Story Location: China
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Study Abroad Highlights from Shanghai
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After studying in Beijing last summer, I knew I wanted to return for a full semester abroad in China. Still, I worried that the experience might not live up to last summer. Did I enjoy living in China or was it friends who made it special? Would I be able to form connections as deep…
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Rediscovering My Chinese American Identity as a Student in Shanghai
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Overcoming doubts When I first decided to come to Shanghai, I was filled with doubt. From everything I had heard about study abroad, I knew I should choose a location that guaranteed constant adventure. But I’d been to Shanghai before, and in fact, to China a couple times. As a Chinese American who spoke fluent…
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A Young, Black, English Teacher in China
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During my study abroad with IFSA in Shanghai, China, I was offered an unpaid internship opportunity to teach English to migrant children. After going through the required bureaucratic documentation, I was finally allowed to start teaching after a few weeks of living in Shanghai. This began what was honestly a life-changing experience. As a Chinese…
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Exploring China’s Wuzhen: Study Abroad Experiences
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Wuzhen: An Ancient Chinese Watertown Halfway through my semester in Shanghai, our IFSA coordinators organized a getaway to Wuzhen, an ancient water town. We boarded a bus outside the dorms and headed west. Our journey included a stop at a restaurant just outside the town for a traditional Chinese lunch of Shanghai cuisine and local…
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Exploring Family Roots and Exotification in China
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I have always wanted to come to China. Listening to the stories my grandfather told about his childhood here and wondering about the ones he didn’t share, I felt I owed it to my blood to try and understand some of Chinese culture. What did my Grandpa feel on his way to the Philippines and…
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A Black Man in China
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Being abroad in China has taught me so many things about myself. I am a Black male from America, a first-generation college student raised in a middle class, mixed family. This may not seem important, but the diversity in my family is something many Chinese did not understand, and often caused a lot of confusion. …
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How I Gained an Understanding of Chinese Culture through Food
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Upon arriving in China, the one aspect of my semester abroad that I was particularly excited about was the cuisine. Having spent most of my life growing up in the US, my perception of authentic Chinese food was characterized by cinematic imagery and the special dishes my mother would prepare during the holidays. Therefore, my…
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Studying Abroad…in China? It’s More Likely Than You Think
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“How can you be okay with living in a communist country?” “The language is so hard, how are you going to be able to find your way around?” “But it’s just so…different.” These are definitely the most common questions I heard after I told people I was going to study abroad in China. Based on…
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3 Reasons Student-Athletes Should Go Abroad
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As a student-athlete, I was very nervous to study abroad. For the last four years, I have been a part of the Mount Holyoke College swim team as a distance freestyler. I love my team and I had fears that I wouldn’t be able to perform as well as I wanted to upon my return.…
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IFSA Interview Series: International Business in China
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“My internship abroad grew my Chinese language skills and differentiated me in such a competitive workplace that we find ourselves in today. When studying abroad you are definitely going to run into challenging situations where you don’t know where you are and no one speaks English, but those times are important because… professionally I learned…
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