Teachers open the door; you enter by yourself Past Review
By Helen (University of Colorado - Boulder) - abroad from 05/12/2016 to 05/26/2016 with
University of Colorado Boulder: China - Doing Business in China, Hosted by the Asia Institute
Language, adaptability, cultural experience, business conduct, travel planning, so many things honestly- too much to fit in this box
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I loved the experience- it was wonderful to see the country through the eyes of people who grew up there. I was warmly welcomed by all of the Asia Institute Staff, and always had support from them with whatever I needed and or wanted to know about. I learned as much from them as I did from all of our company visits! And the visits were incredibly eye opening- being in that kind of environment and being able to ask questions in that setting really solidified many of the concepts learned in the first couple courses of the minor track. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Wonderful- I always felt safe and supported by the Asia Institute Staff, which was incredibly important traveling half way across the world! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Awesome! I loved the variety and felt that I learned a lot about the culture through the food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
100% We were in the perfect location in Beijing and became totally immersed in a real residential area. I loved exploring early in the mornings or in the evenings. One of my favorite parts of the trip was watching Beijing "wake up" in the early mornings. Shanghai as well- excellent spots. The wifi was a bit dodgy at our first hotel, and that made it exceedingly difficult to finish all of our assignments. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Very well, however I can hardly comment because I didn't get sick on the trip. |
| * Safety: |
I felt very safe, but on this kind of trip you really have to watch out for yourself. We were left relatively unsupervised for the most part, and we had to "figure out" most things on our own. We were told there would be a buddy system, but that was never set up or really enforced. However I never felt unsafe during the trip. |
| 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) |
We were made aware during our orientation days that we wouldn't have all meals covered, but we had less meals planned that I was expecting. I made a conservative budget based on what the study abroad office suggested, and it was not enough. However having breakfast included at our hotels was very handy and appreciated. Not to mention food places and varying prices options were widely available (more so in Beijing than Shanghai). |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $75 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Go to the fruit store or grocery store and by snacks or if you want to save money on meals, buy the instant noodles. A lot of people spend money on alcohol... remember that you can buy alcohol in most countries around the world, you don't need to buy bottles or anything there. You really don't need it for the trip anyway. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | more about the meals plan I suppose... |
