Serbian shines as Fudan's star student

"The teacher taught me 100 Chinese characters. I thought the characters were strange and difficult to learn at the time. The teacher had to prepare desserts to entice me to learn," he recalls.

Due to his father's desire to conduct research in China, in 2005, the family moved to Shanghai. Unlike most foreigners, the family enrolled their son in a local primary school instead of an international one.

"My parents believed that being in a local school environment where I could play with local kids would benefit my growth here," he explains.

In order to keep up with the locals, Filipovic took various courses and extracurricular lessons after school.

"The teachers guided and supported me. However, their requirements for me were the same as those for Chinese students as this was vital in accelerating my improvement in my studies," he says.

"Life was tough in the beginning, but I'm grateful that my parents made this decision. It was the best way for me to understand a new culture and country.

"Even though I couldn't speak or understand much Chinese at first, I tried to make friends through basketball, because sport is a universal language," he adds.

To improve his knowledge of the language and culture, Filipovic also watched popular local TV shows like Home With Kids and Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, as well as the news on China Central Television.

Today, speaking in Mandarin is almost second nature to Filipovic. In fact, the only place he doesn't use it is at home.

"My parents speak only Serbian at home-they worried I might forget my mother tongue," he says.