A Blog about Education Abroad

Tag: China

  • Kim at Xiamen University, China

    Kim at Xiamen University, China

    Pre-departure:

    I did my exchange program at Xiamen University, China. Most of my pre-departure preparations included internet research. Before applying for my visa, I had to purchase my return ticket. The process was relatively quick. As soon as I bought my flight ticket I headed to the Chinese consulate in Cape Town. I handed in my completed and correct documents and paid R400 with it. They told me to come collect my visa the following week. I think it is important that you purchase a return ticket in order to have your visa accepted. The next week I went to collect my visa at the embassy. Quick, easy and no hassle. However, when purchasing your flight ticket remember to keep the semester start dates in mind. It is advisable to arrive in your hosting country the day before registration (if you can afford to sleep at a hotel, that’s great!) or on the day of registration so that you can move into the dorms immediately. If you do decide to sleep over at a hotel or guesthouse, make sure you make a booking online and keep an electrical copy on your phone and a hard copy with you.

    (more…)

  • Riska at the Shanghai Summer School, China

    Riska at the Shanghai Summer School, China

    Pre-departure:

    I’ve been obsessed with China for the longest time, their meteoric economic rise and the strongmen behind these novice policies. I’ve been so enamored by this, it became my thesis topic. Travelling to China thus was always part of my master plan, I just did not expect it to happen like this, or this soon.

    I applied for the BRICS Summer School at Fundan University to be held for a little over a month in Shanghai, China. I had received a full scholarship for the programme, as well as a travel bursary from the PGIO. Prior to going, Sarah had suggested Maties going get into contact, which I did. We created a Whatsapp group among ourselves, and soon it grew to other South Africans going to the Summer School.

    (more…)

  • Lauren at the Shanghai Summer School, China

    Lauren at the Shanghai Summer School, China

    Pre-departure:

    On the 4th of July, I embarked on a 21-hour journey (a quick trip by relative standards) to Shanghai, China. I had been selected to participate in a month long summer school, which focused on the role of BRICS in global governance and on the foreign policy of China itself. While I was quite nervous about traveling to China, I was equally excited by the prospect of exploring what was, to me, a truly ‘different’ place. I have been fortunate enough to travel fairly extensively for my mere twenty-two years and in that time, I had never gone to a place which I did not know this little about.

    (more…)