Shanghai Fall: Good and Bad Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I was overall pleased with my Chinese course as I did improve my Chinese speaking and listening skills over the semester. However, I was often frustrated when some students started to randomly use English instead of Chinese during class as it not only affected the flow and the mood of the classroom, but slowed the learning process of Chinese. More students got used to using English in class as the semester went and the teachers did not do enough to enforce the rule which was "NO English". The economics classes were disappointing. They were hardly engaging due to local professors' orthodox lecture style which was to read off from the power point presentation slides about the assigned readings for three hours. I felt that it was a waste of time since I could read the text book and study on my own. I also found it hard to understand the local professors' English and felt that the professors sometimes didn't even understand or know how to answer students' questions in English. After observing some classes, I quickly lost my motivation in class. What disappointed me even more was how professors reacted towards the final paper. During my final paper presentation in two of my only economics courses, I saw both of my professors nearly falling asleep showing little interest in my presentation. While it was true that most of the students including myself paid almost no attention in their classes, I found it disrespectful that the professors had this kind of attitude. It is evident that both professors and the students were not engaged in the class and bored each other. I did learn quite a bit of information from my internship course, however, as I worked for fifteen hours a week and wrote a final paper on comparison of study abroad trends between Japanese and Chinese students. I was drawn into my paper topic and spent a lot of time on researching, writing, and editing. I felt proud of my work in this class unlike the other economics courses.

On-site administration of your program

The most impressive part of the program was the week-long field study trips to HK, Macau, Zhuhai, and Shenzhen, as well as a weekend trip to Nanjing. During this time, we were able to look at different kinds of sites with a tour guide and a bus and most of the sites were interesting and new. The tour was mostly well coordinated with time, food, hotels, and fun activities. Without the tour guide and the group, I would have not been able to visit this many places in such a short time. The weakness of the program was inefficient communication between the students and the program director. The PD often notified students about important information such as a field trip itinerary very last minute. (i.e. a night before the trip) This made my general planning difficult and unpredictable. This trend started from the beginning of the semester and continued until the end, and it made the impression of the PD as untrustworthy.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was assigned a local roommate upon my arrival to China. She and I got along very well and quickly became good friends. We helped each other's language acquisition by practicing both Chinese and English. I learned a lot about Chinese cultures, trends, and the language by talking to her, and I am glad that I had a local roommate like her.

Once I started to seek for good food around the city, there was plenty of them. In Shanghai, you can get any kinds of food including western, Japanese, Thai, Indian, French, and of course Chinese in different styles. To get a good quality food at nice places, I had to pay more than I did at casual local dinners, but I found the exploration totally worth the price. I also found a fabulous London bran bakery of which I became a loyal customer. Because Shanghai is a big international city, I was able to experience many kinds of food here.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The night cruise on huangpu river on the last day of class was spectacular with the view of the Bund and Pudong. The lights and the buildings of the coasts symbolized the wealth, growth, and the glamor of Shanghai, and it was especially nice to be able to go with my roommates and good friends from the Fudan program.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Some students had severe health issues during the semester and had to go to the hospital numerous times, however I think the program director took care of those issues and warned other students to be cautious of their own health in a proper manner. I did not experience any health issues during my stay.

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

I practiced Chinese with My Chinese teachers, roommates, and friends. I often used "Chinglish", which is a combination of Chinese and English, with my Chinese roommate. In other times, I mostly used English as my internship site was mostly English speaking and my other friends spoke English. However, I tried to use Chinese as much as possible during my daily life interactions such as in taxis and stores.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students

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• Americans