Campus Profile: Ashley Eller
Name: Ashley Eller
Age: 20
Major/Minor: International Business
Involved in anything on campus? Work/Clubs etc. : “Alumni Office? Is that exciting?”
Favorite quote: “You can’t test courage cautiously…” “I have no idea where that was from!”
Where She Studied Abroad: Chengdu, China
1. What was it like living in a place where English was not the primary language?
“It was a really hard transition! We lived in a city with relatively few foreigners so a lot of my interactions were done in a mixture of broken Chinese and English. I was even fairly incompetent just ordering food because a lot of the menus were just characters. However most of the Chinese people we met were super eager to help us learn.”
2. Where was your favorite place you visited in China?
“My favorite place that we went outside of Chengdu was a national park called Jiuzhaigou, it was absolutely gorgeous. Incredibly clear blue lakes and it was very sunny, a nice break from the grey skies of Chengdu.”
3. Weirdest food you may have tried?
“There was a street in Chengdu that had a lot of fun foods to try so one time we went and got some bugs, some squid on a stick, and a full rabbits head.”
4. Do you think studying abroad has changed your perspective on the world?
“Definitely! It wasn’t my first time abroad but it was such a different experience getting to study economics, language, and culture while observing the city around me. The chance to see how rapidly China is changing was incredible and living in such a different culture has changed my view of the world around me.”
5. Where would you like to travel next?
“Anywhere really! I would love to go to Australia or New Zealand, but who knows what my next opportunity to travel will be!”