Shanghai: International Wisdom From Studying Abroad! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The teaching style at Fudan for international students is fairly similar to home university style. The teachers are all fluent in English and extremely knowledgeable in their field. The course from which to choose to begin with will very from when you get there, but that is the same for any program. You have "mandatory" classes but exceptions can be made depending on reasons. The grading system is standard. There are no pass/fail classes. Homework, projects, papers, and other features of workload are similar to home universities, which are based off of the level of the class. The school actually is host to other foreign teachers as well (such as I had a professor from Chile teach my International Negotiations class).

On-site administration of your program

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in China. The process for getting everything from my visa, to booking travel from outside of the country, to traveling within the country, to buying cellphone minutes, and traveling by cab/bus or simply navigating the street was easier than I could have ever expected. The size of the Shanghai group was about 20 people, and 28 with the Beijing group included. The program provided us with Chinese roommates that help us with our basic needs and helping us get acclimated to our home city.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We lived in apartments that were 2 blocks away from the school. The program provided us with Chinese roommates that allowed us to have communication with the Chinese students who could help us with translations, navigation, ideas on where to go, where to eat, where to travel to outside of the city. The roommates treated us as just that, roommates. We had to purchase basic supplies such as more hangers, ironing board, iron, food, and toiletries. If we did not like the bedding they provided us we were free to purchase our own. Basic cookware was provided but if we wanted something that suited more to our liking we could buy that as well. All of the apartments came with basic cable, wireless internet, 32" TVs, and heating/air.

The food in Shanghai is like no other. Street food is always abundant and I had no dietary issue while there. I am no allergic to anything so I had no issues on find food that was edible. There are always abundant places to eat. So if you get tired of one style of food you can move on to another. Things you must try in Shanghai before leaving are the Korean Barbeques, Hot Pot, street food (I LOVE OCTOPUS ON A STICK!!!), and particular places are Helen's (about 6 blocks away form the school) and Munchies (if youmiss american food this is the best burger you will ever eat in your life).

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Constantly something to do in this country. The very first week was memorable for me. We stayed in a small home hotel about half a mile from the great wall of China. We walked to and then hiked along the wall for a good ways until we were able to watch the sun rise along the wall. We visited the Summer palace, the forbidden city, and Tienanmen square. We also were able to take a TaiChi class in the middle of a park in Beijing. For Easter, we visited the Shanghai Zoo. On my own, I visted a friend in Guangzhou, which was probably the highlight of my trip. With member of the program, we made plans and visited cities on our own such as WuZhen, Hangzhou, and Xian. Other people visited several different places. As for other social events, there are some many parks, historical sites, shopping areas, clubs, and bars that are easily found in Shanghai. Also, there are many websites that you can find something to do that is always culture related.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Never carry your passport and try to only carry lockable bags and clutches. Make sure you have comfortable and well worn shoes. The healthcare insurance provided by TEAN is well worth it. If you had any issues from needing to talk to someone about trouble adjusting to physical pain to illness you were covered and able to see someone within 24 hours. There were no health issues asside from the usual don't drink unboiled water or strictly bottled water.

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

We had Chinese roommates that we could ask for assistance during the program and would help out with any Chinese language practice we needed. Many people in Shanghai speak English; though, not fluent by any means. Many of the street signs have the Pinyin or english translation underneath and the subway system has English translations as well as the pinyin available for stop to stop update. The entire city is full of people trying to learn English and will gladly help you in your goal of learning Chinese for English classes in exchange. You will be speaking Chinese in everyday situations from ordering food to buying clothes. Much of what you need to know you pick up easily or can easily learn from your Chinese roommate.

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