Standing at the intersection of graduation farewell, the voice in my mind came back  again – "Are you afraid?"

My name is Luo Mu (Romualdo), and I am a fresh graduate from School of Engineering of China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), majoring in geological engineering. I am from Equatorial Guinea, a beautiful island country with a small population but known as the "Kingdom of Forests."

In the summer of five years ago ,when I held the admission notice from China in both hands, I was both excited and nervous. It had always been my dream to study in China, and I was about to embark on a new phase of my life on this journey. Of course, the unknown also made me feel uneasy. What did China look like that was waiting for me on the other side of the world? Would I get through my study successfully ? Would the people there accept me with a different look? At that time, a voice kept buzzing  in my head, "Are you afraid?" 

 I packed my bag and came to China with this worry. 

In the first year of being in China,I spent one year studying at Tianjin University as a preparatory student. As a French speaker, I felt  it was like overcoming a barrier of a cotton yarn to master English and of a mountain to master Chinese. When I first learned Chinese, I thought the measure of everything was "ge." So I had one “ge ”cell phone,  five “ge” classes a week,  and three “ge ” meals a day. It was not unusual to make a foolish figure for a few times every day. I would learn from the Chinese and come into class every day and ask the teacher, "Have you eaten?" When the teacher got angry, I would even tell her to "drink more hot water." ...  I had heard that Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn, but only after real study in reality did I realize its charm.

A year later, I passed the matriculation final exam and finally came to my university, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). Living in Wuhan for four years, I have witnessed the city's rapid change. It is true that "Every day is different in Wuhan".  People's big voice , delicious hot-dry noodles with sesame paste, the captivating night view of the riverbank and fire-like summer, there is always more to say when it comes to Wuhan. I always wonder how I would feel if I have to leave this city one day when I graudated. 

However，on the eve of departure,  Wuhan left me with an unforgettable memory.

On January 23, Wuhan was locked down.  A city with tens of millions of people was battling with COVID-19 epidemic. Some chose to go home, but I decided to stay with Chinese people ,who are my family in my heart. At the beginning of the epidemic, I had numerous phone calls from my family in Equatorial Guinea, who were worried about whether I was safe here and asked if I was afraid. I also asked myself, "Romualdo, are you afraid?" 

I witnessed the efforts made by the Chinese government to fight the epidemic, the sacrifices made by schools and teachers to protect us, and the dedication and commitment of International Student Volunteer Teams, known as “the Iron Man”. Since February 16th, the "Iron Man" volunteer team, made up of international students from the School of International Education, has been providing volunteer services to the students. Under the guidance of the school and teachers, we helped clean public areas, set up many service teams to deliver food and supplies to students, and encouraged everyone to work together to fight the epidemic and not to give up on learning at all times. In this winter, even though they were wearing layers of protective suit, glasses and masks, I could see the sincerity and passion that couldn't be blocked.

As I witnessed millions of people fighting for the reawakening of this city, I asked myself, "Are you afraid?"

No, I am not afraid, not at all. 

Within the 76 days since the city was closed, I have seen the campus from raining and snowing winter to flower blooming spring. Although I couldn't get out of the dormitory building, I observed how China “adheres to people-oriented approach; puts their lives in the first position, " in my small cubicle, and observed how Chinese people stick to the principle "the country is in difficulties and everyone has a responsibility". All the Chinese people are great fighters against the epidemic. I am happy for myself because I stand with my fellow Chinese people.

My fellow Chinese people, I hope you will remember that although I have a different look, we once watched the same starry sky on Nanwang Mountain in Wuhan together.

I always remember a saying that a Chinese teacher told me , "The one who knows is not confused, the one who is benevolent is not worried, and the one who is brave is not afraid". The fearlessness of the entire Chinese people in Wuhan I witnessed was one of the best lessons I've ever learned in China. With this heavy spiritual harvest, I will bravely take every step and go forward with my dreams.

Standing at the intersection of graduation farewell, the voice in my mind came back  again - "Are you afraid?".

No, the brave are fareless and the doers are boundless.