China was worth seeing, the internship was boring Past Review
By Amy L (Bioengineering and Mathematical Economic Analysis, Rice University) for
IFSA/Alliance: Shanghai - International Business in China
Overall, I think it was worth the trip to see China. It was my first time to China and I was able to see how fast China is growing economically first hand and also experience some of their culture.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | Shanghai University of Finance and Economics |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload was relatively heavy in that we had to memorize so many words a day. The grading system was fair. The main difference in educational systems is that they required attendance in all classes, whereas Rice doesn't. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Wang Kai, the program administrator, seemed to be too inexperienced, to the point of being incompetent. For the first 3 weeks, he did not set up the internet for us due to some "problem" with the internet provider (namely, he tried to save a month's worth of money). This created problems for students who wanted to contact home via e-mail or skype. In addition, he did not give us promised information or resources even after being repeatedly asked. Instead, he would give us a long-drawn out explanation of why it wasn't already done and then promise to do it 'as soon as he can'. The assistant director, on the other hand, was extremely competent and organized. She always delivered on her promises and was cheerful when helping students out with problems. However, she did not have much authority and had to ask Kai for permission to do a lot of things. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was a dorm room on one of the SUFE campuses. The rooms were decent considering it was in China. The rooms were about the same size as the rooms at Brown and with a restroom. In addition, a TV was provided. <br /><br /> Housing was a dorm room on one of the SUFE campuses. The rooms were decent considering it was in China. The rooms were about the same size as the rooms at Brown and with a restroom. The rooms were not that aesthetically pleasing (dirty walls, poor restroom design), but had all the equipment to live relatively comfortably (AC, TV). The campus felt pretty safe and was very close to the classes.It was easy to get to the nightlife with a taxi. The dorm had a kitchen, but no stoves so pretty much no-one cooked on campus. Many students chose to buy their own sheets because they weren't sure how clean the provided sheets were |
| * Food: |
There were very few vegetarian options and students had to be very careful because they often used pig fat as the oil. The sanitation at restaurants and food stands also often wasn't up to U.S. standards. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The trip to Beijing was great. In particular, the program took us to a stretch of the Great Wall, where we were the only ones on the stretch. The view was fantastic there. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
The program didn't really address safety problems at all. They told us about our insurance policy very briefly and that was about it. The campus felt very safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
|
Finances
|
* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
|
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I spent about $30-50 on food per week, depending on where I go to eat. The food on the backstreets was very cheap ($1-2 per meal), but foreign restaurants tend to be expensive. Transportation cost about $15-20 per week depending on what type of public transportation used and how often. My parents called me from US most of the time, so I didn't have any calling costs. Books were provided by the program. Entertainment costs varied by person. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Things in China are relatively cheap compared to U.S., but costs can add up quickly. People tend to spend more when things are cheap. Also, know how to bargain well. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Chin 312 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Students whose main goal is to experience Chinese culture would benefit most from this program. Try to get confirmation on the internship course ahead of time if possible to make sure it matches your expectations. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese |
| Course Department: | Chin 400 |
| Instructor: | Hu |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | The class was average in difficulty. It was challenging to memorize about 50 words each day, but worth it. The teachers were well prepared, but seemed inexperienced and could not adequately engage the students. The class size was small so we got lots of personal attention. However, the fast pace made it hard to retain all the info in the long term. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | good course if trying to improve Chinese. credit should be able to transfer |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Internship |
| Course Department: | Internship 100 |
| Instructor: | Wang Kai |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The instructor was too inexperienced to teach this course. He did not have the connections needed to find good internships for his students that matched the students requests. In addition, he would not give any information on the internships prior to departure for China so that we could make alternate arrangements. In summary, the internship that I got (translation and editing) felt like a waste of time. In addition, Kai never gave us firm deadlines or made it clear what he wanted. He seems to be doing a lot of grading based on how much he likes the student rather than their work. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Could not transfer |
