Talking about my campus in China, where I have joined, may not be enough in specific words since it has plenty of stories that I could tell. Even sitting in a Café may take long hours to talk the whole story; however, I will try to brief my campus story and life in Shanghai, including some pictures, in this paper.

 

My first time in China was in August 2017. I have the opportunity to join the double degree program between the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prince of Songkla University and the School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in 2017-2018. In this program, I studied in Thailand in the first year, came to China in the second year, and returned to Thailand to finish my (double) Master in the third year. Hence, the story about my life in China has started.

 

Before coming to China in August 2017, I was scared by some bad information, such as the Chinese laws, food, etc. On the first date reaching Shanghai, I rushed to the reserved apartment and tried to find the Halal (清真) restaurant since I only eat Halal food. On the first and second days, I could not find it, and the canned fish that I had brought with me was also finished, so I started crying. I thought I could give up and go back to Thailand. Luckily, I met a very nice Chinese friend who stayed near my building on the third day. He came to me and asked me, "你是哪国人" and I replied, "泰国." As I can't speak Chinese well, and he can't speak English, we used BaiduTranslator to communicate. It didn't seem easy, but our relationship went well. His name is Liu, and He is accommodating. He helped me find the Halal food, brought me to buy daily necessities, and accompanied me to the school and police station to make the resident permit.

 

I was also lucky that I stayed with a roommate from Turkey. We three people sometimes took dinner and played basketball together. Unfortunately, Liu doesn't like to take photos, and after I started the class in school, we rarely met each other.

Fig. 1 Basketball competition, Ziroom apartment, 2017.

 

In September 2017, the classes started, and at that time, I met new friends from different countries, mostly from Pakistan. However, as I only had one year to complete the compulsory courses, I couldn't fail, so I spent most of the time studying. Finally, I graduated (double) Master's program.

Fig. 2 Cultural day, SJTU, 2018.

 

In 2019, I got admission to Ph.D. in ME School, SJTU, (again) under Prof. Yu Rao's supervision. For the first semester, everything went well since I was familiar. However, in the second semester, the COVID-19 started, and I was under lockdown with other international friends. The classes were online, and I communicated with my advisor using WeChat.

 

I was also lucky that I did not go back to Thailand even though the Thai airline provided a free ticket. It was the correct decision, making a golden memory for me. Let the pictures show some of my experiences during this time.

Fig. 3 Whenever we are free, we start the party!, Tangjingbeiyuan, 2020.

 

Fig. 4 Chinese food, and I learned to cook some food, Tangjingbeiyuan, 2020.

 

After the Shanghai Government cleared the situation, the class and research were well resumed on-site in the school, but international students were hardly seen on campus since most of them went back to their countries. Most of my seniors defended their thesis online and can not return to China. I could not say goodbye to them because I thought they might come back after 3 – 4 months. However, I still have many friends here, and we had good times together.

Fig. 5 A Pakistani friend's wedding, 耶里夏丽, 2021. ( I should speak Chinese well so that I may marry a Chinese girl

 

Fig. 6 Thai food party! School of Mechanical Engineering, STJU, 2021.

 

Last two months, the Shanghai government has imposed a restricted lockdown due to the widespread Omicron variant. The school also does not allow the student to enter/exit. I am lucky that I take my laptop just before the school is sealed. I am working from my apartment off-campus. Life was very hard at the beginning since I didn't prepare food/stuff. However, in this hard situation, I get help from my Chinese neighbor in the community, and everyone shares their things with each other. The government also support providing food, vegetable, etc.

 

I have learned many things during my time here in China. My image of China has totally changed. One day, I would tell the story to my friend, family, or children. My life in China is another golden memory that I will never forget.

 

 

By Kirttayoth Yeranee (Current Ph.D. student from the School of Mechanical Engineering, and joined the Double Master Degree Program between the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Prince of Songkla University and the School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)