As you may know, during the summer of 2018 I obtained a scholarship to study Chinese in Shanghai for six weeks. You can read about my experience here.

On this post we are conducting an interview with Julieta Viglino, an Argentinian student who obtained the same scholarship in summer 2019: the Shanghai Summer School scholarship. As you know from my previous post about this academic opportunity, the program is hosted by Shanghai International Studies University (SISU University in Shanghai) (上海外国语大学)

Hello, Julieta. Thanks for answering our questions. I think your answers about the Shanghai Summer School scholarship 2019 (3S) will be deeply appreciated by future scholars.

1. According to the information you found on this blog about the main features of the SISU summer school (3S) scholarship 2018, are there any differences with the SISU summer school (3S) scholarship 2019?

As in the 2018 program, we had Chinese classes every morning in building number 2 of SISU Hongkou Campus. The first day of the program there was a placement test for students who had taken Chinese classes before. As I hadn’t, I just went to ‘Level 1’ class.

I must say I found the classes intense. We had a lot of homework and daily dictations. However, the final exam wasn’t that difficult, so you shouldn’t freak out about it!  Besides, our teachers were really good and committed and most importantly, nice persons. We even went for dinner with one of them once (with Miss Wang) which was a pretty nice experience. Here are pictures of my Chinese classmates and teachers:

We also had non-mandatory extracurricular activities in the afternoons. We had some traditional Chinese classes such as Tai Chi, Chinese calligraphy and paper cutting; and some lectures about Chinese medicine, Chinese Philosophy and Economy. In the 2019 program we had two company visits: we went to Schindler and General Motors. We also visited some historical places and museums.

As regards food, this time the cost of daily meals was not included for the Spanish-speaking countries scholarship. That was a surprise for me as I expected it to be! However, I met some girls from Europe who had gotten canteen tickets for meals as part of their scholarship. I think weather you get food included in the program or not depends mostly of the agreement of the specific program.

Anyway, eating in Shanghai is really cheap when compared to other cities, especially if you eat in the canteen of the University.

Unlike 2018, we had 2 trips organized by SISU but none of them was to Beijing. First, we had a one day trip (during a weekend) to Suzhou which is small city two hours away from Shanghai. Suzhou it’s best known as ‘The Chinese Venice’ as it has a lot of canals and stone bridges. It’s very picturesque.  Here is a picture of one of the canals and a garden:

We also had a four day trip to Yanzhou and Nanjing. We stayed in Yanzhou for two days and then went to Nanjing which is a big city full of history and culture. On the opposite, Yanzhen it’s not that interesting but we had a nice time.

I also organized by my own (it was not included in our Summer School program) a one day trip to Hangzhou, which is a beautiful city near Shanghai.  It has a lot of incredible landscapes and historical buildings. I strongly recommend it!

2. Was again SISU hotel the designated accommodation for SISU summer school scholarship holders? Do you have the feeling there was a renovation between 2018 and 2019?

As I had a scholarship I was designated to stay at SISU hotel.  People who didn’t have scholarships and paid for the program stayed at the SISU Guest House Hotel which is much more comfortable and fancier. Besides, some scholars from the Confucius Program stayed in a SISU residence complex outside campus. I would say that was also a good option, as the buildings and the furniture of the rooms had been recently renovated and everything looked nice and clean.

In regard to SISU hotel, well, I would say there wasn’t any notorious improvement between 2018 and 2019.  My room was big enough for two people to live there. I had a small fridge and a decent Wi-Fi connection. The mattress of my bed was a little broken so it could be uncomfortable sometimes, but I got used to it.

The worst part of the accommodation was cleanness. My room was only slightly cleaned 4 or 5 times in my 6 weeks stay. I must admit I saw small cockroaches getting inside the baseboard of the walls a couple of times!

As in 2018, there still was a poorly equipped kitchen in the 4^th floor of the hotel but it was almost impossible to use as it was dirty, small and full.

On the other hand, SISU hotel is full of SISU’s scholars which made everything very fun! During my stay I shared my room with a really sweet Egyptian girl named Hager. For me that was one of the best parts of the summer school. Being able to share the everyday activities with someone who spoke a different language and had a completely different culture was quiet an experience. Here is a picture of us together when we visited a Temple located in the city of Suzhou as part of the SISU’s activities.

3. Would you like to share with us any recommendations about restaurants in the area?

Well, before going to China you should know that almost any dish has some kind of meat in it.  I am a vegetarian and I wasn’t aware of this, so I was really frustrated the first days.

Here are some things I’ve found out that may be useful for other vegetarians going to SISU summer school. 

Most of the restaurants located near to Buddhists temples have meat-free meals as Buddhists are supposed to be vegetarians. Unfortunately, there is no Buddhists Temple near SISU, but I did find some restaurants with veggie-friendly options (apart from SISU’s canteen).

In front of Chifeng Road metro station there is a nice Chinese-Muslim restaurant. It had mostly rice and noodles with different kinds of sauces and vegetables. My favorite part of that restaurant were the seasonings and condiments used. Food was really tasty!

There was also a Korean restaurant that had some interesting options. It’s in the same block that the Muslim restaurant. Here is a picture of one of my meals there:

Eating in restaurants in the area wasn’t expensive, usually between 15-20 Chinese Yuan each dish, which is less than 3 US dollar for each meal. Of course, it wasn’t as cheap as SISU’s canteen, but food was much tastier! I had a limited budget, so I normally changed between canteen and restaurants, but I would recommend eating outside campus if you have enough money!

4. Would you like to share with us any other general recommendations?

Well, I would recommend you not freaking out if you find China a little shocking at the beginning!

I have to admit that my first days in Shanghai were a little hard. This trip was my first time in China and I didn’t know any single world in Chinese before coming.  Before travelling I expected everyone in Shanghai to speak English (as it’s supposed to be a very intercultural city!). Imagine my surprise when I realized I needed the translator in my phone even to go to the supermarket. Besides, I was also feeling the cultural shock. Chinese culture can be very different to South America’s sometimes.  I’m grateful to say that this feeling completely disappeared after the first week! After spending there almost 7 weeks I can honestly say that Shanghai is the best city I have ever been to, and I can’t wait to go back!

Shanghai it’s a very intercultural and cosmopolitan city. The incredibly large number of people in the streets makes the city feel alive by itself. The contrast between cutting-edge buildings and Chinese traditional architecture is fascinating. No matter where I was standing, I could always raise my head and see impressive modern skyscrapers and at the same time ancient buildings and Chinese traditional decorations. This makes the city unique.

Besides, I was absolutely amazed by all the lights of the city at night time, especially in The Bund and in Pudong Financial District. I should admit that Pudong skyline night views was what I loved the most in Shanghai.

Besides, SISU’s program it’s an opportunity to meet students from every part of the world. It was absolutely enriching to open my mind to different thoughts and to such different backgrounds and cultures. I was able to make friendships with people from South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Here is a picture with Sia. She is from Greece and was one of the greatest persons I met during the summer school! (The picture is also from out trip to Suzhou):

Regarding the activities of the program, as I mentioned before, I found the Chinese classes demanding and hard but I learnt so much during the course!  I was even able to communicate the basics after the first weeks of the program. Besides, the Chinese teachers I had were both really nice and understanding; and did their best to immerse us into Chinese culture. I also found very interesting all the cultural activities we had in the program. I particularly enjoyed the lectures about China’s economy and the company visits.

Moreover, I really liked SISU’s visit to the place where the First National Congress of the Communist Party took place. It was very interesting and the guide, Bob, shared a lot of information with us that helped me understand the importance of the place for Chinese people. I’m glad this activity was part of SISU’s program as I wouldn’t have taken the most out of this place without a guide.  Other touristic places I enjoyed were the Yu Gardens, Jade Buddha Temple and the Confucius Temple. The Propaganda Museum and the Jews Refugees Museum were also very interesting!!

I would definitely recommend everyone to apply to SISU Summer School. It was a life-changing experience and one of the best trips I’ve ever done. I’m already looking forward to go back to China.

Thank you, Julieta, for the interview. I am sure that it will be very inspiring and helpful for future students. 

Remember you can read our post of Shanghai Summer Scholarship 2018 to get more information about the scholarship (Chinese classes, transportation, money exchange, water, etc.).