1. My international experience to date is:
This will be my first time traveling abroad since I was 6 years old. My international experience is limited to a small week long cruise in the Caribbean. While on the cruise, we stopped at various islands and got to interact with some of the local people. I anticipate that my trip to China will be very different from the experience I had going to the Caribbean.
2. I want to go to China because:
I would like to travel to China because I believe it will provide me with the perfect opportunity to expand my own confidence, since traveling overseas also involves many risks and decisions. Also I believe it will help me develop my communication skills because I will be required to communicate with individuals who have very different backgrounds than me.
3. I think the main professional work differences I will experience will be:
In most Asian businesses it is considered very important to develop a personal relationship with those whom you are working with and for. Many times this aspect of professional work is overlooked by American business and other western businesses. Also I believe the industries we visit will be more oriented toward group perfection as opposed to individual advancement like it often is in the United States.
4. I think the main cultural differences I will experience will be:
I think one of the main differences between Chinese and American culture is that in China, people place higher value on group cooperation and individual modesty while in America there is more emphasis put on individual gains. Also, the Chinese avoid direct confrontation when there is some sort of conflict and rely more on nonverbal communication to resolve tensions.
5. I think the main political differences I will experience will be:
When I travel to China I will find that the government regulation of speech, religion and other civil rights is more restricted than in the United States. As I result I will need to be more careful with my words and actions so as not to offend any government sensitivities.
6. I think the students in China will be:
There are many differences between education in China and America. In China, the education system is more focused toward learning core concepts to a very in-depth level. On average students spend almost twice as much time studying as American students. I think it will be interesting to compare the different types of methods used in teaching, and also the content itself, between the two countries.
7. I predict I will be surprised to find:
I think I will be surprised to find that even though I am in a completely different country with an unfamiliar culture, my interests and feelings will be remarkably similar to the local people I meet. Even if we are separated by cultural boundaries, as humans, we still feel and think in similar ways.
8. I think the major differences in living conditions will be:
I anticipate several changes in living conditions in China from America. The first of which is a difference in climate; China’s winters are often much colder and their summers can be much warmer as well. I will also be unfamiliar with most of the food which we will be eating. Along with these things, it will be more difficult to communicate, not only with the people I am around, but with people from home, because we will not have the ability to use cell phones.