Life-Changing Experiences

I spent last summer working in Beijing through this internship while living in the Shuangjing district of Beijing - I had an overwhelmingly positive and safe experience during my time there. I am an American and have visited China twice before via study abroad programs through my university before applying for this internship, so I did have some knowledge of what to expect. Nonetheless, most of my fellow interns had never been to China before and it was an extremely smooth and accommodating experience for them too.

If you haven't been to Beijing yet, you'll quickly learn that it's a metropolitan area not unlike many places you'd find in the west. The apartment complex I lived in had installed a key-card system at the front doors and there was a 24-hour gatekeeper who monitors all foot-traffic -- it's about as safe as I could have asked for. There is a constant flow of taxi cabs (which are extremely affordable) right as you exit the buildings, so it's very convenient to get anywhere in the city. Personally, however, I preferred to take the subway everywhere, which is cheaper still and allows you to avoid the road traffic. The subway station is just a ~5 minute walk away and you don't even need to cross the street to enter it. The agent who maintained the apartment through the internship was a British native whose number I always had on hand in case I got locked out, the wifi was down, etc. etc... it was convenient not being forced to use Chinese if little issues like that arose. In addition to this, there are many foreigners living in and around the area to befriend and for a network with.

During work, I would routinely arrive back in the evenings and read/relax/eat at the shopping malls which are located a stone-throw away. They have western-style supermarkets with virtually any imported food you could desire, Starbucks, 7-11, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Dairy Queen, and a Costa Coffee just to name a few... not mentioning the (much more delicious) Chinese restaurants. I'd also go to the gym virtually every day, which was akin to anything you'd find in the States. The Walmart is a subway stop away too. Basically, it's a very great and safe area to live in... and very westernized if you're afraid of the culture shock.

My apartment-mates were all very respectful and interesting people. I would look forward to hanging out with them on weekends and evenings and had no reservations keeping my bedroom door unlocked with them around, although each door has locks/keys if you'd like to be extra safe.

The group programs organized by the internship coordinators included wonderful and memorable events that will stay with me for life. Perhaps my favorite among them was a camping trip to a more-secluded section of the Great Wall where we could avoid the crowds and spend an entire night in a guard tower! We also had a game night, BBQ, Chinese hot-pot dinner, a Chinese-style group massage day, and others, in addition to frequent invitations to attend various events with Beijing-area expats (i.e. professional mixers, a TED talk). The networking opportunities with like-minded individuals and experts is enormous.

Overall, my experience last summer was one of the greatest of my life and I couldn't imagine a better or more convenient way to have spent it than through this program!