Our student Cristian Francisco Perez fromBachelor in International Business, shares with us his experience at Guangdong University South China Business College of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), Guangzhou, China.
When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
international programs?
Yes, and
I was impressed by how many options there are to apply from all over the world.
all over the world.
When
you started your career, did you think you would go to live and study abroad?
abroad?
More than
than believing it, it was just a dream that at that moment seemed distant and complicated to achieve.
to achieve.
Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
I have never
I had never left the country before, this experience was my first.
What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
country?
The opportunity to broaden my horizons
new language and a new culture, as well as the importance of China for my career, as well as the
China represents for my career, as well as getting to know different points of view in the professional
professional point of view regarding international relations.
Why did you decide to study in that country?
Because it represented
a great personal challenge, to face a place where no one understands you, where they think so differently from
think so differently than you do and things that sometimes seem simple, like buying something, become a constant confusion.
simple, like buying something, become a constant confusion.
Likewise, many good Chinese friends I have met at Celaya
at the University of Celaya have encouraged me to choose China as my study destination.
destination to study.
How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
A shock. It is
the constant sensation of not belonging to the environment, it's traveling to an unknown world
where you have to learn little by little how to live in it.
You miss a lot
your family, your friends, your space and all the comforts you usually live with.
you usually live with. At the beginning, many times I questioned if the decision to go to China was the best one.
to go to China had been the best one since I didn't fit in and I didn't understand anything that was
what was going on around me.
How have you been received at the university where you have
you arrived?
Excellent,
both the directors and the students of the university are excellent people, very helpful and
very helpful and willing to help you in everything. They make your adaptation process
and at the end you end up becoming a part of their family and creating a
family and creating bonds with them forever.
What will you miss most about Mexico?
I consider
that four months of exchange are not enough to miss Mexico too much,
when it takes time to get to know so many things about China. Without
sometimes you do miss a hug from your family, a drink with your friends or the food.
friends or food. Especially in times of togetherness like Christmas or New Year.
What about the Uni?
Definitely
my colleagues and friends. I wish all of them had been with me on the trip
trip to share together, yet I come back with many anecdotes to share with them.
with them.
What is the most exciting thing you have experienced
experience so far?
Definitely
definitely won the Chinese language proficiency contest filled me with excitement and happiness.
happiness. And to know that all my friends were there to support me and to celebrate
overcoming one of the most difficult challenges of this exchange; the language.
And the hardest part?
Having
have to say goodbye to all the people I met on this great trip. It is very
hard to say goodbye to someone who was your family for a semester.
What do you expect as a person and as a professional from
this program?
As a person,
prove to myself that I can be independent, learn to take care of myself, and learn how to
and know how to solve problems faster.
As
professional I hope to be able to achieve better negotiations with people from this country,
by knowing their language and culture you make them be more open and they give in to better conditions as a
conditions as a thank you for caring about their culture.
These
opportunities offered by Uni, do you recommend them to your colleagues?
Definitely,
make you grow in every way and make you see life from a different angle that you can't see in your comfort zone.
which you can't see inside your comfort zone. Besides, what a
college student stage lasts a short time, so you have to make the most of it,
and an exchange is to make the most of it. You enjoy and value your youth to the
to the fullest.
Nuestro alumno Guillermo
Andrés González de Ingeniería Biomédica, nos comparte su experiencia
internacional en la Universidad Mayor de Chile en Santiago, Chile.
When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
there were international programs?
Sí, pues seguía la página de la
Universidad y me di cuenta de muchos alumnos que tenían la oportunidad de salir
del país ya sea para realizar un proyecto o para continuar con estudios.
When
you started your career, did you think you would go to live and study abroad?
abroad?
Honestamente no.
¿Ya habías vivido o estudiado fuera
de México?
Sí, en un voluntariado en Alemania.
¿Qué te impulsaba o motivaba para
estudiar en otro país?
Las ganas de demostrarme que
podía hacerlo, que podía lograr lo mismo o más que en mi país, además de que
tengo unos motores muy grandes en mi familia como lo son mi madre, mi hermano
pequeño, mis abuelos y mi bisabuela (QEPD), para mi hermano busco ser un gran
ejemplo y para mi madre, abuelos y bisabuela que siempre me quisieron y han
querido ver triunfar, les demuestro que si puedo lograr lo que me propongo.
Why did you decide to study in that country?
country?
Porque un compañero tuvo la
oportunidad de estudiar allá y me comentó un día que es muy bueno el nivel que
tienen, que aprendes mucho y te quedas con muchas cosas que en algún momento de
la vida serán muy útiles.
What did you feel when you arrived in the
new country?
Muchos nervios pues era un nuevo
lugar, otra cultura, y claro, un gran cambio, también sentí un poco de miedo,
pues estaban lejos de mi casa.
How have you been received at the
university where you arrived?
Muy bien, fueron muy atentos,
todo el personal de relaciones internacionales estuvo apoyando, desde que me
recogieron en el aeropuerto y durante toda mi estancia, con constantes correos
sobre como la estaba pasando, que actividades tendríamos dentro y fuera de la
Universidad, etc.
What will you miss most about
Mexico?
A mi familia, a mi mascota y sin
duda la comida.
What about the Uni?
Mis amigos, nuestras ideas a
cafetería a jugar, el gimnasio, los entrenamientos y claro, la comodidad que
tenía ahí.
¿Qué es lo más emocionante que has
vivido hasta ahora en esta experiencia?
Mis clases que elegí, me gustaron
demasiado, los maestros son muy atentos y con una gran experiencia en el área
de la salud, también los viajes que hicimos todos los de intercambio, aunque
cansados pero muy agradables y por supuesto conocer a mucha gente de varios
países.
And the hardest part?
Yo creo que en un momento fueron
las evaluaciones ya que eran cada semana y es algo que en México no hacía en mi
carrera, también el alejarme tanto de casa y más aun sabiendo que es por algo
de tiempo, pues llegué a echar mucho de menos.
What do you expect as a person and as a
professional from this program?
Aprender mucho y ponerlo en
práctica, si bien es una carrera diferente pero que lleva relación y en algún
momento me será muy útil, además de que no planeo solo quedarme con una
carrera, me gustaría hacer otra y esta es una gran oportunidad para encontrarle
el gusto y darme cuenta si en verdad quiero otra o me quedo con una solamente.
These opportunities provided by the Uni
do you recommend them to your colleagues?
Claro que sí, son únicas y se
tienen que aprovechar al máximo.
Our student Alan Eduardo Macías of the Bachelor in Digital Design, shares with us hisDigital Design, shares with us his international
international experience at Hallym University - South Korea.
When you
did you know that there were international programs?
No, it wasn't until I met people who had gone on exchange that I learned that UNI had this option.
When you entered your
career did you think you would go to live and study abroad?
No, I hadn't even imagined it.
Have you already
lived or studied outside of Mexico?
No, never.
What
motivate you to study in another country?
To live new experiences that enrich me as a person and as a student.
enrich me as a person and as a student.
Why did you
why did you decide to study in that country?
Because it is a completely different culture
completely different from ours, and I was attracted to the idea of understanding the ideology of this country.
country.
How did you
you feel when you arrived in the new country?
Excitement, thanks to the people who helped me on my arrival
and the attention of the internationalization department here, I never felt uncertain about what I was doing.
I never felt uncertain about what I was doing. From the very
I felt like I was part of a fake family from the beginning, thanks to my classmates and teachers.
teachers.
How did
have you been received at the university where you arrived?
Very good, they really do their best to make us feel at ease.
and they helped me solve any doubt I had.
What will
what will you miss most about Mexico?
Probably the food and the
I was used to, because here every day surprises you with something new.
something new every day.
¿Y
from the Uni?
To my friends and
teachers, because it is like starting from scratch.
What is
is the most exciting thing you've experienced so far in this experience?
Several things, but the ones that
learning another language, meeting and learning from people from other countries, and experiencing the Korean culture up close.
countries, and experiencing the Korean culture up close.
¿Y
the hardest part?
Being away from my family
What are your
do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
A lot of growth in both aspects
aspects, this is an experience that makes you open your mind to what is going on around the world.
the world. Personally it helped me to become a little more extroverted and I made friends and contacts that could help me in the future.
friends and contacts that could help me in the future. And professionally for
the creative part, the new experiences are the ones that make you generate inspiration and have more
inspiration and have more references about what you do.
These
opportunities offered by Uni, do you recommend them to your colleagues?
Completely, it is an experience that everyone should live.
Thanks to my University of Celaya!
Our student Dora
Olvera from the Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and Advertising, shares with us her international experience at the Universidad
international experience at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellin, Colombia.
When you
did you know that there were international programs?
Since
the first moment I entered the Uni I was aware of its international mobilization programs.
international mobilization, as this is something the University always emphasizes with its new
always emphasizes with its incoming students.
When you entered your career did you think you would go to live and study abroad?
study abroad?
Yes, I didn't know specifically in which semester of my career I could do it, but I always had a very clear goal of doing an exchange
but I was always very clear about my goal of doing an international exchange.
I knew that I would achieve it and I did.
Have you ever
lived or studied outside of Mexico?
No,
it was my first time living and studying abroad and I loved it.
What made you
motivate you to study in another country?
My constant desire to get to know beyond the conventional in my environment, to learn about different cultures, but even more, to get out of my own
learning about different cultures, but even more, to get out of my comfort zone and to be able to challenge myself in different circumstances.
comfort zone and to be able to challenge myself in different circumstances, I think was what motivated me the most.
what motivated me the most.
Why did you
why did you decide to study in that country?
At
researching about the University, I saw that it was among the best in the country and also in Latin America, in the area of advertising (which is my area of
in the country and also in Latin America, in the area of advertising (which is my area in Mexico), UPB is ranked as #1 in the country.
in Mexico) UPB is ranked #1 in the country, and lastly, because many people had a very negative
many people had a somewhat negative idea about the country for various reasons, so I wanted to experience it for myself.
so I wanted to experience it on my own and now that I did, to be able to
now that I did it, I wanted to prove them wrong because it is a great country.
great country.
What did you feel
when you arrived in the new country?
It was
a mixture of a lot of uncertainty, because you arrive to a place foreign to you and everything you knew
you knew, but at the same time, with an immense emotion and desire to get to know every corner.
every corner.
The
having to adapt quickly to a totally different lifestyle was the beginning, but in the end, thanks to the kindness that so
the beginning, but in the end, thanks to the kindness that characterizes Colombians, they made me feel at home from the very first moment.
Colombians, they made me feel at home from the very first moment,
adding that they love Mexicans and made everything flow positively.
How have you been
received at the university you attended?
I
totally in love with UPB, the sense of belonging they have is very high.
sense of belonging is very high. From the very first moment they made us part of their university community.
the attention was impeccable from the beginning to the end and without leaving aside all the
all the activities they had designed for us as foreigners and for the UPB community in general.
and in general for the UPB community, were incredible.
What will you miss
you will miss most about Mexico?
Like
Mexican, what I missed most was undoubtedly the food, but nothing that you can't get used to.
that you can't get used to.
What about the Uni?
From
Uni, I think to my friends.
What is the most
exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience?
I am
I would not have enough lines to write all the exciting things I experienced, but I think that some of the things that
but I think that some of the things that marked me the most were being able to make excellent and lasting friendships
friendships from countries and cultures so different from mine, traveling and getting to know the country from north to south, being part of important
from north to south of the country, to have been part of important academic projects of the
academic projects of the University, as well as being able to have played in the UPB basketball
basketball team of UPB, and finally, to have become a totally different person with a different way of life.
different person with a very different way of thinking from the one I had before my exchange.
I had prior to my exchange.
And the most
difficult?
I consider
not so much the most difficult as the most challenging thing was learning to live without expectations.
in general, adapting in a very short time to a level and educational system somewhat different from the one I was used to.
and educational system, and also, to learn to have a very open mind in order to know, respect and be empathetic
to know, respect and be empathetic with the culture and way of thinking of the different people I met.
of the different people that I met during the 6 months.
What do you expect
as a person and as a professional from this program?
As
person, this program has undoubtedly changed me positively, because I consider myself a much more
I consider myself a much more humane and empathetic person, with an immense desire to learn more and more about other cultures
to know more and more about other cultures and obviously about my own, among many other things.
things. On the other hand, this program has undoubtedly provided me with new knowledge
applicable in my professional life that you can't get just anywhere,
developed my intrapersonal and intercultural communication skills, which I consider very important nowadays.
which I consider very important nowadays, and finally, the internationalization program was key to
internationalization program was key to foster the growth of my competencies and skills.
and skills.
These
opportunities offered by Uni, do you recommend them to your colleagues?
The
I totally recommend them, I consider it very important that the students of the University take the
the initiative to approach and take the time to learn about these programs, and more
and, even more, that they apply for them, giving them the opportunity to try new experiences, meet other
themselves to try new experiences, meet new people and never stop learning.
and never stop learning. I am
grateful for this great opportunity.
Nuestro alumno Gerardo
Toledo de Ingeniería Industrial Administrador, nos comparte su experiencia en
su estancia internacional en PUCRS Porto Alegre, Brasil.
When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
there were international programs?
Ya me había comentado acerca de
los programas internacionales los cuales apoyan mucho al estudiante.
When you entered your career did you think you would go to live and study abroad?
you would go to live and study abroad?
Era uno de mis propósitos en todo mi proceso de carrera.
¿Ya habías vivido o estudiado fuera
de México?
Realicé un viaje
con EDUCAFIN a Toronto/Canadá.
What motivated you to study in another country?
to study in another country?
La experiencia que se podría llegar a vivir al
estar 6 meses estudiando fuera de tu país en un ambiente tan distinto al que
estás acostumbrado es un reto cada día.
Why did you decide to study in that country?
country?
Porque mi
propósito era estudiar en un país donde se hablara un idioma distinto al mío,
igualmente la PUCRS es una universidad con mucho nombre en Brasil y está
catalogada como una de las mejores en Sudamérica.
What did you feel when you arrived in the
new country?
Sentí intriga ya que era algo
completamente nuevo pero todo lo tomé con una actitud positiva y con ganas de
conocer y aprender nuevas cosas.
How have you been received at the
university where you arrived?
Me recibieron de una manera
excelente, apoyo total de los encargados de movilidad en Brasil, en todo
momento resolviendo dudas y dando el mayor apoyo posible al estudiante
extranjero.
What will you miss most about
Mexico?
La comida, mi familia, mis
amigos y mi cama hahaha
What about the Uni?
Mis amigos, los tamales de la
mañana y la verdad de igual manera extraño ya tener clases en la UNI
What is the most exciting thing you have
experience so far?
Los viajes que he llegado a
realizar aquí me han encantado, pero el mayor fue el que duró 12 días visitando
Río, Buenos Aires, Cabo Polonio, Punta del Este y Montevideo.
¿Y lo más difícil?
Las clases, al inicio es complicado porque los
maestros hablan en portugués pero al paso del tiempo les entiendes y ya aprendes
a hablar y escribir.
What do you expect as a person and as a
professional from this program?
Abrir mis horizontes y de esa
manera el conocimiento se amplía ya que conoces cosas distintas a las
acostumbradas que puedes llegar a ver en tu país y de esta manera aprendes a
desenvolverte en distintos ambientes.
These opportunities provided by the Uni
do you recommend them to your colleagues?
Por supuesto que
si, es una oportunidad única que gracias a Dios la Universidad de Celaya te
otorga, así que por favor no lo dejen pasar apliquen cada semestre hasta que se
la ganen y les aseguro que será uno de los mejores semestres de sus vidas.
Our student Nelly
Melissa Carmona from the Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Audiovisual Media, shares with us her experience
shares with us the experience of her international stay at the Pontificia
Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul.
When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
there were international programs?
Yes, I had the knowledge of
that.
When you entered your career did you think you would go to live and study abroad?
you would go to live and study abroad?
I hoped to do so even though I didn't know if I would make it.
Have you ever lived or studied outside
Mexico?
Yes, I had participated in an international
international volunteering in the city of Bröllin, Germany for a month thanks to the
thanks to the Manos por el Mundo scholarship from EDUCAFIN.
What motivated you to study in another country?
to study in another country?
To experience a different culture,
gain new knowledge in the area I develop, see how communication was in other countries and be more independent.
communication in other countries and be more independent.
Why did you decide to study in that country?
country?
I chose Brazil
mainly because of the challenge of learning a new language, besides the fact that in Mexico, they don't talk much about it
I was interested in learning about their culture and way of life.
way of life. I also chose Brazil because of the University, since PUCRS is one of the best in the area I was in, which was the Faculty of
in the area that I was in, which was the Faculty of Communication and Art.
What did you feel when you arrived in the
new country?
Excitement and a bit of nerves because at the beginning I did not know the language, nor did I know the city.
I didn't know the language or the city, but as time went by I started to get used to it and
I started to get used to it and I really enjoyed Porto Alegre and the friends I made.
friends I made.
How have you been received at the
university where you arrived?
The Mobility team received me very well.
They always supported us with all the doubts we had, and in the procedures we had to do, they assigned us a "university friend" who is a "university friend".
and they assigned us a "university friend" who is a student of the university who is advising us
student of the university who is advising us on whatever we need.
the teachers were always willing to solve any doubts I had and my classmates, when we worked as a team, were always attentive.
and my classmates when we worked as a team were always attentive.
What will you miss most about
Mexico?
What I sincerely missed the most was
food, and my family and friends.
And now that I'm back what I will miss most
I will miss most about Brazil is the friends I made there, always challenging myself trying to pronounce words in
to pronounce words in Portuguese and going out to meet people.
What about the Uni?
I will miss very much
the PUCRS facilities as they are very good, my teachers and my faculty "FAMECOS" in general.
What is the most exciting thing you have
experience so far?
Meeting people from all over the world
and live with them day by day, as well as practicing several languages, and that Brazil is totally different
Brazil is totally different in that it is more open-minded than Mexico, which I liked
I liked it, although it had its exceptions like everything else.
And the hardest part?
Living in a country that speaks another
language, and adapting to the schedules there (both meals and going to school at night).
going to school at night)
What do you expect as a person and as a
professional from this program?
Applying the knowledge acquired in this exchange
I have matured as a person, become more responsible, work and study hard to return to Brazil one day
study hard to return someday to Brazil and to visit the friends I made in the world.
in the world.
These opportunities provided by the Uni
do you recommend them to your colleagues?
I recommend them
100%, it is a unique opportunity and an unforgettable experience that you will not regret.
you will not regret.
