My month in Shanghai

My internship was for a month in Shanghai with CRCC Asia. As this was my first time traveling on a plane, and going outside of Canada, I was quite nervous. However, the thing that I was dreading the most was when the plane landed in China. At that moment I would be alone in a foreign country, in which I did not know anyone or the language. This is what I dreaded for the weeks leading up to my trip, and when I got to China, after a not stop flight, this is what I found. I was lost, confused, and sick from my flight, and just when I was feeling sad from the fact that there was no family or friends waiting for me at the arrival gate. I saw a CRCC representative waiting for me with her flag and smiling face. She offered me assurance and water, and then took me to me to the other lost interns who just got off their flights too. As we were being driven to our place of residence, we bonded over our mutual concerns, relief and amazement of the city we were being driven past. This set the course for the rest of the weekend, CRCC getting everyone together so we can get to know each other and the beautiful city we were living in.
CRCC afforded me the confidence to go forward with getting to know the other interns and the city. All the interns lived in the same hotel/apartment blocks, we were roommates and neighbours. While the accommodations were not the highest of quality, they were large and conveniently located. These close living situations brought the twenty interns that month tightly together. We did everything together, explored the city, ate at restaurants, enjoyed the vigorous night life, even just buying groceries at TESCOS was a group activity. It was such a great time, with everyday being a new adventure, one made better by the people who I was sharing it with.
Shanghai was such a great city to explore! It is a big city that has such a cheap and convenient public transportation network, in which everything is written, and announced, in both Mandarin and English. This made it easy for me to get around for work and recreation. CRCC made it even easier by giving us a guide book with key phrases, and they also included weekly mandarin lessons to help with the integration into Chinese society.
My work placement was an excellent introduction into my chosen career path, and has led me to further interest in that work. Everyone in my office was friendly, and the work was interesting. I learned a lot and gained valuable experience. Along with my work life, my social life was vastly improved by the other wonderful interns visiting that month.
This internship was one of the best experiences I could imagine for a first time traveler, like myself. Everything is planned and taken care of, and while it is a little pricey, if you are able to afford the fee, it is worth it. This was such a fantastic time, and has made quite an improvement in my ability to stand out amongst the crowd of other graduates. It was the best of times, and I would do it all the same again, but maybe for a little bit longer next time (a month was difficult to get everything in!).