Wang Jingli

wangjingli0715@163.com

LANGUAGE barriers and cultural differences didn’t deter Konstantinos Karamichali, a biomedical engineering freshman, from traveling all the way from Greece to The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen). Instead, her desire for new experiences is triumphing over fear of the unknown.

During registration on the university’s campus in Longgang District yesterday, she befriended a student from South Korea — the two were even seen exchanging Instagram handles.

This semester, CUHK-Shenzhen admitted 254 international undergraduates from 26 countries and welcomed 196 exchange students from 55 partner universities. International students completed their registration Monday and yesterday.

Karamichali first learned about Shenzhen and CUHK-Shenzhen in high school when professors from the university gave a presentation. Upon arriving, she said she was impressed by the city’s people.

“Everyone is very friendly, and we have good conversations. The city is beautiful everywhere and very big — completely different from my country,” said Karamichali. “If there are opportunities, I’d consider staying here for my career.”

Wiebe De Ruyck, an exchange student from Belgium, was determined to come to China and CUHK-Shenzhen despite the unknowns.

“After learning about the exchange program, I wanted to go somewhere completely different — China. When I told my family, they asked, ‘Are you sure? It’s very different, and we don’t know much about it.’ And often, it’s portrayed with certain values in the media, so I wanted to see the real China,” said De Ruyck.

A business major, De Ruyck researched Shenzhen firms from a financial perspective to better understand the city before arriving. “Shenzhen is one of the best places for business students — not only is the university excellent, but you’re also close to the source of innovation,” he said.