1. My international experience to date is:
1. My international travel experience to date isn’t very much but I have been fortunate enough to have been abroad before. After my sophomore year in high school I traveled to Spain for a little over two weeks with a group of my fellow classmates. Other than that I went on a cruise to Mexico with my family.
2. I want to go to China because:
2. I want to go to China because I have always believed that the culture in China is very interesting. In addition to that I also have been taking Chinese for the past two years, one in high school and one this past year in college. I would like to see how well I will be able to communicate with Chinese people to be able to tell if I can study abroad there for a full semester.
3. I think the main professional work differences I will experience will be:
3. I think the main professional work difference I will experience in China will be the influence of the Chinese culture in the work settings. I also think the executive positions will be different because I think it’ll be mostly men.
4. I think the main cultural differences I will experience will be:
4. I think the main cultural difference I will experience is the food, but there will be a lot more. I can’t wait to experience their culture through the foods. In addition to that I believe the tourist sites will obviously be a cultural difference. I really want to see their history through these sites.
5. I think the main political differences I will experience will be:
5. I think the main political difference I will experience in China will be that they have communist government. So it’ll be different to see how much control the government has over daily tasks that we wouldn’t think twice about therefore a lot of rules will be different which will add to the culture shock.
6. I think the students in China will be:
6. I think the students I meet in China will be a lot different than the students in America. I think they are a lot stricter with their studies and are extremely focused. I also can’t wait to see if I will be able to communicate with them in Chinese.
7. I predict I will be surprised to find:
7. I predict that I will be surprised to find that I like the new foods that I try. I am normally and very picky eater but I can’t wait to experience the new dishes. In addition I will be surprised to find how large the Great Wall actually is in person, and I hope to surprise myself at how well I am able to handle the culture shock and the language.
8. I think the major differences in living conditions will be:
8. I think the major differences in the living conditions will be that it is a lot smaller than I am used to because they have a lot more people to accommodate for. I also think that the living conditions will have a culture theme to their designs that relate to Chinese history.
(optional)9. Anything else you want to say:
9. I am really looking forward to going on this trip to China to not only experience the culture and see the sites but to also see if I’ll be able to go back later for a semester for a possible internship at a Chinese firm. I would really like to get into international business and I believe this is the best first step in that direction. I feel very fortunate to be given this opportunity and I plan to make the most out of it.