Referring to herself as ‘Sheila The New Voyager’, Shelia Rumutsa recently went on an educational holiday to China on a Summer Camp Programme.
Rumutsa is a Zimbabwean student who is studying Human Resource Management at DUT and was delighted to recap about her memorable trip to the East Asian country.
The life changing experience occurred when Rumutsa, being the top student in her department, was selected to represent the DUT Confucius Institute (DUT CI) at the Summer Camp Programme.
DUT is the first University in KwaZulu-Natal to offer Mandarin language programmes to students and the people of Durban. The DUT CI curriculum offers Mandarin courses and lectures on Chinese paper cutting, Chinese cooking and Chinese traditional arts, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and business topics.
Upon her arrival at the Pudong International Airport, Shanghai, Rumutsa was greeted by representatives from the Shanghai Normal University, after which she checked in at the university’s campus guest house where she later wrote a placement test and received a tour of the campus.
At the camp, Rumutsa tried her hand at Chinese cuisine which she instantly loved. “Their food is completely different from African food and they do not put salt because they say salt is not healthy. They served a lot of greens such as green soups and vegetables. I tried a lot of new food, specifically sea food which was different but good,” she said.
Excited about her experience, Rumutsa said she was also privileged to go sightseeing and learn about Chinese culture while exploring Beijing and Shanghai.
“The highlight of my trip was getting to understand Chinese and learning to speak it as well. When I got there (China), I was clueless and I now I have learnt to the extent that I ended up doing non-stop conversations in Chinese to my new Chinese friends. It was also interesting to learn that Facebook and Google are blocked in China,” said Rumutsa.
She also added that the Summer Camp Programme has changed her life both personally and intellectually, and that the partnership between the DUT and the CI was amazing and she hoped that this would open more doors of opportunities for other students at DUT.
Rumutsa also thanked Prof Bawa, DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal; Dr Eddie Chaobo Fu, Head of the DUT CI, Dr Rishi Balkaran, DUT Management Sciences Faculty Executive Dean (Acting); Prof Graham Stewart, e-Learning Co-ordinator at DUT, Dr Lavern Samuels, Director of International Education and Partnerships at DUT; Melanie Lourens, Senior Lecturer at the DUT Human Resource Management Department and Departmental Secretary, Fortunate Mnyandu, for all their support towards her trip to and from Shanghai.
– Talent Buthelezi
Pictured: Shelia Rumutsa while sightseeing in China.
