Everyone should undergo the China experience Past Review
By Ivana S (Economics/ IGS/ EAS, Brandeis University) for
CIEE: Shanghai - Summer Business and Culture
This is not my first time in China, but I had still to learn so much about this amazing country. It was definatelly worthwhile and I would do it all over again. I became even more culturally relative and ready to embrace the differences. There were tough moments now and then, but these moments are not something that I am going to remember when thinking of China; amazing people that I met and fun adventures are going to be the things that I remember.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | East China Normal University |
| 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. |
|
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
|
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was amazing. I would definately recmomend the dorm as opposed to the host family. Some of my friends were really disappointed with their host families and did not get along with them. Living in the dorm with a Chiense roomate on the other hand, has not only helped improve my Chinese, but is also more comfortable (bathrooms and rooms are clean, there is a cleaning lady every morning, changing of the sheets is available every week, etc) |
| * Food: |
The food was not included in the program fee, meaning we had to find the places to eat on the daily basis. Being a pescatarien can be difficult, but as long as you are persistent you can find places with decent food. Next to our dormitory there were couple of places that had decent noodles and rice. However, do not expect to find a lot of Western food in the area (only fast food, like KFC) |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Program did include some great opportunities to learn how to prepare Chinese food, play Erhu (traditional Chinese instrument), martial arts, etc. However, we did not have that many fieldtrips. |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
|
| * Safety: |
Healthcare was not very efficient. The program was connected to the hospital "United Health". Although the hospital had stuff who could speak English, it did not meet the standards. One of my friends had a swollen eye for 2 days, and they have claimed it was because she had fungus in both of her eyes. The swollen eye went away, and she did not have fungus. An advice, do not ever take the medicines your host family gives you (not that they would give you something innappropriate intentionally, but not even they are aware of what certain medicines contain) |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
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) |
|
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
|
| Language acquisition improvement? |
Many people spoke English, as most of the poeple in the group were not good enough to converse in Chinese. However, by talking to my Chinese roomate and random people whom I met, I have improved my level of Chinese. |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Social and open-minded students, ready to interact with the community would benefit the most. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Advanced Chinese 2 |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | Wang and Yang professors |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | The teachers were well prepared and entertaining. However, the class although being useful could have been even more effective if it were to concentrate a little bit more on a daily language and essays than on grammar mostly. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Business Chineses |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | Great way to expand business-related vocabulary and to learn about American companies who had the most sucess in China. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
