• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site

Internship at the Shanghai University of Foreign Languages

Ilya Kozlovsky's report on an internship at the Shanghai University of Foreign Languages.

I went to SISU, i.e. the Shanghai University of Foreign Languages.

My internship lasted a month, I lived in the University hotel, because there were repair works at the student dorm.

All the study, including extra classes and textbooks were paid for by my scholarship, as well as accommodation, all excursions and visits, and above all mentioned I have been paid a monthly wage of 1,600 RMB (16,000 rubles) for daily expenses.

Were learned Chinese language on weekdays, and there were two classes - a main course and the reading. The teachers spoke good Mandarin, classes have been conducted exclusively in the Chinese language, which allowed me to deepen my level of speaking and listening.

The main course focused on the theme of Chinese culture, namely, ethno-cultural characteristics of the Chinese, respectively, the vocabulary was related to the issues of family, city, psychology, success, etc.

After the Chinese, there were additional classes in the Chinese martial Tai Chi, Chinese calligraphy and art paper cutting, as well as excursions to various attractions of the city (Shanghai Museum, Yuyuan Park, the steel-rolling shop of the plant Baoshan, a night river cruise in the city center, etc.) and educational lecture on the Economics and Politics of China.

In addition, the scholarship included a two-day trip to Hangzhou with a visiting of all important sights (the Leifeng Pagoda, West Lake, mountain monastery Linyi, tea plantations, etc.), accommodation, and even food.

During the tour organizers were happy to communicate with students, carefully watched that no one got lost, so it was great.

Every two students were attached to their personal "translator", i.e. a student of SISU, studying a language which you speak. His duties included accompanying during some trips and assistance in dealing with the Chinese people. However, communication with them was mostly another opportunity to practice speaking for both sides.

Shanghai is a very modern and developed city that, on the one hand, is good because unexpected conflicts and difficulties did not arise at all, on the other hand, it is obvious that in such Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Guilin and so on, the spirit of traditional China felt a lot more. Therefore, there exists a question of choice: if you want more color and surprises – you should go further South to a smaller city. If you want peace and more or less European lifestyle, then Shanghai is right for you.

However, here you can also find extremely colorful places, if you look for them: Jinju temple, Qibao village, Park Gu and Dolun Street. And this is only a part of the list.

Shanghai people are also different from other Chinese: in appearance, and manners they are more like the Europeans, presumably, it is a result of the semi-colonial past.

Life in Shanghai is not very expensive, but not as cheap as in Guangzhou or Shenzhen. A simple lunch will cost about 15 yuan (150 rubles), and for dinner, the restaurant will, most likely, bring you a check for 40 yuan. All household goods are cheap, but it is better to go to special streets for souvenirs (the area of the Chenghuang pavilion, the above mentioned village Qibao) and haggle. You can haggle things up to half of the initial price, if you smile and speak good Chinese. Of course, it's still overpriced, the Chinese are buying them in 4 or even 5 times cheaper than the initial one.

In general, I can say that I really liked my internship. The hotel was clean and rooms were cleaned each week, campus was close by, within a 10-minute walk. In the classroom there were guys from Thailand, Japan, India, Korea, France and Italy. The classes were fun and interactive, we held open discussions on different cultures, in Chinese language.

All extracurricular activities were fun and educational, young teachers enjoyed communicating with the students.

The city has a good transport system, the metro can take you to almost anywhere.

However, be prepared for the fact that in Shanghai the temperature rises up to 39 degrees in summer and occasionally there rains very heavy. However, for this region, a temperature of 39 degrees is not very hot, for example, in Nanjing, the temperature in this season may climb to 42 degrees.

Thus, despite the fact that my favorite Chinese city is still Guangzhou (for many reasons), I would say that I would like to come back to Shanghai and will be delighted to do so.