Life-changing. Best semester of college. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The language classes were phenomenal. Every morning was stimulating and fun. One of the best college classes I took has to be the Chinese class I took when I was abroad because of our small, seven student class. Our teacher, as well as the other teachers, felt more like peers than professors. They would routinely take us out to lunch, keep in touch with us outside of class, and always had innovative lesson plans. As far as the non-language classes go, they were less exciting. Those classes were once a week,and for three hours. The content was interesting, especially because you're living in the country that comes under so much discussion. But we always had the urge to go explore or practice our Chinese rather than sit in a classroom. Nonetheless, the professors managed to stimulate (and require) us to write research papers,and living in China while being able to conduct research was an awesome experience.

On-site administration of your program

I personally was a fan on the administration. They took care of our requests, and always seemed to working on helping us with whatever problems came up. Unfortunately I also heard numerous times that the speed of taking care of these problems was not always the quickest. Overall my personal feelings were that they seemed to be very attentive to our needs, and also provided excellent translation services in times of stress.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Our rooms were a little old. Let's just say you definitely knew you were living in China. Unlike other kids in our program, my A/C and heater worked whenever we needed them (though navigating an all-Chinese remote took time). The room has everything you need: shower, sink, television from 1970, mattress etc. Expect Motel 6 like furnishings, except you're with all of your friends and there is always something going outside in the halls.

It's China, so understand that you will be trying new food and strange food all the time. We had people that never ate street food, but personally I was downing that stuff three meals-a-day. If you find what works for you (and it does take a bit of navigating) then you can feel pretty content with what you're eating. Also in a city like Shanghai, you can find just about every type of cuisine because of its international vibe.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I didn't want to leave. I had made friends in the city, known the shopkeepers names, and had a great routine lifestyle. I allowed myself to become immersed in the culture and take everything as it came. The best way to do this is have an open mind, no matter what you see or conversations you have, just understand they have been doing things differently for thousands of years so their culture is going to reflect that. But it is also absolutely fascinating...again, if you have an open mind.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Our program did a great job with this. There were services that had English speaking doctors, and it was easily accessible. Because it is a developing country, we did have a few health issues but our program always made it a priority to resolve it as fast as they could.

Safer than America. There were nights we would be getting back around 4 or 5am, and whether you were on the metro or walking in poorly lit streets, I never felt worried. Granted we still took the regular precautions of being with a group and always having our phones etc.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

This is a tough question because food is incredibly cheap (I could get a chicken sandwich and huge bowl of noodles with the works for about $5), but we were constantly spending money due to traveling, partying, shopping, and seeing as much as we could. It's a relatively inexpensive country but I feel that that only makes you spend more because everything is such a great deal.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

We were texting our teachers in Chinese, so we absolutely loved it. It never felt like they had to force us, but rather we wanted to practice and speak it when we could.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students

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• Americans

• Shanghai
• Travel Opportunities (Spring Break)
• People

• Classes ( The Non-Language ones)
• Students representing different universities

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer