UHS Senior Leonard Schloer Off to China

As an athlete, rapper, music connoisseur, and a self proclaimed Renaissance man, Leonard Schloer is stepping into something huge. An early graduate member of the class of 2010, Leonard will be spending the next five months across the Pacific as an exchange student in China. Want to know how he plans to deal with such a monumental shift in his life? Well this young gentleman has been known to fly through many a situation based on inarguable charm, wit, and a smile; the language barrier shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The Echo would like to send him off with a fond farewell, the best of luck, and a chance to share his final perspective on life at UHS and overseas.

Lily Smith: Where exactly will you be staying?

Leonard Schloer: Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China

Lily: How long will you be abroad?

Leonard: From February 25 to July 28. A smidgen over 5 months.

Lily: What program is this through?

Leonard: American Friends Service (known as AFS) via a State Department Scholarship

Lily: What exactly will you be doing?

Leonard: Staying with a family, going to normal Chinese school, as well as an intensive language learning class with the (6?) other American students staying in the city.

Lily: What experience do you have with traveling abroad?

Leonard: I have been to the Dominican Republic multiple times for vacation, Canada, lived in Germany, traveled to Denmark, France, Spain.

Lily: Why did you choose to study abroad?

Leonard: My mother recommended it to me. Now I’m going, and I can’t waste the opportunity that was handed to me on a silver (full-scholarship) platter. I was surprised when I got in.

Lily: What are you hoping to accomplish while overseas?

Leonard: I want become a better person. Simple as that. It may involve learning the language. But I would just like to learn more about myself, other people, and the world.

Lily: Have you made any special preparations?

Leonard: Compared to Cody, no. But I will have to decide which clothes I want that can fit in one suitcase. Whatever OTC drugs I may need to cope with the need environment – anti-acids, Tylenol or whatever that is.

Lily: What are you looking forward to, or perhaps dreading?

Leonard: Perhaps I have not thought too deep into this, but I am not really dreading anything. I will miss my friends dearly. I will probably miss the food, but I really do not know. I am not one to stress or fret about these types of things. People have warned me about the food, the fog, and a possibly frightening family. But I guess I am too ‘chill’ too think too much of it. I am in a huge transition period at the moment, going off to college, and other things in my life. So China honestly only seems like an interesting 5 months. I keep getting lots of surprised faces and compliments and well-wishers. Right now, at this very moment, I am thinking about the great time ahead of me, before I go to China. To my parents, friends, teachers and acquaintances, this is a big deal. I just feel sort of neutral about the whole thing. Hopefully I will become a cooler, more interesting, more cultured person. If not, I can still say I lived in China.

Lily: How do you think these experiences will compare with those of your time in Germany?

Leonard: Completely and absolutely different. Not only did I live with my grandparents in their familiar hometown, but Germany is a completely westernized culture. I could already speak a good amount of German, and was used to German food. I lived in a very small town and went to the same school my dad attended, I even had some of his old teachers. In China, basically nothing is the same. There are huge free speech restrictions. I barely know any Chinese, I am living with a completely new family, and taking intensive language classes.

Lily: Assuming you’re going to miss things in the U.S. what would those be?

Leonard: Glynn Davis. Other friends. My mom. The quiet of a small town. My own bed. English. Seeing American people – I mean style and looks, I enjoy people watching.

Lily: What are your notions of China? How do you think life will compare?

Leonard: I do not know too much about the urban lifestyle in China other than that the web is heavily firewalled, and smog can be an annoyance, if not a health issue. School is extremely competitive, the Chinese post-grad student I talked to said that it is so intense many commit suicide. The days go from 8 to 5, with an hour of in-school homework afterwards. Hopefully that is not me. I am curious to see some of the urban cultural things; graffiti, fashion, nightlife, food, etc.

Lily: Do you have any parting words for Urbana High?

Leonard: Life is so much bigger than Urbana. If possible, do not settle with going to the U of I or Parkland. Broaden your horizons. A change of scenery is seriously the best thing in the world. It makes you a much better person in every aspect. I don’t mean to say everyone should go to China, I just mean if you have lived in one atmosphere all of your life, do something different. Make a change. Think big. California, New York, Texas. Whatever’s your fancy. Just try something new. I recently coined a brief motivational phrase I will share with you: “If you would like to fly, stay fly and focused.”