three-month internship in Shanghai

Prior to coming to Shanghai, I really did not have any real exposure, let alone any knowledge of Chinese culture. I grew up in the United States my entire life; yet, for some reason I always had an interest in visiting the other side of the world while also learning the language. After countless searches online and research, I finally stumbled upon Startup China as the service that I thought would help me best achieve my goals and make the most out of the experience in China. Fortunately, I was completely right.

I applied for the Startup China's three-month Internship program in Shanghai and was ecstatic when I founded out that I was an accepted candidate. Upon arrival at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I was immediately greeted by one of the company's representatives who was warm, hospitable, and as excited as I was! After getting a brief tour of Shanghai city just through looking outside the window of the car, I attended a welcome dinner that not only gave an introduction into the program, but also allowed me to meet the other students in the program.

Startup China did a great job in providing me with an internship program that allowed me to get working experience in the field that I was most interested. As a college student concentrating in Business Administration with a minor in marketing, I was matched up with a Shanghai-based startup company who specializes in developing marketing campaigns for various big-named companies around the world. Not only was I exposed to a real-life work experience through this internship, but I also had responsibilities that were valued and actually contributed to the company's operations and success.

I also really enjoyed the survival Chinese classes that we had twice a week. I was in a class with 2 other interns from the program. We had a lot of fun learning the language and attempting to put it into practice when we were out and about, even if we weren't always able to make ourselves understood!

Downtime was something that I was really looking forward to during my time in Shanghai. I heard from some of my college buddies that the nightlife was incredible in the city, so that was definitely on my list of things to do. Additionally, food was also a priority. After being only exposed to "American" Chinese food my entire life, such as Panda Express and countless fortune cookies, I was really excited to finally get the true authentic Chinese cuisine experience.

Startup China always organized fun and cultural activities for all of us after work and of course during the weekends. I think my favorite event that they hosted was the KTV(Karaoke) night because it really brought all of the interns and the company's staff members together! There was always something different planned throughout the program, which was not only fun but in some way or another taught us something about Chinese culture. Another great thing about Startup China's services was that while they were there to support the students as much as possible during the program, they also gave us plenty of opportunities to explore the city on our own.