What is your favorite travel memory?
My favorite travel memory is when I did a business trip in the south of China for a wine tasting, and dinner with customers and distributors to promote a new wine brand. I experienced the business culture, and now understand that in China relationships are a huge element of business.
I was very surprised by how nice and friendly my Chinese collaborators were. They always warmly welcome you, even if they only know you through e-mail, and if you speak basic Mandarin it is even better! It is very important for them to provide great food and good drinks to guests.
During this business trip I discovered strange but good dishes such as ants on a bed of nuts, raw shrimp, and more. I was always eating, sharing and toasting!
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
First, since working with my current company, I feel more comfortable and like I'm in the right place. It is a very cosmopolitan company with great people who like to share. Here the atmosphere is very friendly and warm, everyone is helpful. I’m learning Chinese, and it is helping me in my daily life as well, and is making everything much easier than it was during the beginning of my time in China.
Second, thanks to Mandarin Spring, with my Chinese class, I can communicate and share more easily with the local people. Learning Chinese is also complementary to my job as a wine salesman, and is making me more successful in the professional part of my life. Even for my personal life, the Chinese language helps me to meet new people and to understand new ways of thinking.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
I was searching through student feedback about Mandarin Spring and came across a student who moved to Shanghai with his Chinese girlfriend. He told me that they plan to get married this year. He started the Chinese language class to communicate better and easier, give his in-laws a favorable impression, and obviously to plan the wedding! Just this explanation makes me smile!
He was happy to get information about the practical stuff, to have a foreign point of view about different situations in China, and also to help him get a job in order to fully settle in China.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
If I were a student or already graduated, I would choose the internship program or the career boost program. Both of them include an intensive Chinese language course, which allows participants to communicate well with the locals and integrate in the best way with a local company.
Additionally, both programs lead you to an internship or a job. For me they are the perfect combination to start a great career and get established in China. In fact, Mandarin Spring facilitates the gain of professional and international experience, and I know that a lot of students are hoping for this.
That’s why these two programs are great opportunities for the future of most students and and those who have already graduated.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
Mandarin Spring is unique, first for the assortment of programs that we offer. For example, the internship and the career boost programs I mentioned before, which are the perfect mix of what students and graduates are looking for.
The school is HSK certified and we have teachers who have strong experience in teaching Mandarin abroad. The team of teachers is very flexible and professional, we provide classes of all types whenever and wherever in Shanghai, even in your home! We match the needs of our customers and their schedules, but also the aspect of Mandarin they wish to enhance.
We give great support to all of our students by helping them in their daily lives and advising them on practical stuff - we are always available to them.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
The success factor of Mandarin Spring relates mainly to the value and the philosophy that we have. We have success thanks to our customers, those who want to learn Mandarin, and we never forget that! There is also the professionalism, the flexibility, and the pleasure to teach and share the Chinese culture.