First Week at Peking University: Unfiltered Thoughts | LifeinChina ep 4

Summary

In this candid video, the creator shares their first week of studying abroad at Peking University, China, during the Moon Festival break. They discuss the challenges of learning chemistry and math in a non-native language, the time-consuming nature of lab reports, and the struggle to keep up with native Chinese speakers. Despite feeling overwhelmed and tired, they remain hopeful about adjusting to the rigorous academic environment and look forward to sharing more about their international student experience.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker is a student at Peking University in China.
• 🌕 They are experiencing a 3-day break due to the Moon Festival but had to attend classes on Saturday.
• 📝 They have a lot of homework and assignments to catch up on, especially in chemistry.
• 🧪 The chemistry lab is time-consuming, involving pre-lab reports, experiments, and unfamiliar Chinese chemistry terms.
• 📈 Math is the most challenging subject, with a focus on proving concepts rather than just solving problems.
• 📱 The student uses an iPad and the Notes app for note-taking to avoid carrying physical notebooks.
• 📅 They have a busy schedule, with classes from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on some days.
• 📉 The student feels overwhelmed and tired, struggling to keep up with the pace of studies.
• 🤝 Despite the challenges, they have made friends and are hopeful about their experience.
• 🎥 The student plans to edit and share vlogs about their life as an international student at Peking University.

Q & A

How long has the student been in school before the video was filmed?

The student has been in school for about one week before the video was filmed.

What is the reason for the 3-day break mentioned in the video?

The 3-day break is due to the Moon Festival.

Why did the student have to attend school on Saturday?

The student had to attend school on Saturday to make up for the classes they would miss on Monday.

What is the most time-consuming task the student is dealing with?

The most time-consuming task is the chemistry lab that includes pre-lab, lab report, and answering final questions.

What is the main challenge the student faces in chemistry lab?

The main challenge is unfamiliarity with Chinese terms for chemistry and lab materials.

What is the student's previous experience with math?

The student has taken calculus, AP Calculus, and IB math analysis HL from 11th and 12th grade in the US.

What is the difficulty level of the math course the student is taking in China?

The math course is more difficult than what the student has experienced before, requiring proofs and understanding of concepts like limits and epsilon-delta proofs.

What tools is the student using to assist with their studies?

The student is using an iPad with a free notes app and a traditional planner to keep organized.

How does the student feel about their current academic performance?

The student feels drained and tired, struggling to keep up with the academic workload, especially in math.

What is the student's goal regarding their classes?

The student's goal is not to fail any classes, as failing is quite common even for mainland students at Peking University.

What does the student plan to do with their vlogs?

The student plans to edit and publish their vlogs to show what life is like for international students at Peking University.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Adjusting to Studies in China

The speaker discusses their experience studying abroad at Peking University in China, focusing on the challenges of learning in a new language and the academic workload. They mention a 3-day break for the Moon Festival, but note that they had to attend classes on Saturday to compensate for missed classes. The speaker is currently engaged in a chemistry lab, which is time-consuming due to the need to understand new terms in Chinese and write detailed reports. They also highlight the difficulty of their math course, which is more abstract and challenging than what they have experienced before, involving proofs and concepts like limits and epsilon-delta definitions.

05:01

📈 Overwhelmed but Hopeful

The speaker expresses feelings of being overwhelmed and tired due to the heavy academic load, particularly the difficulty of studying in Chinese at a college level. They describe their long days of classes and the need to catch up on work during breaks. The speaker is concerned about keeping up with their studies, especially in math, and mentions a friend who failed the course. Despite the challenges, they remain hopeful that things will get easier over time and express a desire to share their experiences through vlogs. They also discuss the use of their iPad for note-taking and the importance of making friends to help navigate the challenges of studying abroad.

Keywords

💡Studying abroad

Studying abroad refers to the act of leaving one's home country to study in a different country. In the video, the speaker is studying abroad in China at Peking University, which is a significant aspect of their experience and the main theme of the video. The challenges of adapting to a new educational system and language are central to their narrative.

💡Moon Festival

The Moon Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. In the script, the speaker mentions a 3-day break due to the Moon Festival, indicating a cultural aspect of their experience studying in China.

💡Homework

Homework refers to tasks given by teachers to students for practice outside of class. The speaker mentions needing to catch up on homework during the break, highlighting the workload and time management challenges faced by students studying abroad.

💡Chemistry lab

A chemistry lab is a practical science class where students conduct experiments. The speaker describes the time-intensive nature of their chemistry lab, which involves pre-lab work, conducting the experiment, and writing a report. This keyword is central to the video as it illustrates the academic rigor and the language barrier the speaker is facing.

💡Language barrier

A language barrier is a communication problem that arises when people do not share a common language. The speaker expresses difficulty with chemistry terms in Chinese, which is a significant challenge in their studies, as they have to translate these terms into English to understand the material.

💡Math

Math refers to the study of numbers, quantities, and shapes. The speaker finds math to be the most difficult course, indicating that the level of math at the university is more abstract and challenging than what they experienced in the US. This keyword is used to emphasize the academic pressure and the need to adapt to a higher level of mathematical thinking.

💡Abstract

Abstract refers to something that is theoretical or not concrete. In the context of the video, the speaker uses 'abstract' to describe the math they are learning, which involves proving concepts rather than just solving problems. This reflects the higher level of intellectual challenge they are facing.

💡iPad

An iPad is a tablet computer that the speaker uses to take notes and organize their studies. Mentioning the iPad shows how technology aids the speaker in managing their academic workload and keeping their notes organized, especially when they are not ready to invest in a subscription-based note-taking app.

💡Planner

A planner is a tool used for organizing tasks and schedules. The speaker mentions using an old-fashioned planner for their to-do list, indicating that despite the use of technology, traditional organizational methods are also important for managing their busy academic life.

💡Vlogging

Vlogging is the act of creating video blogs. The speaker mentions vlogging consistently but not having time to edit the videos due to academic pressures. This keyword shows the speaker's interest in sharing their experiences with an audience and the struggle to balance content creation with academic responsibilities.

💡Acclimatization

Acclimatization is the process of adjusting to a new environment. The speaker talks about getting accustomed to school life and learning in Chinese, which is a significant part of their study abroad experience. This keyword captures the broader challenge of adapting to a new culture and educational system.

Highlights

The speaker is a student studying abroad in China at Peking University.

They are experiencing a 3-day break due to the Moon Festival.

The student had to attend school on Saturday to make up for missed classes on Monday.

The student is using the break to catch up on homework and assignments.

Learning new subjects in a non-native language is challenging for the student.

The chemistry lab is the most time-consuming part of the student's studies.

The student is unfamiliar with many Chinese chemistry terms and materials.

The student has to translate chemistry terms into English to understand them.

The student finds math to be the most difficult course, especially proving concepts.

The student has a background in calculus but finds the current math course challenging.

The student is not used to the abstract nature of the current math course.

The student uses an iPad and the Notes app for note-taking to avoid carrying physical notebooks.

The student's schedule is hectic, with classes from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The student feels drained and tired from the workload.

The student is struggling to keep up with native Chinese speakers.

The student is concerned about potentially failing math, like a friend did previously.

The student is determined to do their best despite the challenges.

The student plans to edit and upload Vlogs about life as an international student.

The student acknowledges the difficulty of the beginning of the academic year.

Transcripts

today I'm going to be filming a very

unfiltered video of my current thoughts

in China and how my Studies have been

going we're about 1 week into school and

we have a 3-day break because it's like

the Moon Festival and everything but

it's not really a 3-day big break

because I actually had to go to school

on Saturday to make up all the classes

that I'm going to miss on Monday so yeah

it's okay but I mean at least I'm going

to have these 3 days to catch up on all

the homework and assignments and things

that I've been like trying to understand

but have been struggling to kind of like

process because obviously learning

something new in a new language or in a

language that's not my first language is

extremely difficult but I can kind of

show you guys what I've been up to so I

well for for for those of you who may be

new here I am currently studying abroad

in China at pcking University and yeah

so um the most

time intensive thing right now I would

say is the chemistry lab that I'm doing

because we have to do a preab a lab

report and then like final questions and

thoughts and answers and there's a lot

that I have to read through because

obviously there's going to be a lot of

steps in the chemistry process and when

you're doing an experiment and the issue

for me is that I a lot of like the terms

in Chinese for chemistry and for like

any of the materials that we use like

beaker flask graduated cylinder all of

that any of the chemicals like oxyc acid

um basically everything I just am not

very familiar with so it's been very

hard like this is like the first

experiment that we're doing and I've had

to like read through everything and kind

of write down the English definition so

that I have an idea of what I'm actually

reading because otherwise I would be

extremely confused and lost so that took

like a good one or two hours to kind of

finally get through and then after that

we have to like write a report on it and

just kind of like go through each task

and explain the steps and what the

purpose of the experiment is and

different things like that and it's just

been very hard and very time intensive

but I've written it down in this little

report book that they gave us as well

and here's like a glimpse of my report

or that was like oh I definitely did not

accidentally skip a page uh wait no

sorry that's the end the end part that

I'm finishing with like the questions

but I hope I'm not boring you guys but

this is just kind of like the stuff that

I've been doing and then math is

definitely the most difficult course

that I've been taking right now because

like in in the US I took in the US I

took calculus I took AP Calculus well I

took IB calculus but I took the AP ab

and BC test those are obviously combined

if you take take the BC cuz they give

you an AB subscore but yeah I took those

and I did IB math analysis HL from 11th

and 12th grade but this is a different

on a different level I would say because

like before for example we would be

learning how to solve limits and now

we're having to prove limits why does

this limit equal zero I don't know but

yeah it's just been very very difficult

I would say because I'm definitely not

used to this type of math and we also

started learning about like n Epsilon n

language to prove certain things and

that is something that I never really

been exposed to I guess like little n

Big N little n is bigger than big n and

Delta all of these random variables that

I had never heard of or heard of but

never actually had to use so it's just

been very difficult and I feel like the

math is quite abstract I would say

because like proving things is obviously

typically harder than actually solving

the problem so I've just been trying to

get used to it and it's starting to make

a little bit more sense but it's still

there's still a very long way to go I

would say until I am finally able to

understand what exactly is going on but

um other than that we've also been doing

some chemistry and there's this is the

chemistry book where there's a bunch of

like questions that we have to answer

and we got homework assigned for the

weekend as

well and then over here we have the

general chemistry textbook where we have

like the lessons and stuff that we go

over and then there's a bunch of slides

I've also been using my iPad to take

notes on the free Notes app because I'm

not yet ready to invest in an actual

like subscription based not taking app

on my iPad but I am honestly loving my

iPad it's been helping me so much like

prevent me from having to carry around a

bunch of notebooks and also just like

keeping everything organized and stuff

and

obviously I do have a oldfashioned

planner that I keep my to-do list in but

everything has been pretty chaotic for

the first week and I've been extremely

tired cuz on Monday I have classes from

10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. so it's that was

in yesterday it was Saturday so I was

making up the Monday classes so I'm very

dra very tired I've been catching up on

all this work this entire day and I just

like my Rin can't really take it anymore

so I'm just filming this video to kind

of update you guys for anybody that may

be interested in and I just want to say

that learning in Chinese is definitely

very difficult especially at the college

level when you're surrounded by so many

people that are intelligent and smart

and have been learning in Chinese their

entire lives and are used to like this

way of teaching and the education system

and how everything works it's very hard

to keep up and so while some people may

be out spending the holidays like kind

of enjoying their lives and hanging out

with friends and family I'm just been

studying and I because I am several

steps behind so I think that I'm just

using this opportunity to hopefully get

my stuff together but I think that it

will get easier eventually it's always

it's always the beginning that's

extremely difficult I'm just going to my

goal is not to fill any classes cuz

actually filling classes in pecking

University at Thea is quite common even

for Mainland students so we'll see how

that goes but right now I'm honestly

very drained and very tired I feel like

I'm just talking in circles right now

but there are just so many things that I

don't know and I'm having to like

translate a lot of things into English

to actually fully grasp it and like on

my iPad some of the notes I'm like just

translating directly cuz I just don't

have the patience to go through each

word but for the chemistry lab I was

doing that and it just took so much time

and I just feel so behind and I don't

know if this is like sustainable

honestly and I'm feeling like I'm going

to fail math because I have a there's a

I have a friend that is a couple years

older than me and she is also from

America and she unfortunately failed her

math class for semester so and she's an

extremely intelligent person so I'm not

sure how it's going to go for for me but

I'm just going to do my best because

that's all I can really control and the

rest is kind of like up to fate so to

speak I just can't believe it's only

been one

week very tired but I'm glad that I've

been able to make friends and I think

that it is going to be very fun but also

extremely challenging but I knew that

going in and I do have a bunch of videos

planned out like a bunch of Vlogs I have

been vlogging consistently

I just haven't had the chance to go back

and actually edit those Vlogs because

I've been so busy with accommodating

like getting accustomed to school life

and learning in Chinese and trying to

figure out this abstract math that I'm

not used to so my life is kind of all

over the place right now but I'm hoping

to start editing those Vlogs soon to get

those out cuz I do think that will be

something that you guys enjoyed to just

kind of see what life at pecking

University is like for international

students and study abroad because it is

definitely very different

but I hope that this video has brought

you some entertainment or whatever just

like I hope that you enjoyed this video

and I will get those Vlogs to you guys

as soon as possible let me know if you

have any questions Down Below in the

comments and I'll see you guys next time