“Learning Chinese is a lifelong journey,” said José Manuel Dávila, who’s currently studying at Fudan’s School of Economics as an exchange student from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, majoring in Data Science and Mathematics Engineering.
Due to his parents’ work, José attended middle school in Germany, where he learned Chinese in his final year. “Back then, it wasn’t really a choice. It was either Spanish or Chinese as a second language option. Since I've already learned Spanish, I chose Chinese,” said José, who has a Chinese name called DAI Hongzhe (戴鸿哲).
José and his family
For José, Chinese is a completely different yet captivating language. “That year’s study sparked my curiosity, which is why I continued to learn Chinese in high school,” he noted. That’s also how he received his Chinese name.
“My Chinese teacher in high school gave us a choice between a phonetic translation or a meaning-based name, and I chose the latter,” José recalled. “She waited a semester to understand my personality and came up with this name.”
According to José, the last name DAI (戴) comes from a phonetic translation of his last name, Dávila, while the first name Hongzhe (鸿哲)was inspired by a famous poet, meaning “promising and philosophical.”
Learning Chinese piqued José’s interest in Chinese culture, eventually bringing him to Fudan as an exchange student. “So far, the experience has been great!” he said. He chose courses from various disciplines, ranging from economics and management to language studies, “basically a bit of everything.”
José travel around China
One of José’s courses is focused on logistics management. “China is a true global hub of logistics, making it the perfect place to study this topic,” he said. Exploring the business aspects of logistics has also helped him better understand how his field—data science and applied mathematics—can contribute to global development.
“Another course I love is China and Globalization by Professor LIU Yu.” According to José, the economics course offers a refreshing perspective on understanding the dynamics of globalization. “It’s fascinating to learn how China’s economic and trade policies are intertwined with global affairs.”
José and his friends on Yiwu trip
On December 1, José and other students from the School of Economics took a field trip to Yiwu, a world-famous small commodity market center. “The trip was eye-opening! As a STEM major, I had no prior knowledge of this market’s existence,” José said. “It exposed me to aspects of global trade and commerce that I hadn’t been aware of before.”
José at Fudan Jiu-jitsu club
Outside the classroom, student life is another highlight of José’s experience at Fudan. As a Jiu-jitsu enthusiast, he joined the Jiu-jitsu club at Fudan, training and practicing alongside both local and international students. “Club culture here is more comprehensive and diverse compared to my home university in Mexico. It’s quite easy to find a club where you fit in perfectly, even as an exchange student,” he said.
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Presented by Fudan University Media Center
Writer: WANG Jingyang
Editor: WANG Mengqi, LI Yijie
Designer: CHEN Shuyang
