Jakovlic Ivan (Graduated in 2010, and now is a postdoc at Huazhong Agricultural University)

Jakovlic Ivan is a Croatian student who came to study at Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IHB) in 2004. He is now studying under the supervision of IHB Prof. GUI Jianfang for a continuous academic program that involves postgraduate and doctoral study.  

When I went to interview him, Ivan was doing research in the lab. It was hot outside. Ivan wore his lab coat and a pair of short pants. His casual dress style and puffy hair make you feel comfortable. Ivan speaks fluent Chinese. This is rarely seen among international students in China. Chinese is a tonal language with profound culture load which makes it difficult to learn. However, since he first set foot on this land, Ivan has been attracted by Chinese language. From then on, he began to take advantage of every opportunity to study Chinese.  

Ivan likes to travel and has been to many places in China. He said he likes Yunnan province the most, for the mild weather there and unsophisticated folk customs are what make it charming. In Ivan’s eyes, the relaxed lifestyle of Chinese people is quite different from that of Croatians. Perhaps the Chinese lifestyle is what Ivan is always dreaming of, or perhaps more precisely, the sense of value and attitude towards life that are adopted by Chinese people are what Ivan is always pursuing.  

Wherever Ivan is, in the lab or hanging out with friends, he can always get along well with others. He likes sports and is particularly interested in swimming. He becomes the first Croatian to conquer the Yangtze River. On July 16^th, 2009, he participated in the Wuhan International Yangtze River Crossing Festival. This is his second time to be a participant of this festival. Ivan finished the straight-line distance of nearly four thousand meters from Wuchang district to Hankou district. His participation in this festival was reported by several local media, and shortly after that, Ivan became a well-known figure in Wuhan. “It is really wonderful to take part in this challenging activity!” said Ivan.  (Translated by MA Yun)