2015_04_30_Boadella_Shanghai

Rocío Boadella Orozco challenge is a third year student of the International Bilingual Business Administration Program and was in Shanghai at exchange at Tongji University: "I chose this destination because I wanted to learn a new language and I wanted to go to a place where I could grow and learn about a diametrically opposed culture. On the other hand, I was aware of the role that China was taking in recent years, so I decided to bet on my future," she explains.

"As soon as I landed, I realized that I had made the best decision of my life," she says. "I made friends with the same concerns as me, improved my English and learned Chinese. Life in Shanghai is very easy because it is a big city that offers many possibilities. If you are a dynamic person you will find plans for every hour of the day and you will never get bored."

For example, on Mondays they used to go salsa dancing with the Latino community at the Mural (located in the French Concession) and the rest of their free time - scarce - was spent discovering restaurants, exhibitions, new clubs... "The offer is unlimited!", he exclaims.

One of the things that struck him from the beginning is the organization of the university system, which is very different from the European one. "The educational system is quite different. At first I was disappointed that the students at exchange did not share classes with the local students, but that was not a problem to get to know them as the people there are incredibly friendly and often come up to either meet you or take a picture with you." 

"Another point that deserves to be highlighted is the fact that there is generally no room for individualism at class, since everything is based on papers at group and exams are usually with the book open and with all the notes that, surely, you will have written with your classmates," he relates.

But not only was the system different, the subjects, although they shared the same name as those studied in Europe, were approached from a very different perspective: "The Corporate Finance class was the one I liked the most as there were very few of us at class and the teacher was incredibly well prepared. The Chinese class deserves a special accredited specialization as they made us participate in the Christmas Show by singing (and dancing) a Chinese song according to our level from language. It was quite an embarrassing moment for us, but for Tongji University it was quite an event. They even made us rehearse a whole day for it when there were students from Master's Degree who had exams." 

Examinations and internships

Rocío was lucky enough to finish many subjects in the middle of semester, so she was able to look for an internship there. "It was something I didn't consider at first as I saw it as impossible until one day, talking to a woman I knew from doing volunteer activities there, she proposed recommending me for a consultancy service she had worked for. I automatically accepted. I knew that this decision would imply leaving aside possible trips to Asia and that it would entail a great sacrifice (since I had to combine the rest of my classes with eight hours of work a day at consultancy service) but I saw it as an investment in my future".

An overwhelming experience: "I have never regretted it. John, my boss, is a real guru and I was lucky to learn from him. He is the author of one of the most important books about doing business in China and often teaches at Harvard, Yale and Columbia. Having someone like him give me some of his time was a blessing. What I valued most about China Streetsmart was learning about the famous guanxi(关系), and the Chinese protocol , among other things."

And China is the country of opportunities, as he also found a small work promoting wine, mainly Spanish, in different Chinese provinces. "This I did a few weekends and I loved it because I put my test knowledge of the market and language Chinese. On the other hand, I also gave Spanish lessons to three lovely Chinese children. I certainly learned a lot more from them than they learned from me," she says.

From the experience she "undoubtedly" keeps all the friends she has made and what she has learned. "This has been a paradigm shift and I have felt so valued professionally and personally that it is clear to me that I will go back there to work," she says.