Rachel & Ilene: From Jakarta to Ningbo

Two years ago, two girls from Indonesia who had never met each other before applied to study at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), becoming part of this university shortly thereafter. The two girls are Rachel Violetta RUSLI, majoring in International Economics and Trade, and Ilene Chelsea SENTOSO, majoring in International Communications and Chinese. Apart from their common hometown, they are also members of an Indonesian organization named Permit Ningbo located in Ningbo and roommates.

We are here today to present you with the new chapter in UNNC of these two young students, beginning from the journey of their first meeting.

“We didn't know each other before we came to Ningbo." Rachel and Ilene said. When it comes to their acquaintance experiences, “We met at a welcoming party held by PERMIT Ningbo in our freshman year,” Ilene added “We exchanged details with each other, realizing surprisingly that we had a lot of close friends in common. More coincidentally, Rachel and Ilene both chose to come to China and enrol at UNNC due to the scholarships offered to international students by UNNC, and their families shared similar expectations that they would be able to learn Chinese whilst here. 

"The reason I chose UNNC is that I wanted to study International Economics and Trade," said Rachel, who was eager to pursue majors in the category of economics, and was influenced by her family, "Even though this major is not mainstream in international universities, I still favour it very much." As for Ilene, before coming to UNNC, she was already a fashion blogger of some renown on two social media platforms, Instagram and TikTok, and had arrived here for her beloved major, " International Communications offered by UNNC is what I have always been looking for, and it is highly recognized and accredited by other universities as well."

Since neither had a high level of Chinese, one of the key reasons they chose UNNC is its arrangement of Chinese and English courses for international students. Rachel and her parents agreed that this course setting can create a balance between Chinese and English courses, and taking courses in China would simultaneously improve Rachel’s professional and Chinese language skills. Moreover, the optional language modules in International Communications drove Ilene to be even more determined to apply to UNNC, due to her desire to upgrade her Chinese competency.

Rachel and Ilene had to spend their first year at UNNC online unexpectedly due to the pandemic. However, everything became realistic and interesting in the second year as they were able to engage with the university F2F. Seeing friends in the classroom and on campus made Rachel delighted and feel at home in day-to-day life here. Ilene has enjoyed the mutual interactions as well in offline classes, which has not only prompted her to be more focused in class, but also given her a new type of motivation to study.

Although Rachel found the knowledge of economics challenging, she continued to enjoy courses in Macroeconomics and Development Economics which she is looking forward to studying in her senior year, out of the many economics courses she has tried. Asked about her favourite teacher, Rachel mentioned Dr Wai-Heng Loke, who taught on the course Economic Integration 2 last year, "She was committed and dedicated to teaching the students online, and in between classes, she frequently asked me if I had heard clearly what she had said." 

Ilene, who is keen on socializing and writing, has made it her goal to work in the entertainment industry. She found it enjoyable attending the classes of Dr Paul Martin and Dr Lei Hao, and though the lectures were online, the content was concise and contained all the information she needed to know, making the process of learning about abstract topics quite pleasurable. "I am also looking forward to discovering the changes in the curriculum for the next academic year, which I believe will be very helpful in achieving my future career."

Colourful activities and second classes at UNNC not only enriched their extracurricular lives, but also allowed them to experience campus and local life more realistically, better integrating into social groups here. Rachel participated in the 5-HT event organised by Vis-à-Vis in 2022 as a committee member, and joined in the dumpling-making for the Chinese New Year 2023 and a day trip to Fenghua Village. Ilene also took part in a camping and barbecue trip held by UNNC. All of these activities have offered the two girls unique experiences and they have made many new friends in the process. They mentioned that although they have relatively different cultural backgrounds compared to the local students, they all spent a good time communicating with each other, also, they were well taken care of in daily life.

The Colour Run and the weekly Campus Run at UNNC have generated a positive sports atmosphere. Rachel, who has been practicing long-distance running for the past few months, said that she has developed an interest in running at UNNC, while Ilene keeps up her workout routine and comes to the gym at 7am every morning. In addition, she likes to dance or participate in activities like HIIT or Spinning classes in her free time. All of the activities have assisted them to become more energetic in the new environment.

When it comes to plans for the future, these two girls with very distinctively different personalities also have varied individual plans. Rachel, who always plans ahead of schedule, says she will definitely pursue a Master's degree, possibly in International Trade, government economics, or anything related to Macroeconomics. Ilene, on the other hand, is open to future possibilities and says she doesn't have a clear plan yet, but she already considers herself part of the entertainment industry and is determined to pursue her future career in it.

So, what are these two girls’ interactions and stories with each other? What are their impressions of Ningbo? And what are their plans for the future? Let's hear what they have to say!

Rachel RUSLI        Ilene SENTOSO

国际经济与贸易        国际传播学与汉语

“我们在来宁波前并不相识。”问及两个人的相识过程，Rachel和Ilene这样说道。“我们是在PERMIT Ningbo举办的欢迎会上认识的，” Ilene补充说， “经过交谈，我们发现彼此有很多共同好友。” 很巧的是，由于宁诺给国际学生提供的奖学金和她们各自家庭对于她们能够学好汉语的期望，Rachel和Ilene都选择来到了中国并入读宁诺。

“我选择宁诺作为我的大学是因为我想要学习国际经济与贸易专业，”受到家庭影响从而想学习经济学类的Rachel坚定地选择了国际经济与贸易专业，“国际经济与贸易专业在国际大学中并不是主流，但我非常喜欢。”而在入读宁诺前已经是在Instagram和TikTok两个社交平台上小有影响力的时尚博主Ilene，同样也是为了自己热爱的专业而来：“宁诺所提供的国际传播学是我一直在寻找的专业，宁诺也是一所受到其他大学高度评价的学校。”

由于两人的中文水平都还不是很高，宁诺为国际生安排的一定比例的中文课程也是她们选择宁诺的重要原因之一。Rachel和父母都认为宁诺的中文课程和英式课程之间有所平衡，在中国学习英式的课程可以同时提升她的专业技能与中文水平。而国际传播学课程中可以选修的语言模块也让想要提高中文的Ilene更加坚定了自己的选择。

入学当年恰逢疫情时期，Rachel和Ilene不得不在线上度过了她们在宁诺的第一年。幸运的是，第二年她们得以真正来到校园并加入线下学习。每天都可以在校园以及教室与朋友相见让Rachel感到心情愉悦，甚至在日复一日的校园生活中找到了家的感觉。线下课堂中增加的互动让Ilene很开心，这不仅使她上课时的注意力更加集中，还让她在学习方面也有了新的动力。

虽然经济学知识让Rachel觉得很有挑战性，但在众多经济学课程中，她依旧很喜欢《宏观经济学》、《发展经济学》和她期待在大四学习的《国际贸易》。被问及最喜欢的老师，她提到去年教她《经济一体化2》课程的Wai-Heng Loke博士的用心特别打动她。“她真的很努力在教在线上课的学生，在课间她常常叫我并问我是否有听到她讲的话。”

喜欢与人交际和写作的Ilene把在娱乐行业工作作为自己的目标。她非常喜欢国际传播系的Paul Martin博士和Lei Hao博士的课堂。她认为，尽管他们的讲座是在线的，但既简洁又包含了所有她需要知道的信息，把学习抽象主题的过程变得相当愉快。“我也很期待看到下一学年课程的变化，我相信这些课程对实现我的职业愿景是很有帮助的。”

宁诺多彩的活动与第二课堂不仅丰富了她们的课余生活，也让她们真实地体验校园与本地的生活，更好地融入到集体中去。Rachel不仅作为委员会成员参与了2022年Vis-à-Vis举办的5-HT活动，还参加了2023年春节的包饺子和奉化村一日游活动等。Ilene也参加过宁诺组织的野营烧烤旅行。这些活动都让她们收获了新的经历与体验，并在过程中交到了更多新朋友。她们提到，尽管和当地学生有着不同的文化背景，但大家交流都很愉快，自己也在生活中受到了很好的帮助与照顾。

同时，宁诺有趣的彩虹跑活动和每周举办的校园跑（Campus Run）活动都在校园中营造了积极的运动氛围。过去几个月都在坚持练习长跑的Rachel表示自己在宁诺培养了对跑步的热爱。Ilene则保持了她锻炼的习惯，每天早上七点就会来到健身房锻炼。此外，她还喜欢在有空的时间跳舞或参加像HIIT或Spinning课程活动。这让她们在新环境中变得越来有活力。

谈到关于未来的计划，这两个性格截然不同的女孩也有着完全不同的规划。总是提前十步计划的Rachel说自己肯定会继续攻读硕士学位，专业可能是关于国际贸易、政府经济学或任何与宏观经济学有关的方向。而对未来的可能性抱持开放态度的Ilene则直言目前还没有很清晰的规划，但已经把自己视为娱乐业的一部分，并志愿在其中建立自己的职业生涯。

那么，她们之间到底有着怎样的互动？对宁波的印象如何？对于未来还有怎样的期待呢？一起来听听她们的说法吧！

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