On March 4, the first Fudan Language Night convened over 110 international students and 80 Chinese students at Dakin Hall, fostering cross-cultural dialogue in a cozy and free setting.
The event was jointly organized by the Office of Global Partnerships, School of Economics (SOE), and Fudan University Media Center, with support from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA).
Each participant had 2-3 stickers of different colors and shapes on their clothes. On the red heart shaped stickers, they wrote down the languages they want to practice or learn. On the square shaped ones, one put languages they are fluent in. This enabled attendees to easily identify those who shared compatible interests even without prior acquaintance.
The heated atmosphere in Dakin Hall and the warm responses ascertained the original idea of Language Night: to foster cultural exchange on campus.
"I met many Chinese students who were really passionate about different cultures," said Serafym, a freshman math major from Ukraine.
One of the features was that it had no specific agenda or tasks. Attendees can come and leave according to their own schedule, make free conversations with different groups and meet new friends, without any external constraints. "It’s really convenient to move around and join circles with others freely." said Shohei, an exchange student from Japan majoring in Chemistry.
People learned from and blended into each other’s culture. Guire, an student at SOE from Burkina Faso, shared how her newly-met friends taught him some trendy Chinese expressions. Shohei even met someone who had studied in his hometown and was currently studying here at Fudan. "We talked about the differences between our countries in daily life and university systems."
Besides exchanging contacts and letting conversations flow effortlessly -- making laughter that "might have made the neighbors jealous" -- Language Night meant much more to Polina, a master student at SIRPA from Russia. "It wasn't just an evening or an event. It was a full-on celebration of languages and cultures, a opportunity to dive into the world of languages, find like-minded people, and, of course, have a great time." The best part for Polina was that she finally revived her Spanish. ¡Qué alegría!
While the official programming wrapped up after 4 hours, the spirit of connection kept going strong! Many participants carried their new friendships beyond Dakin Hall, with ongoing language exchanges and gatherings popping up across campus.
Olya, an exchange student at SOE from Russian, told us that she gathered a group of new friends from different countries and continued their conversations at a restaurant on Daxue Road.
This perfectly captures what Language Night is all about -- a bridge across cultures that extend beyond language and more than one night.
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Writer: CAO Zhuyu
Pictures: ZHANG Xinyue, DING Jintong, WANG Jingyang and Participants
Proofreader: WANG Jingyang
Editor: WANG Mengqi, LI Yijie
