Support in China
It would be an understatement to characterize the quality of the support staff at CIEE Shanghai as “above and beyond”. From the very first day of the program, the support staff made it very clear that they were here to help us with anything and everything. However, as with everything in life, it is never until you need something, you realize how much you appreciate it. It didn’t take much time for me to see how living in Shanghai required me to “re-learn” how to do the most normal tasks. From ordering food at a restaurant, translating every question we wanted to know, to figuring out how to get around the city, the staff literally walked us through all of these new norms.
This week I got into the classic situation of “Oh my God where is my wallet?” Even worse though, it was already 10:00 PM at night when I realized I didn’t have it so it could’ve been left at any of the buildings on campus I went to that day. Not sure what to do, I texted Laura our student services staff member and she immediately responded. Within the next 20 minutes she biked back to campus, notified the security guards to start a search, and found my wallet. In that moment I grasped how much the staff care about us and how willing they are to help in any way they can.
The support staff at CIEE Shanghai are made up of Chinese natives and some Americans who have been living in China for years. Its a great balance having access to staff that has native knowledge of Chinese culture and staff that understands the difficulties transitioning from life in the US. Especially in a country where majority of people don’t speak fluent English nor have much experience interacting with foreigners, it is very easy to become frustrated or discouraged. It was incredibly helpful to have support staff members that would support us through our confusion.
In my opinion the most interesting professor is my teacher for Chinese Film & Society. Benny is a recent PHD student from Harvard University whose academic specialty is in contemporary Chinese films. Beyond being exposed to Chinese movies, his classes have helped me learn more about Chinese history, political issues, pop culture, customs, and societal values. After living in China on and off for 6 years, he speaks Mandarin incredibly fluently and has made friends with many influential Chinese artists. As a result, we’ve had amazing opportunities outside of the classroom to learn more about art & media in China. For instance, we were able to attend a film screening featuring a Chinese movie director that recently received accolades at Sundance. We also got to visit a local in Shanghai with the largest pre- Cultural Revolution movie collection in all of China. Overall, all the staff and teachers at CIEE are passionate about what they do and are sincerely excited to get to know us.
