Fudan University, Shanghai Leanne de Vree My study programme
In the first semester of 2018-2019 I went to Fudan University, Shanghai, for a study period abroad. My major is international relations, however, I was rather free in choosing what courses I wanted to follow. A couple months before the exchange period started, the university published a list with the available courses for exchange students. There are courses in a wide range of subjects, and I eventually chose five of those: Economics of Development, Collective Actions I, Politics and Economics in the Asian-Pacific Region, Chinese Culture and Society under Globalization and Chinese Intermediate language. What I especially liked about the Fudan course system, is that you have two weeks to decide which courses you want to take. In these weeks you can just attend anything you want after which you still have time to enroll or disenroll. However, be aware that the popular courses (including language!) may already be full weeks before the semester starts. So at first it may be better to enroll for too many rather than for too little courses.
In general, the course content was interesting and not that challenging. For some courses, you had to read a lot but even if you did not always do this, it was not hard to pass the course.
Language
Although I had some basic knowledge of Chinese before going, it is can still be hard to get around. Expect the vast majority of the people you meet not to speak any word of English. Menus are often only in Chinese which made it sometimes hard to order food. What really helped were the phone apps Pleco and Google translate, of which the latter has a function where you can translate the whole menu via a photo. However, these translations are not always perfect so don’t be surprised you get something totally different than you expected. Despite this serious language barrier, people are always prepared to help you with their own translation apps and using anything possible to convey a message. Therefore, I never felt lost because of the language.
However, it is helpful to learn at least some basic sentences of Chinese before going. Moreover, because in general people appreciate every single word of Chinese you’re speaking, it is definitely worth the effort.
Another point of interest is that if you stay in the international dormitories, the staff at the front desk does not speak English. This surprised me the first day I arrived and I think it’s good to know that if you have any complicated questions, it’s better to email the international student office beforehand. Finance and other conditions
I received a fund from the Marco Polo institute at the condition of signing some forms and acquiring sufficient study results in China.
With regard to daily life, China is very cheap. I loved the fact that especially the food is so cheap. You can have a perfect varied meal that leaves you completely full for just a small €2. However, there are also many expensive places in Shanghai. More specialized food like western bread, cheese or desserts in all kind of forms, are considerably more expensive.
I stayed in the dormitories and ended up in the affiliated building. This cost me around €180 per month for a private room with small balcony and a bathroom only to be shared with one other person. it was small, but for this amount of money definitely worth it.
Preparations and contacts with the faculty
I have had no problems considering the contacts with the RUG, both before and during my stay abroad. Even though I changed most of my courses during the semester, I just had to fill out another form and there was no problem. They are always prepared to help you if you have any questions.
Fudan University, Shanghai Leanne de Vree Housing
I stayed in the international student dorms, in one of the affiliated buildings. It was a small room, but it had everything I needed – a bed, bureau, closet, small balcony. The room was situated in an apartment with three other people and we shared two bathrooms. For its price this was totally fine. The international student dorms were situated at the edge of campus, and it was around 15 minutes walking to class. Many students own a bike or an electric motorbike. One remark considering housing on campus, you have to be really fast with the enrolment. For me it opened around 3 am Dutch time and I was lucky to get one of the last rooms, as within 5 minutes all the options had been taken. I also knew quite a lot of people who lived off campus. These rooms or apartments were often much nicer, but also more expensive and farther away from where classes were held.
Culture
With regard to culture, Chinese habits are just very different from what we are used to in the Netherlands. For example, the holidays work quite differently. If there is a Chinese national holiday that falls on a Monday you may get that day off, however, you will have to make up for it in the weekend! Another example that shows how different it works, is that I had an exam on Christmas day.. Another point to note is that especially in the more rural areas, foreigners attract some attention as people are simply not used seeing a non-Chinese face. Hence, if you don’t look Chinese, you may have to get used to people pointing or laughing at you or requesting a picture with you. Personally I did not really mind this because the people are often very positive, however, it can get annoying some time. Free time
Because I did intentionally not choose too many courses, I had quite a lot of free time. I mostly used this time to explore Shanghai and environment.
In the first week of uni, a lot of introduction activities are held, such as tours and pub quizzes. Although the activities themselves are not always that interesting, for me this was the way to get to know more people in the same situation. In fact, I have made some really good friends thanks to these activities. In addition, after some weeks the university organizes a huge fair where all clubs present their activities and give the possibility to enroll. There are many clubs including all kinds of sports and things like kung fu, calligraphy, poetry and even bird watching. Most clubs are open to foreign students, though mind the language barrier. I tried several clubs and have stuck with playing football once/twice a week. Travelling
Because I intentionally kept my Fridays off, I had a lot of time to travel. Most weekends I spent off campus, either exploring Shanghai or its neighbouring cities (e.g. Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing). Next to that, I have used the opportunity of extended weekends where we had a free day to go a bit further, to cities like Beijing and Chengdu. China has an excellent train system, which makes it really easy to get around. One does also have the possibility to choose for fast and cheaper slower options.
Because of visa issues, it is harder to leave China during your study period which I have done only once. I have travelled internationally before and after my stay in Shanghai visiting neighbouring countries. Other
One last advice that I would like to give is that if you go to China, don’t spend all your time on campus studying. You have the opportunity to explore a whole other culture and an amazing country, enjoy your time!
