Made in China Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Unless you are a national, your education gets gypped. International students are pushed to the side and expected to do way less than the nationals. Professors are not conducive to the development and overall quality of of an international's design.

On-site administration of your program

I've been told it is the "Chinese way" of doing things, but things don't get done here. My first encounter with this was with the online syllabus, where it stated that there was an English speaking studio and elective classes. I got here and that was the previous year's syllabus, not the upcoming year's. I arrived and found there were no English studios, and there was only one elective class I could take.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I'm pretty flexible when it comes to housing. As long as I have a place to stay I'm good. The beds are wooden crates (no mattress); rats and trash are everywhere in the hallways; out of the 50 washing machines in the two dorm complexes, only 4 on the first floor of one of the buildings works. I gave this five because, though the living accommodations aren't admirable, the people living here are great. There is a bond between the internationals, and getting to live with people from everywhere is amazing.

You be the judge on it. I don't like Chinese food, but I've made it by. Everything is cheap here...except western food. A normal meal costs me 2-3 dollars. The cafeteria is really cheap too.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

There's no escaping the culture here. Everyone lives so close. My classes, because they're in Chinese, are with the Chinese students, so I spend a lot of time with nationals. Day one you are dropped into the culture. There's no real easing into it...but for this culture, I feel like you need to be dropped into it.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The dorm manager will take you to the hospital if you are sick enough. There is a hospital two buildings down from the dorm. It's super close, but super dirty. I had no vaccines that I took specifically for this study abroad program. I was supposed to have a physical done and have a bunch of vaccines done, but...it's China...unless it's a life or death situation, it's typically not worried about.

Nanjing is super safe. Typically, the only people out past 9 o'clock are the international students. The nationals are normally already in bed. My only advice is to watch out for bikers and moped-ers. Most people who drive in the city don't use headlights (sometimes even the city buses don't use them.) Buses and cars are easier to see at night; more so than the bikers who ride everywhere-street, biking lane, sidewalk.

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

Even splurging every now and then, I spent way less than $100/week on food.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

All my classes were taught in Chinese...so a lot of encouragement solely due to total immersion in the classes.

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The Avid Adventurer