extremely curious.
