I was a complete beginner in the language, but that was fun because I got to try something new! I ended up really liking the language and passing a proficiency test in 2018!
With my International Business major, I was required to study abroad for at least one semester. Since I was getting the hang of Mandarin, I ended up studying abroad in Beijing, China! Wow, what an experience that was! I loved being able to travel around a completely new and different country for a semester. It was amazing to be able to use the language I had been learning in real life! I also got to meet so many great people from all around the world. I met one of my best friends, who is from New Zealand! Because we live so far away, we don't get to see each other much, but we ended up going on a trip together to Antalya, Turkey three years ago! Having friends from all around the world can be hard, but it makes life so much more interesting, I think!
While I was in Beijing, I was thinking that my time abroad wasn't really done yet, so I decided to apply for another study abroad semester, this time in Hong Kong! Hong Kong was very different compared to Beijing. It's on the coast, and half of it is on an island. The weather is a lot more hot and humid, and typhoons are common! People also speak Cantonese, not Mandarin, so I couldn't use my language skills. However, since it's such a hub for business, and because England used to own Hong Kong, most people spoke English! This also meant I was able to get a lot of western food I was missing!
I graduated from USC in the spring of 2020, and I moved to Chicago that summer for an engineering job. I liked my job, and I really liked living in Chicago!
