A wonderful way to see another beautiful piece of this world Past Review

By (University of Colorado - Boulder) - abroad from 05/11/2016 to 07/26/2016 with

University of Colorado Boulder: China - Doing Business in China, Hosted by the Asia Institute

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I learned so much about a culture and country from a first-hand experience that only typically is heard about through the propagated news outlets.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The businesses we ended up going to see were of a wide array and covered almost every industry, which was wonderful. If a little extra time beforehand could be given to the students as a whole to look at and research the companies so as to be more prepared for the visits so all students could have an equal opportunity at expressing their interest in a certain company, that would be more helpful as we found out that many of the companies were interested in having us as potential hires in the future. Also allowing the students to pick which companies they would want to do a focus presentation on may although students to have more interest in doing their work and in turn get more out of the experience.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

I felt the program in whole was very worthwhile. Having integrated interaction with both local people, culture, and businesses gave a more well-rounded approach to seeing a new country than I could have hoped for. We had guides that were local college students that could help with any questions and concerns we had and were very friendly.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We stayed in two separate hotels in the two different cities and they both had more than sufficient amenities and were very nice.

* Food:

We were blessed with the ability to try cuisine the spread from every region of China, which although the meals were not always significantly different they were always delicious.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

All programs included we saw and experienced everything that we otherwise would have wanted to see as for cultural visits. As for newer age appropriate activities I think there could have been more that was advertised. In the end, we took it upon ourselves to find a roller rink and disco to celebrate our last night, which was interesting in and of itself since it gave us some independence to discover what we wanted to find to do.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

As typical for being in China the air pollution was a possible threat to health but did not seem to cause much harm to students. Three of us did feel sick which was the case in any stressful situation where the air quality changes from very hot and humid (outside) to cool and dry (inside) and I think a notice of how to protect oneself from that, good sleep and water, are a necessity.

* Safety:

I felt completely safe, no one in the group had any problems with being a foreigner.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Most meals were planned out for us and so we did not have to worry about our own meals much and for our individual meals it was easy to budget.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
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?
  • cultural visits
  • food
* What could be improved?
  • extracurricular activity options
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Sleep more and drink more water.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

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The Outright Urbanite
A social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country.