Alliance in Shanghai

I really enjoyed my time abroad in Shanghai, China with the Alliance program; it was the most memorable four months of my life. I will be honest though, in the beginning it was extremely difficult for me to adjust to the culture, being away from home, as well as living on my own. But luckily I had the support of my peers and the program, therefore I was able to overcome these difficulties quickly. Thankfully I lived at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) dorms along with other students from around the world, which helped me so much because they were going through exactly what I was going through. I would usually have class from 10am until the afternoon and some days until 4pm, giving us enough time to roam the city and get familiar with Shanghai. As for the language difference, what helped me get over this fear were our weekly Chinese tables where we were forced to speak Chinese. Also, when ever I went grocery shopping, or purchased meals I was forced to speak Chinese in order to communicate with the locals. It was an amazing experience, I would highly recommend this program to students thinking about studying abroad.