Courtesy of Emma Whittenburg

Emma Whittenburg enjoys the view of the Yuyuan Garden with her friends. Whittenburg moved back to the United States in September. “It was much easier for my friends and me to go around the city because I could go out alone without any type of parental supervision. It was normal for people and kids to go out by themselves or just with a group of friends,” Whittenburg said.

With over 24 million people living in Shanghai, sophomore Emma Whittenburg and her family were among millions who thrived in this busy Chinese city for five years.

However, in Sept. of 2017, Whittenburg and her family made the decision to come back to the United States in order to further her father’s career.

“I was born in Ohio, but my dad decided to move us to China because his job has a lot of opportunities to travel. We thought it would be a good experience to try something new. I’m glad we are back in the United States, but it was extremely hard to leave China, a place I practically grew up in,” Whittenburg said. “The hardest part about moving around the world is leaving people you made friendships with and having to readjust to new cultures around you while keeping an open mind.”

Whittenburg attended an international school overseas and noticed numerous differences and similarities between schooling in China and the U.S.

“I was given the opportunity to learn Mandarin at my school, Concordia International School Shanghai. Even though I went to an international school and was studying Mandarin, at times communication was a huge factor that made it hard to fit in,” Whittenburg said. “It was hard learning about a new culture when I couldn’t understand what people were saying.”

One of the few things Whittenburg misses about China was freedom to venture around Shanghai.

“It was much easier for my friends and me to go around the city because I could go out alone without any type of parental supervision. It was normal for people and kids to go out by themselves or just with a group of friends,” Whittenburg said. “Generally, the places I wanted to go to were all nearby where I lived, and the public transportation was always available. I could also go around on my bike that I used a lot to get to places.”

Because Whittenburg has been traveling her whole life, she has learned to accept cultures and learn to appreciate differences in the world.

“I have been to 16 countries, and a key thing that I have learned from traveling is the importance of flexibility, acceptance, and respect. Even though every place is different from the other, respecting another culture is universal. It will be much easier to travel to multiple places if you are willing to engage in the culture while respecting it,” Whittenburg said.

Living abroad meant different lifestyles and also different schooling. Whittenburg grew up learning different viewpoints of historical events from the traditional lessons taught in America.

“Learning history from a place other than the United States was also interesting because there are multiple sides to what happened between different countries. However, when I was in China, a lot of what we learned was completely different from what they teach here with events that happened in China,” Whittenburg said. “I also have noticed that class sizes are smaller than the ones that I had overseas, my classrooms had up to 50 people.”

Although Whittenburg is appreciative of different schooling techniques, some of the differences between the Chinese and American curriculum have caused her to alter her academic habits.

“The focus for students was more result based than completely understanding concepts, so I was more focused on test-taking skills and completing everything I could, as fast as I could,” Whittenburg said. “I’m taking classes that are a lot easier than what I was taking before, but this school offers a lot of courses that I want to learn more about because I don’t know too much about them.”

Despite the move, Whittenburg has adjusted to living in America by joining the lacrosse and swim teams, the theatre.

“This school feels a lot larger, and a lot of people in the community have helped me adjust to the flow of everything,” Whittenburg said. “I don’t have a lot of close friends, but overall I’m excited to experience new activities and meet new people.”