When I first told my mum that I was taking up climbing she was really worried,” says Jia Liu, a first year student at RCNUWC. “After I had done it, I sent her a photo of me and my friends climbing to show her how safe it was, but she was still very worried.”

 

It’s a common enough situation – most UWC parents probably feel some anxiety when their sixteen year old sets off to study in another country, let alone when they take up extreme sports. But this mother may have had more reason than most: Jia has a prosthetic leg. “I’ve had a prosthesis since I was seven or eight,” Jia says, “but I got a new one here in Norway. I couldn’t really control the first one I had – when I was climbing, it felt like it was falling.”

 

She had to undergo a small operation for the new prosthesis, and used a wheelchair and crutches for a month afterwards. But the College environment was an ideal place in which to recover. As she says, “there were two hundred people here to help me! And my new leg is really beautiful!”

 

Encountering different cultural attitudes to disability has been an important part of Jia’s UWC experience so far. “In China, I felt that there were lots of things I couldn’t do because of my disability. Here, you can do whatever you want to do – there are lots of chances. I’ve had a lot of firsts here, like kayaking and climbing, and going on a picnic. I’m looking forward to going back home to China for the summer, but people there think I should just sit there doing nothing. Here, people say ‘Try it; you can make it.’ Afterwards, when you really make it, you are so happy.”

 

Science is Jia’s academic passion, and she intends to apply for scholarships at American universities to continue studying it after UWC, as the IB is not recognised in China. “Lots of universities come to do presentations and interviews here at the College, so I think I will see some more of those before I make my decision,” she says. But education in other areas has been fascinating for her, too. “I have enjoyed studying policy, and learning about policy in all countries – not just Chinese policy. For example, being here, I have learned a lot about Tibet – things that I didn’t know when I was in China.”

 

As there is currently no National Committee in China, RCNUWC selects students directly through the Chinese Disabled Persons’ Federation. “First, one student from each area in China was chosen, and we all had to go to Beijing. Then someone from this College came to see us and asked me if I wanted to come to Norway.” The biggest challenge, Jia says, was getting to grips with the language. “In Inner Mongolia, my part of China, we only speak Chinese and Mongolian. I had no English. But the College let us come one month before the start of term, to learn English. It was really useful.”

 

When we spoke to her, she was looking forward to flying back to China for the summer. “I am beginning to be a little bit homesick – but everyone is so friendly. That’s one of the best things about being here – this school is like a big family.”