My name is Mustapha Ibrahim Danbirni. I was born in Nigeria. I did my master’s degree program in Applied Statistics at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology. From September 2019 my journey at ZUST began. At that time, I already knew my life at the university was going to be a thrilling adventure. Even though it seemed to be a little bit challenging at the beginning, I said to myself “just relax and feel at home”.

       My first day at ZUST was an unforgettable day of my life. I entered into the university premises with new hope and aspiration, where I came across many new faces that were newly admitted to ZUST. Some of them had that high spirit as me, they were all happy and we became friends, we went to the library together, we cooked together, we studied together, we had fun together, and that gave me a new rhythm of life which made me happy.

       I have many good memories from ZUST. I spent countless pleasant moments not only in the university but also in the city. I fell in love with the city of Hangzhou as soon as I got there, the food, the infrastructure, the scenery, the beautiful gardens, in fact I love everything about the city. It became a tradition for me and my friends to eat and gist at the urban balcony once every month. There is nothing better than being able to have a good moment with your best friends, by giving each other support anytime.  

         I also miss sitting around with friends in Kafu town for Chinese corner. At first, I never knew it was so fun until one of my friends invited me to join. We did a lot of activities, like learning Chinese, we played some games, we drank tea, and we were presented with a corner topic which required us to use Chinese to speak about that topic. This helped us a lot in improving our spoken Chinese, and that moment is unforgettable.

       I participated in a lot of university activities and I also joined many clubs. I have learned so much from all these activities to which I saw the significance after I graduated. During the opening ceremony of the 7th international festival and 40th ZUST anniversary, me and my friends displayed our cultural attires. I'm very proud to say, I was given the privilege to cook the Nigerian jollof (a special Nigerian dish). Students from different countries and teachers tasted it.  At that moment I got to understand that this program contributed immensely to feelings of social and cultural communication and this was one of the unforgettable memories I will always cherish.

       If I had a time machine to travel back to my 1^st day in ZUST I would make sure to join more clubs and participate in many more school activities. I would make sure not to take things for granted because what we learn beyond our textbooks also plays a vital role in forming our personal attributes. Our greatest achievement will include involving ourselves in as many activities as we can. I learned that after I graduated.

        After I graduated from ZUST, I got to realize that memories are always infinitely more beautiful than the reality. Somehow university life may not be as beautiful as it’s appearing to you, but after it becomes a memory you will definitely miss it. My Advice to ZUSTers is that please enjoy the present as much as you can so that you will not regret your present days badly later on. Join extracurricular activities or join university clubs to increase your confidence, instead of spending most of your time in your rooms and mobile devices, take part in competitions and put your best in it. You may not enjoy every moment but you will learn from every moment.