Andrew Kopca ’15 Senior Profile: Chinese Studies

After four months of studying abroad in Beijing, Catherine, Henry, Owen, Paula and I wanted to explore some of the vast country. When the five of us stepped off the plane at midnight in Guilin, China, rather than being focused on adventure, our exhausted minds only wanted to find the fastest way to get to our hostel’s bed. Well low and behold, our hostel, which was an hour away, had accidentally misbooked our ride. In exhausted, panicked, Chinese, we talked to the airport information desk, disappointedly learning that every immediate cab and hostel was unavailable. Fortunately, a Guilin local overheard our predicament and decided to give us all a ride. Putting our trust in this complete stranger we piled into his van and reached the hostel just shy of 2am. The next four days in Yangshuo proceeded to be what I consider the best experience of my time abroad.