Student Stories

I didn’t know what to expect coming into my fall semester in Shanghai. The thought of leaving the comforts and familiarity of my life in California for a place where everything would essentially be foreign was both exciting and overwhelming. I can now say, however, that my year in China will forever change my life.

From the beginning, I tried to make the most out of my time in Shanghai. When I wasn’t in class, I was hanging out with Chinese students on campus, exploring the city with my CIEE classmates, or chatting with the food vendors by the back gate of our school. Every day brought itself a new adventure. Whether I was ordering food in Chinese for the first time or testing out different bargaining techniques, never before had I encountered so many new situations in my life. With each passing day, my thirst to learn more about the language, culture, and essentially every aspect of the country grew increasingly stronger. Between making friends with locals and traveling around to different cities, I always found opportunities to apply and further investigate what I had learned in class.

At the same time, I did not embark on my journey alone. Throughout my stay in Shanghai, CIEE served as my support system. Classes provided structured learning, while excursions and extracurricular activities supplemented classroom education. CIEE classmates became the type of lifelong friends who I quickly learned to depend upon during my adventures and to relate with about our shared experience as foreign students in China. CIEE teachers and staff served as experienced guides equipped with all the resources and advice necessary to make the most out of our study abroad experiences. Along with my newly made CIEE and Chinese friends, they became my family away from home.

— Melissa Tan, Stanford University