A perfect experience for my first trip to China Past Review
By Allister S (Business Administration, Management and Operations., Xavier University) - abroad from 02/28/2014 to 03/09/2014 with
Xavier University: Asia – MBA Doing Business in Southeast Asia, Hosted by the Asia Institute
My goal for going on this trip was to gain a better understanding of how companies did business in China, and I felt that I walked away with a very thorough experience.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
This was an extremely well rounded program. We visited a wide variety of businesses operating in China, took plenty of cultural visits and at the same time had enough time for some recreation as well. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Overall, I was very pleased with the hotels we stayed at. The accommodations were comfortable. There was plenty to do in the areas where we stayed, and we were close to most of the locations we were visiting. The only thing I didn't like was that the hotel we stayed at in Hangzhou permitted smoking in the hallways. |
| * Food: |
Every meal we had was amazing. We had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of dishes from various regions of China, and at every meal there was a ton of options to choose from, so if you didn't care for one dish, you had plenty more to try out. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We had a very in depth experience with the business culture in China, ranging from Chinese companies that have been around for many years to international companies that have only recently started to conduct business in China. On top of this we had plenty of opportunities to learn about various eras of Chinese history, as well as experience modern Chinese culture. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt very safe on this trip. I don't think we were ever in a situation where I felt my safety was in jeopardy. Our hosts made sure we never got lost, and that we were never placed in questionable or uncomfortable situations. |
| 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) |
The majority of our food, housing and travel expenses were included in the program cost. This made it very easy to budget how much to spend on souvenirs and recreation. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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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? | 10+ |
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? | Expect to haggle aggressively for souvenirs. Goods at the markets in Hangzhou are of much better quality than those in Shanghai. |
