SeydouandsomemembersoftaoxunclubinChang’anUniversityCOURTESYPHOTOSForayearandahalf,19-year-oldThiernoSeydouKahasbeenstudyingatChang’anUniversityinXi’an,northwestChina’sShaanxiProvince.Heandhis14SenegalesepeerscamehereaspartofajointtrainingprogrambetweenChang’anUniversityandChinaRoadandBridgeCorp.(CRBC).Asengineeringstudents,theywillbeabletodevotethemselvesentirelytobuildingbridges,bothliterallyandfiguratively,astheirstudieswillbeentirelyfundedbytheCRBCforthefive-yearterm.
“Idecidedtotakepartinthisprogram,ontheonehand,toknowmoreaboutChina,and,ontheotherhand,tostudyaskillwhichisbadlyneededinSenegal,thatisbridgeandroadengineering,”saidSeydou.
Since2011,morethan100studentsfromAfricancountriessuchastheRepublicoftheCongo,GabonandSenegalhavetakenpartintheprogram.Aftergraduation,manyofthemreturnedhometocontributetothedevelopmentoftheircountry.OthershavesincechosentocontinuetheirstudiesonaChinesegovernmentscholarships.
AccordingtoLiQuanhuai,VicePresidentofCRBC,thetrainingprogramisanimportantstepforbuilding“humanconnectivity”betweenChineseandAfricans,followingthe“materialconnectivity”betweenthetwocountriesinthefieldofinfrastructure.
CRBC,asubsidiaryofChinaCommunicationsConstructionCo.,isoneofthefourlargestChinesecompaniesintheinternationalengineeringcontractingmarket,withalonghistoryincivilengineeringprojectsandconstructionofroads,railways,bridges,portsandtunnels.BeforecomingtoChina,SeydouwasalreadyfamiliarwithCRBC,asthefirmisinchargeoftheIla-ToubaHighwayprojectinSenegal.Throughthisinitiative,CRBCisobservingadherencetotheimplementationofconcretemeasuresputforwardbyChinesePresidentXiJinpingattheJohannesburgSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperationinSouthAfricainlate2015.
SeydouwinsthefirstprizeinaChinesespeechcontestheldinChang’anUniversityinMay2017
SeydouataChinesespeechcontestheldinChang’anUniversityOlddream,newchallenges
BorninSenegal’scapitalofDakar,SeydousaidhewasinterestedinChinesecultureeveninhischildhoodandhopedtovisitChinawhenhegrewup.Aftergraduatingfromalocalhighschool,hecametoknowabouttheCRBC’sscholarshipofferandjumpedattheopportunitytofinallyseeChinawithhisowneyes.
“IlearnedfromSenegal’sHigherEducationandResearchMinistryaboutthescholarship.IimmediatelysubmittedmyapplicationandbythegraceofGod,alongwith14othergraduatestudents,Iwasselected,”hetoldChinAfrica.
UponarrivalinChinahefacedmanychallenges.“Thefirstsetbackwaslanguage,becausewithoutthelanguage,thereisn’tmuchyoucandoinChina,”hesaid.Inordertoadaptasquicklyaspossibletohisnewlife,hisfirstprioritywastolearnChinese,whichpresentedagreatchallengefortheyoungman.
“Atfirst,astheobvioussciencestudent,ItriedtofindsomesortofgenerallogicalrulebetweenChinesecharactersandtheirpronunciation.Butlater,Ifoundnone.Thereareonlysmallhintstoguessthepronunciation,buteachtime,youhavetoconsultthedictionarytodoublecheck,”hesaid.
SeydoualsonotedthathisexperiencewithArabic,alanguagehehadpreviouslystudied,helpedhimunderstandtheimportanceoftones,asawordmispronouncedcanchangethewholemeaningofasentence.Thus,hemadeitapointtoreligiouslylistentoaudiorecordingsfromhistextbook’severyday.HemanagedtoovercometheselanguagebarrierswiththehelpofhisChineseteacher,whohedescribedas“excellentandhighlyprofessional.”“Ithankherfromthebottomofmyheart,”hesaid.
“Moreover,afterlearninganewwordorsentence,wemustlookforawaytouseitinourdailylife,”hesaid.Hiseffortsarepayingoff:JustsixmonthsafterhisarrivalinChina,hewonfirstplaceattheChang’anUniversity’sChineseCRBCspeechcompetitionforinternationalstudents(juniorgroup).
“ItwasthefirsttimeformetotakepartinaChinesespeakingcontestandthefirsttimetospeakinfrontofsuchalargeaudience.Itshowsthatnothingisimpossible;allyouneedisthewillingnesstoovercome,”hesaid.
Head-firstintheculture
IfSeydoueversawChinaasaneconomicpower,itisbecauseoftheenthusiasmandkindnessoftheChinesepeople,aswellastheirtraditionalculture,whichhasleftadeepimpressiononhim.
“ThereisaSenegaleseproverbthatsays,whenyouarriveinanewenvironmentandyouseepeoplewalkingononefoot,dolikewise.So,whenIarrivedhere,ItriedtoliveliketheChinese,”hesaid.
Seydourecallsoneday,ashewaswalkinginXi’anwithhisfriends,abeautifulmelodycaughthisear.“Isawamusicianplayingonsomekindofgourd.Later,Ilearnedthatitwasataoxun,”hesaid,referringtooneoftheoldestwindinstrumentsinChina.Accordingtoarchaeologists,thetaoxunwasinventedinChinaalmost7,000yearsago.
Thismusicianwasactuallytheownerofanentirestorededicatedtotaoxun.AsSeydoushowedunusualinterestinthisinstrument,themusiciandecidedtogivehimataoxunandteachhimhowtoplay.Throughhishardwork,heevenmanagedtoplayafewsimplesongsinjustoneweek.“Myteachertaughtmenotonlyhowtoplaytaoxun,butalsoChinesehistoryandeventheShaanxidialect,”hesaid.
Sincethen,thetaoxunhasbecomeanimportantpartofSeydou’sdailylife.HeevenbecameanactivememberofthetaoxunclubofChang’anUniversity.“Thankstothisinstrument,IunderstandChineseculturemuchbetternowandhavesincemademanyChinesefriends.Weoftenpracticetogethernearbythelakewithinourcampus,”headded.Asforthefuture,Seydouisdeterminedtousehisknowledgeinbridgeandroadengineeringforthebenefitofhiscountry.“IwouldlovetoimmersemyselfinChineseandinternationalexpertisebeforereturninghome,”headded.
Forthemoment,ashegraduallyadaptstohisnewlifeinChina,SeydouhopesthathisChinesepeerswilllearnmoreabouthishomecountry.“InowseemyselfasanacademicambassadorofSenegaltotheoutsideworld.IfeelasenseofresponsibilitytorepresenttheSenegalesecultureinChina,”hesaid.
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