Thursday, May 22, 2008

One Day Until China

Pre-China questionnaire:

1. What are you looking forward to the most?

I'm very excited about being able to live in China for a summer and become immersed in the Chinese culture. China has always been a country that I have wanted to visit, since the culture is so different from the US, so I'm very happy that I have an opportunity to go. I'm also excited to be able to gain more research experience, and learn more about my interests in Chemistry.

2.What gives you a sense of anxiety about going?

I think I'm most afraid of having to communicate with people while not being able to speak Chinese. Conducting research while not speaking a common language with others in the lab will definitely be a very difficult task. Outside the lab as well, I'm sure just getting around, ordering food, and doing other everyday tasks will be a challenge. I'm hoping to pick up enough Chinese to be able to get around while I'm there, but after taking our first Chinese class a few days ago, this seems more difficult than I had expected.

3. Not everyone who expressed interest ended up applying to go, what was the most compelling aspect of the program that made you decide you wanted to do it?

I was looking for a program that allowed me to conduct research while being abroad, but was having trouble finding research opportunities in chemistry outside the US. When I came across the UM PKU program I was very enthusiastic. I liked the fact that this program allowed me to be with a group of students my age, and seemed much more structured than many of the other programs I had encountered.

4.The pre-program period in Ann Arbor is meant to get the group to get to know each other before the trip. Is this a good idea? Were the activities effective?

It is definitely a good idea to have a pre-departure orientation in the US. We have all gotten to know each other and become friends, so when we arrive in China we'll have a support group. It was a great idea to separate getting to know one another from getting used to the culture in China. If we had all just been given tickets to China, and met once we got there we would not have had the same chance to bond in a familiar environment.

As for the activities, the ones that were planned were pretty effective, but we usually finished them around 2:00, and then didn't have much to do for the rest of the day. I think we would have enjoyed more activities to get to know one another, maybe some fun activities in Ann Arbor.