Phil's Words of Wisdom on How to Live in China: A Survival Guide Past Review
By Phillip M (Management Information Systems and Services., Illinois State University) for
Tongji University: Shanghai - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Yeah.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I have only one complaint and it is this. No department communicates with each other, not one. Each act as a separate entity. They all point fingers at one another when something goes askew or if they simply don't know all the facts. This is because of their 'face' social structure. In the end what should take half an hour of registration can easily take 6 hours (which happened twice in the first 3 weeks). On top of this there are no syllabuses. Basically the teacher can pick and choose how you will be graded, which happened in almost all of my courses. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
The food is unbelievably cheap (China is the cheapest place in the world to by a Big Mac). Local delicacy is, well, hit or miss. You could be eat at a 5 star restaurant or possibly dine out some 'mystery meat' from the street vendors (warning there are no cats or dogs running on the streets like in most metropolitan cities and I don't think all these animals have been domesticated either *hint* *hint*) |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Expo 2010, traveling East Asia, living a life few ever achieve. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | $10 a day (Sunday-Thursday), Friday + Saturday a bit more. 6.5 RMB = $1 USD. A meal will cost anywhere from 10RMB to 30 RMB. Clothes are cheap, but you need someone to communicate to lower the price I'm not the greatest source of this. I live frugally, even when I wasn't in China. $200 can last me almost a month, but thats just me. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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