'He (a boy from northern Europe) and she (a girl from southern China) had nothing in common until the summer of 2007'

He (a boy from northern Europe) and she (a girl from southern China) had nothing in common until the summer of 2007. Then they went to the University of Groningen for their Master’s programmes and lived on the same floor of an International Student House. For the first 3 months, their conversation was limited to the one-syllable word ‘Hi’, spoken when they passed each other on the floor of their student house - just being polite. It was at a floor party that they first got to know each other for the first time..

One day before that Christmas, the whole city was white with snow after a heavy snow storm. She was so excited and amazed, as she came from a city where it never snowed. They went out for her first snow fight and built a snowman. She could not help laughing and jumping around in her unfamiliar ‘snow world’. He loved it when she was laughing, as her ebony eyes lit up his world. 

From then on they were the best advisors for one another’s studies, the best partners in travel, and the best team in life and in exploring a newly won world together. After the completion of their Master’s programmes, they decided to move to China, an exciting, fast-developing and changing place but unknown to him. It was his turn to be overwhelmed by the totally different surroundings, culture, food and people. They settled down in her city - a place where it never snows but which is full of skyscrapers and memories of their former student life at the city and University of Groningen. 

Yuqin Lu from China (MSc Business Administration, 2009)