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Shanghai - Part 1 - Introduction ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Jcdk7sk.jpg) Photography skills were non-existent early on in the program
Hi all, I have been meaning to do this blog/ reflection about my time studying abroad in Shanghai for a long time now, but have never really sat down and took the time to do it. I wanted to do this blog mostly for myself, but also to share my experience with everyone. I highly recommend studying abroad at some point in your life as it is seriously an experience that you can't get from just traveling somewhere. Hopefully this blog will convince those who are on the fence regarding studying abroad to make the leap and for those who have never thought about studying abroad to seriously consider it.
A Bit about Me
Economics major, Chinese Studies and Accounting minors. Went abroad Fall 2013. Graduated Class of 2014.
Why I chose to study abroad
My interest in studying abroad came to me during the middle of my college career. Early on in college, I did not even contemplate the idea of going abroad to study. I have gone on vacations to visit relatives outside the United States numerous times in the past, but could not imagine spending any extended period outside perfect sunny California. Furthermore, there is always talk about how foreigners want to come study in the United States so I would think why bother looking to go somewhere else when I'm already where everyone wants to be?
However, as I became older and made more upperclassman friends who were about to graduate college, I would always hear them cite not studying abroad as their number one regret in college. Furthermore, those who have gone abroad have said it was an experience they truly enjoyed. This got me seriously thinking that maybe I should look into the possibility of studying abroad.
As I did more research, studying abroad seemed increasingly like something I just had to do. There are many practical reasons alone for studying abroad. The experience looks great on your resume, it is an amazing chance to develop an international professional network, and it is a chance to take courses you are interested in that are not offered in the United States.
However, the main benefit of studying abroad, at least for me, was the sheer amount of personal development that I had during my time abroad. Simply being in a completely different country that does not speak English immediately put me way outside my comfort zone, a challenge I loved. More reflections on that will be discussed in a future part ~.
How I settled on Shanghai
After deciding that I needed to study abroad, my next step was to figure out where to go. Luckily, this step was pretty easy for me. I have had a growing interest in China since I took several courses on its contemporary history during my early years of college. Furthermore, as an Economics major, I thought what better way to compliment my degree than to study at the hub of economic activity in the fastest growing country in the world! Shanghai is also known as the party city of china so that was definitely a large factor in my choosing Shanghai. After putting everything together, I decided to study in Shanghai and Fudan University. One of the best decisions of my life.
Next Post
I would love to here what you guys think I should do for my next part of the blog. Although I am not done yet I have several topics in mind that I have started writing about but I would love to share. Hopefully posting on teamliquid will keep me more accountable on finishing the rest of it. If there is anything not on the poll that you would like me to discuss, please post in the comments! Thanks for reading.
Poll: What should I talk about in Part 2?School / Daily Life (6) 43% Partying / Party Scene (3) 21% Girl Blog (3) 21% Food (2) 14% Travelling (0) 0% Friends (0) 0% 14 total votes Your vote: What should I talk about in Part 2? (Vote): School / Daily Life
(Vote): Partying / Party Scene
(Vote): Travelling
(Vote): Food
(Vote): Girl Blog
(Vote): Friends
  
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I have also seriously considered studying abroad, but I just don't really get the rationale behind it. I'm not very much into traveling, so any part that would be about enjoying novel sights is of very marginal interest to me (不出户知天下,不窥牖见天道 and all that). The growing up that a person might do while outside of their comfort zone is a plus, but I know plenty of people on who studying abroad has had no impact at all in terms of character development. Having it listed on your resume might be great, but it's completely irrelevant for my line of work and I can form an international network through conferences or research fellowships.
However, I have no doubt that it was a great experience for you and I'm looking forward to reading more about it.
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I used to live in Zhuhai, just across the bay from Hong Kong, and next to Macau. Made it to SH once, and found that as much as I loved China, properly large Chinese cities made me very uncomfortable. Zhuhai is small at 1.5 millionish. That being said, enjoy Pudong, that is a good bit of fun, but do try to sojourn outside of city limits some.
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After a while you'll realize everything is expensive for no reason and there's nowhere to go for fun.
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1.Did you study any economics in China?
2.If so how did you find it compared to the way it is taught in the US?
3.Is it the same neoliberal style stuff or do they do it differently there?
4.Did the pollution/shitty weather bother you?
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been there aswell, so which university did you pick?
my personal opinion, its a super-important experience to study aborad. when there are some really big cultural differences to your home, even better.
like for me from germany to china is like day/night. but still it was a awesome time and i would do it again. its not only a cultural thing but also about your own person/character. since you will know how you deal with really different situations than you know.
the good part of shanghai, its pretty "western" already so the jump isnt that big in the beginning. but you can increase the dose of different culture by exploring some non-tourist-parts of the city and also go to some other places. some cities seem to have never seen western ppl before. like taizhou, caused 2 minor car-accidents there by just walking around ...
TL;DR
great thing, hope you enjoy every little bi of it
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On August 03 2014 11:27 sths wrote:
1.Did you study any economics in China?
2.If so how did you find it compared to the way it is taught in the US?
3.Is it the same neoliberal style stuff or do they do it differently there?
4.Did the pollution/shitty weather bother you?
I'm interested in the answers to those questions !
And I would add :
5.How was the food ? What did you eat and where did you eat during your stay ?
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On August 03 2014 03:39 GERMasta wrote:
I have also seriously considered studying abroad, but I just don't really get the rationale behind it. I'm not very much into traveling, so any part that would be about enjoying novel sights is of very marginal interest to me (不出户知天下,不窥牖见天道 and all that). The growing up that a person might do while outside of their comfort zone is a plus, but I know plenty of people on who studying abroad has had no impact at all in terms of character development. Having it listed on your resume might be great, but it's completely irrelevant for my line of work and I can form an international network through conferences or research fellowships.
Before studying abroad, I would rate myself a 3/10 in my interest in traveling. Traveling used to seem like a hassle to me, but while I was abroad, I really found it quite fun. I would have never expected myself to be the one planning numerous group trips. However, when I was in China I found myself being the one initiating and organizing group trips to neighboring cities all around China. Point is, you really learn things about yourself when you travel abroad. Aside from practical reasons for studying abroad, there’s so many unexpected benefits that come with just being somewhere completely different and being exposed to a new environment.
I used to live in Zhuhai, just across the bay from Hong Kong, and next to Macau. Made it to SH once, and found that as much as I loved China, properly large Chinese cities made me very uncomfortable. Zhuhai is small at 1.5 millionish. That being said, enjoy Pudong, that is a good bit of fun, but do try to sojourn outside of city limits some.
My family is actually originally from macau and I have been there many times in the past. Shanghai is definitely a different beast compared to the other cities you’ve mentioned. Pro’s and cons, but I’d choose Shanghai over macau any day 
1.Did you study any economics in China?
2.If so how did you find it compared to the way it is taught in the US?
3.Is it the same neoliberal style stuff or do they do it differently there?
4.Did the pollution/shitty weather bother you?
1. yes I did, i took an economics of development course and a international finance (not really econ) course. I’ll talk more about it in part 2!
3. I definitely felt that the economics was less neoliberal focused than the econ courses i’ve taken in the US, which was extremely refreshing. Will discuss more in part 2 as well.
4. Pollution did get very bad at one point during my trip. There was a record breaking amount of pollutants in the air at one point. We all got into the habit of checking the PMI every day on our smartphones and would wear masks accordingly. Shanghai actually has seasons so that was refreshing coming from california.
so which university did you pick? … the good part of shanghai, its pretty "western" already so the jump isnt that big in the beginning. but you can increase the dose of different culture by exploring some non-tourist-parts of the city and also go to some other places. some cities seem to have never seen western ppl before. like taizhou, caused 2 minor car-accidents there by just walking around ...
I picked Fudan University. You are spot on with the comment. Shanghai definitely has its western / expat dominated areas if you are ever in the mood to be surrounded by english speakers. Nobody would bat an eye at seeing a blond person in shanghai but when we ventured to nanjing and beijing, random strangers would ask to take pictures with my foreign looking friend.
Thanks for reading everyone. I will do the next part on daily life / school.
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TLADT24920 Posts
Looking forward to reading your future blogs. Lots of descriptions please :D
On August 03 2014 14:37 Rodberd wrote:
been there aswell, so which university did you pick?
my personal opinion, its a super-important experience to study aborad. when there are some really big cultural differences to your home, even better.
like for me from germany to china is like day/night. but still it was a awesome time and i would do it again. its not only a cultural thing but also about your own person/character. since you will know how you deal with really different situations than you know.
the good part of shanghai, its pretty "western" already so the jump isnt that big in the beginning. but you can increase the dose of different culture by exploring some non-tourist-parts of the city and also go to some other places. some cities seem to have never seen western ppl before. like taizhou, caused 2 minor car-accidents there by just walking around ...
TL;DR
great thing, hope you enjoy every little bi of it
what? lol.
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EPT
