- An interview with international students from Panama 

It has been four months since this new semester began in August. Among so many new students who have traveled miles away to come to Tianjin University, the international students might have to spend more time fitting into the new school environment. How is their life here in Tianjin University? How do they view this new campus? And what do they think of studying in Tianjin University? Today, let’s go together to meet some new friends from Panama! In order to have a better understanding of their lives at Tianjin University, we interviewed three Panamanian students, Joaquin Garrido, Javier Guzman, and Andrew Guzman. Of special note is that Javier and Andrew are twin brothers.  

Javier Guzman and Andrew Guzman are two young students who just turned 19. Javier chose his major as Harbor, Coastal and Offshore Engineering while Andrew studies Logistics Engineering, both of whom have been learning the Chinese language as a preparatory stage in Tianjin University (Weijin Road Campus). As they said in the interview, they searched the Internet before coming here and were totally attracted by the beautiful campus scenery and the higher academic level, then discovered that attending Tianjin University for them is a good choice to make and a good place to be. Joaquin Garrido made Tianjin his destination through the governmental education project, and now is pursuing his PhD degree working in a lab led by Professor Wang Mingyi of the School of Environmental Science and Engineering. 

When speaking of the main difficulty they encountered after arriving here, unanimously they answered the language issue. In the view of the brothers, it’s harder to write the Chinese characters than just recognizing them, and they still haven’t made many Chinese friends due to language limitations. Compared to the former two, Mr. Garrido seemed to have acquired better command of the Chinese language. He knew and met many Chinese people back in Panama and now he can even name out some local food such as “chaofan (fried rice)”、“zaocha (breakfast tea)”and “mahua (fried dough twist)”.  

But when it comes to food, it is never hard to find something good to eat in Tianjin. According to them, none of the foods like “Goubuli (Go Believe stuffed bun)”, “Jianbingguozi (Chinese Crepe)” have escaped their tongue, and to our surprise, it just took them days to develop the skill of using chopsticks. Besides, all of the three quickly learned how to take advantage of the convenience of Internet, and they are all good at navigating Taobao (a Chinese online shopping website similar to ebay, Amazon), bike sharing, WeChat, or Alipay. Coming to Tianjin, China, everything seems to be fresh and new for them, and they told us the campus, the dormitory and many other things are bigger and greater than they had expected, and they are tremendously amazed by the rapid growth of China’s economy and the rising power of China’s leading-edge science and technology.  

To help the international students get used to the new environment, the University designated teachers to give them a tour of Tianjin following their arrival. The school also does its best to help the students in their studies. As Andrew recalled, his language teacher would help him solve any problem that might arise and was very patient. For Joaquin, Tianjin University has also provided the best facilities and atmosphere for his doctoral research. 

Finally, when asked about their plans for the future after they finish their studies, Joaquin replied that he will go back to his country, teach, share his knowledge and experience, and make contributions to enhancing communications between Panamanian universities and Tianjin University. For the brothers, Javier expressed the same idea as Joaquin, while Andrew wants to stay in China and do his utmost to promote the friendship between Panama and China. In their words, Panama is a country with different races and colorful cultures, and the scenery there is also beautiful and amazing. They welcome Chinese people to go to Panama, get to know the Panamanian people, and they believe the friendship between Panama and China will be long and everlasting!  

By: Ma Junjun

Editors: Qin Mian and Keith Harrington