It may sound ridiculous if I state why I initially decided to apply for the exchange program at the University of Nottingham is due to my favorite Hollywood movies——Notting Hill. But it is the truth. Roger Michell, the director of Notting Hill, depicted the ordinary life in Britain with vivid film language, which aroused the great interest of me to have a close view of Britain. Therefore, considering the great distance between Britain and China, I think I will not be blamed for failing in differentiating Nottingham with Notting Hill within no more than 200 kilometers, or for any other bias and misunderstanding if exist.

However, bias and misunderstanding do exist sometimes. Last year, when I was a volunteer tutor, teaching Sociology Courses for the children of migrant labors, I received a carefully written but astonishing essay from a 13-year-old girl in my class as her final examination. I swear the essay is all of her own thinking. “Although it is always a good luck for one nation to possess a large quantity of oil,” she wrote and I translated, “it turns out to be misery and disaster for Iraq to be invaded by America just because of oil”. She added, “taking the issue of nuclear weapon as an excuse, America came to Iraq directly for oil. Even though the United Nation is established to promote peace in the world, it is out of her power to prevend such a powerful nation like America from doing so.”

Without sufficient information and communication, a girl in China might overlook the complicated factors leading to the Iraq War, just as I cannot tell the difference between Notting Hill district in London and Nottingham before this program. Therefore, communication between Britain and China turns out to be a process of eliminating bias and performing respectful. And I do appreciate this opportunity for me to learn advanced knowledge and skills, especially mathematical finance courses, at the University of Nottingham. If I am granted a chance, I will expect to absorb advanced western experience as well as convey traditional oriental ideology to my peers in Nottingham.

In the film of Notting Hill, An American film star enjoyed a happy ending at a place so called Notting Hill. And hopefully, I would also have a wonderful semester at the University of Nottingham.

Sincerely,

Zhou Sihong

Undergraduate, Fudan University