Hard to do...but great living in a great city Past Review
By William P (Finance and Financial Management Services., Trinity University) - abroad from 08/20/2012 to 12/15/2012 with
IES Abroad: Shanghai - Economy, Business & Society
Adaptation, how to have fun.
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. |
Chinese language demanding, business courses not as much |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Disorganized at times (Taiwan trip), on point at others (Thanksgiving dinner) |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Good living situation. But when we smelled gas in the kitchen we were told to "open a window"... |
| * Food: |
Shanghai is a big city with great restaurants |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
sink or swim |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
roommate spent 2 weeks in the hospital, was not visited by administration of our program. hospital was beautiful |
| * Safety: |
only aggressive beggars were problem |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
shanghai is big city living with high price tags. food was nice and cheap if you were eating locally |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | A lot |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't deny yourself...you're abroad, spend. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 2nd yr chinese |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | go over basic sentence structures to use. embrace the culture shock |
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?
Select all that apply |
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
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? | How great Shanghai is Air pollution is real |
