Four Seasons @ SDU:

Studying abroad can make for the experience of a lifetime. It can make you grow as a person, increase your value at the job market and give you unforgettable memories. Studying abroad is all about learning, but not only languages and school subjects. It’s learning about a new culture, about people, about the world. The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

I believe in process. I believe in four seasons. Time will pass and seasons will come and go. Each moment of the year has its own beauty.I reached Shandong University at 19^thSep 2017. I celebrated Mid Autumn Festival with my Chinese friends. I have seen seasons changed.I saw fallen leaves on the roads and the unique beauty everywhere.NowAutumn'sfire burns slowly along the woods and day by day the dead leavesfalland melt.There is a harmony inautumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been. Comfy sweaters, warm drinks and pretty colors. I love autumn.My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

After observing the autumn, I experienced winter and snow falling in Shandong University.Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in thecold. I have seen empty but snowcovered roads because most of students went back to their home country to spend winter vacations. I was alone. Most of my country mates were at Pakistan. I was observing and detecting undetected things in China and Shandong university. I have seen kiang birds migrate towards south and sweep back in spring.I wonder if the snows loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snugly, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.

After enjoying amazing winter, spring came.No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.Springis nature's way of saying let's party. Finally, spring festival.Spring Festival is an opportunity to experience traditions. Far and away the most important holiday in China is Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in West. The dates for this annual celebration are determined by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, so the timing of the holiday varies from late January to early February.

I have felt the beautiful fragrance and different colors of flowers in the campus. I have seen plum, peony, blossom, orchids, camellia, Azalea and Sacred Lotus flowers. I tried to pay attention to the spring. I looked around at all the flowers and looked up at the trees. I closed my eyes and listened the voice of flowers how they open and how they grow. Adopting a positive attitude can work wonders to adding years to your life, a spring to your step, a spark to your eyes and all that.

Spring ends, summer starts. Summer time is always the best of what might be. Summer means happy time and good sunshine. It has always been my favorite season. I feel happier and tears of joy are like the summer rain drops pierced by sun beans.Everyday I get up with sun light striking my face through my window. Sun rays kiss on my face and said, “Good Morning”. I have started to wear light clothes like other Chinese. Campus playgrounds were full ofpeople. I played badminton, basketball and volleyball in front of number 2 international dormitory. Longer days and shorter nights. We spent whole nights by sitting outside the building. I didn’t sleep single time in summer nights. Parties and little dance. I rode bicycle at campus roads every night with my friends. I enjoyed rainy days and rainy nights. I enjoyed the sound of striking rain drops. Summer is best from my room’s window.

Muhammad Ahmer Raza

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Pakistan