Orientation
• I loved orientation. It was a fun, comprehensive introduction to our time in Shanghai.
• I feel like I saw more of Shanghai during the first week than I did the rest of the semester. It was a great intro to the city!
Volunteering
• I loved the Halloween carnival we held for the migrant kids. It felt like I was actually interacting with Shanghai, and China, and doing something positive. I got to know my classmates better too.
• i usually am involved with community service back in America and volunteering in China gave me a new perspective and insight into Chinese culture. It felt good to help out, and it was interesting seeing another side of Shanghai (outside our semi-protected bubble)
• I was allowed to see how poverty and other disabilities have affected lives, but I was also able to see how optimism help people deal with what could be a debilitating experience. I was able to make new friends with different views on life and the world. It is certainly an important experience that I could never get back at NYU.
Academic Resources
• Most course books and readings were distributed through course packs or handouts, which were helpful.
• Easy. Everything was made available, and if not cheaply, it was free.
• The NYU in Shanghai library is not large, but the texts available in it are good. Also, all the readings are available in coursepacks and you can get most research done online.
• Everything is easily accessible.
• We could borrow books from the office reading collection and i often used NYU's research resources available on NYUHome.
• The academic office has all the course books available. Academic support also provided all course readings for students. It was easy and accessible.
Staff
• The staff was so thoughtful with the birthday cakes and cards. I really appreciated all the work they put into Shanghai Night.
• The staff is great. They're very helpful and very attentive to our needs.
• I loved this program, especially the staff!
Housing
• I have no complaints about the off-campus apartments, it was a luxury living in these apartments.
• Wonderful service apartment with spacious quarters. I very much enjoyed my stay at the off-campus apartments.
• I love the living arrangements.
• Housing was very satisfactory and I liked how my needs were met in a timely fashion. Keep up the good work!
Co-Curricular Activities
• The travels were GREAT. Well organized.
• The activities and excursions were very fun. It gave the students the opportunity to meet one another or further those relationships.
• I really liked the places we saw during orientation and especially enjoyed the Beijing trip we took during the first month.
• I thought that the Stern-related trip to Nantong was really interesting. I learned a lot and got to meet some pretty important people.
• The cultural classes that were provided for us taught me a lot. I especially enjoyed the cooking class!
• Getting a job and finding my own opportunities as a Chinese-American taught me the most. Making local friends also helped a lot too.
• The trips - like to Yunnan and Beijing - were really insightful about other parts of China.
• Shooting an independent thesis film project in Shanghai, roaming about every location in the city, making local friends, and independent travel throughout China were all really valuable.
• I took a local dance class on my own. I made a lot of great friends and got to practice my Chinese.
• I learned the most bargaining with vendors, wandering around the city and talking to cab drivers.
• Just being in China with a language barrier and different culture took me out of my biased, patriotic ignorance!!
• The homestay weekend was a really valuable part of my experience in Shanghai.
• The Tea Talks [afternoon socials with Chinese students] were really interesting and helped me get to know local friends.
• The food. I learned to love Chinese food. It was a big part of my exploration when I was in China.
Advice to Incoming Students
• Don't let money be an issue when it comes to making memories worthwhile. Every student should take advantage of their weekends and travel to other parts of China.
• Don't always go out with your Mandarin speaking friends, you'll eventually rely on them for all sorts of communication and won't practice your own Mandarin.
• Try to avoid speaking English, even when the people you're interacting with speak it.
• Bring antibacterial gel.
• Participate in as many NYU-sponsored co-curricular activities as possible.
• I would recommend not going abroad with a bunch of people that you're very close with. I thought that being in a foreign country helped me become close to a bunch of people that I would never have had the chance to get to know, and I found that just wandering around the city with new people helped me learn a lot about my new friends and about the country where I was studying.
• Take public transportation. You may be tempted to call the Chinese people's manners barbarian, but take a different attitude. Look at it as an experience and as this culture's mannerisms as just as praiseworthy as America’s.
• Take advantage of all the trips and excursions. Explore shanghai every chance you get!
• I think it's important to keep in mind that when you enter Shanghai, you are really entering into another culture. Many people fail to see this and start using their American or "western" lenses to place judgment on the people here.
• I advise you to be very open-minded and understand that Chinese culture embraces things that American culture does not. I would also encourage them to go to as many of the school sponsored trips and events as possible as they are very well planned.
• Try to make friends with local people. Get a job with a local Chinese company, not some international firm. You might as well do things that aren’t available in New York.
• Learn Chinese; be open-minded.
• Plan to be flexible and do not be too reliant on Western luxuries here in China. Doing so will defeat the purpose of studying in China.
• Go out and explore. Don't just sit in your room all day. • Don’t come here if you don’t know why you’re coming. You won’t be able to get anything out of your time here if you don’t have a purpose.
• It's best to come here with no friends back home that way it forces you to meet new people. Get close to your floor mates, they are your new best friends!
• Get out in the city and beyond it! While the NYU in Shanghai program facilities have a lot to offer, you need to make your study abroad experience worthwhile by taking advantage of being in China. Get out of the bubble and your comfort zone!
• Attend the English Corners and the tea talks. They help one understand how the Chinese think and what they feel about their country and the world.
• Be prepared that it is really hard to communicate with people because the native language is Shanghainese. I've been studying Mandarin for 6 years and still have trouble understanding most of the people because their accent is off.
• Plan more trips in the beginning of the year, speak more Chinese outside of class, interact with locals (some are really friendly!).
• Absolutely make friends with Chinese students.
• Prepare yourself. Don't come here if you don't think you will ever like China. Keep an open mind. It can be really different but the sooner you get use to its faults, the sooner you can appreciate and learn from its positive characteristics.
• Please don't just eat McDonald's, KFC and other expat food. Try eating at local "cantings", try new food, and practice the language.
• Try to talk to locals, even if they seem hesitant. Many are just shy or not confident about their English. If you are nice and patient, they will be very willing to make friends and share tips on where to go.
• Get involved! There are so many opportunities and you should take advantage of them.
• Bring Rolaids and Tums!
