Wudaokou Watch: "Beijing Has Given Me Wings"

In the Wudaokou Watch column, we'll profile a different Beijing-based student from abroad each week to hear about their life in China's capital.

What is your name and where do you come from?
My name is Ossian Heulin. I'm from a town called Angers in the west of France, one and a half hours by train from Paris.

Why did you come to Beijing?
I came to Beijing in 2017 to pursue a double masters degree in mechanical and industrial engineering between Arts et Métiers ParisTech and Beihang University. I had to study abroad at the end of my master's program, and the call to China was the strongest, as it represented the biggest challenge I could take at that point in my life. I was eager to discover a country that I could only see from 9,000km away, so I jumped in!

How is life in Beijing different from your home country?
Everything is different! Of course some aspects I love, some not so much, but it's what I'm striving for! I stopped looking at the differences between France and China because I understood that between a country of 60 million people and a country of 1.3 billion, not much is similar. Now I focus on understanding why things are the way they are, and how can I better accept it.

What are the biggest challenges for you here?
Language and culture. Not in daily life because I always find my way around it, but for business and personal development matters. Most of my classmates find it hard to advance in China because they don’t have the mastery of the language nor the culture and don't consider it worth the effort. Going against the tide and pushing yourself to learn even though there’s a high uncertainty on the outcome is the challenge. Also, keeping up healthy habits (food, work/life balance, and sport). I lost track of the habits I had in my country; I’m in the process of recreating new ones, but I'm not there yet.

What are your three favorite hangouts here?
I feel great anywhere as long as my StartupGrind, Behive, AFEP, and University friends are around! First one would be Shichahai and the Drum and Bell Towers area. I love the place, the lake, the shops, the restaurants, and the mood when night falls. I also enjoy Wudaoying Hutong for its bars and restaurants. I had some great times there with friends who have since left Beijing. Last but not least, Wudaokou. My most memorable nights were spent here, though I stepped away from it after one semester in Beijing as most of my projects took place in Chaoyang.

What do you do when you are feeling homesick?
I mostly feel homesick when there's too much pollution or someone is bothering me with visa/administrative papers in Chinese that I can't figure out. Usually, I open one of the bottles of wine I brought with me (gotta be French!) and some dry sausage (saucisson). I do that while watching OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, watch it if you’ve never heard of it, it's the best cure ever! [Ed: We confirm, this movie is hysterically funny.]

What do you love most about Beijing?
Its size and the secret places it holds. I keep ending up in new co-working spaces, bars, and restaurants. And as everyone is an entrepreneur here, and you may start a business before it even exists legally, you find yourself in this constant whirlwind of creativity! Please stop closing bars down without reason though, some of my favorites are now gone.

What is your most memorable Beijing experience?
The first time I spent two days on the Great Wall, in Jiankou, with four other exchange students. Standing literally on top of history there, I felt so grateful for being given the opportunity to be in China, to live, travel, have wonderful friends, a beautiful girlfriend, two high-ranked diplomas, everything! 

How has life in Beijing impacted you?
It has given me wings. In Beijing, the sky's the limit, especially for foreign students. At one point, I felt stuck in my thesis, but I decided not to let go and redirected my energy to startup communities and youth empowerment in StartupGrind and Behive, where I met amazing people and eventually became director of StartupGrind University Beijing. I'm still into it today, though I coupled it with my expertise as an industrial engineer, and I’m now preparing to move to Shanghai. For students reading this, get out there and start hustling in the direction you want to go.

What inspires you and what are your future plans?
I'm inspired by innovation, industry 4.0, and communities. There is so much yet to be created to efficiently bridge Europe and China in terms of tech transfer, cross border entrepreneurship, and international innovation. My tech background is a huge plus and you'll see me hustling around those fields in the year to come.

READ: "China Has Opened Me up to Myself"

Are you a student in Beijing? Let us profile you and your unique experiences here. Drop us a line at editor@thebeijinger.com and we’ll get back to you to schedule an interview.

Photos courtesy of Ossian Heulin