STUDYING IN CHINA By Daniel Travers


As China increasingly becomes a dominant player on the world stage, many eyes are turned towards it, with members of both the business and academic communities curious to see what this ascendant nation can offer them. Yet for those students willing to take the plunge and discover what opportunities China holds, what can the experience be like? To find out, I spoke to Francesca Sablan, a student of Chinese Studies at the University of Manchester, who recently returned from a year at the Shandong University in Jinan, Shandong Province.


Thanks for speaking to us. Firstly, why did you choose to spend a year in China, and why in the city of Jinan in particular?


I study Mandarin as part of my course, so the year abroad was a compulsory aspect of my degree, but I chose Jinan specifically as I felt it would be easier to immerse myself within the Chinese language and culture there. I thought that in the larger, more international cities – such as Beijing or Hong Kong –the pervasiveness of Western culture and the English language would be greater, whilst in Jinan I would be more required to use and develop my skills in Mandarin.


Did you have any particular expectations of what life would be like in China before you moved there?


Not really. I had already spent two years in Manchester studying various aspects of Chinese culture and society, so I possessed a general idea of what I would encounter. That said, I found that no matter how much you study a place in theory, it will never really prepare you for the shock of actually being there.


Was there much of a culture shock?


Well it was the little things that threw me the most. I never really used to consider myself as being overwhelmingly British, but when I was in China I was made much more aware of how ingrained my own culture and customs are, particularly (and rather stereotypically) with things like queuing, which isn’t much


of a done thing over there. The infamous squat-toilets were also a bit of a shock; they’re not very easy to use if you’ve had a few drinks!


Was there anything else about China that was unexpected?


I didn’t expect to be treated as such a novelty as I was by the local population. In somewhere like Jinan, where it’s less international than some of the larger cities, the amount of foreigners is very small, so for some locals I was the first non-Chinese person they had ever met. A few times I found the attention to be a bit awkward or rude, but for the most part it made me feel quite exotic.


Did you feel welcome?


Very. The local people were often genuinely impressed and flattered that someone from my background would be attempting to learn about


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