27 Jun Start of a Great Opportunity in Shanghai
It’s been three years since my first visit to Shanghai. So I thought it was about time to revisit the city. Back in 2012 it was just for a few days to do some sightseeing in the city with my family. This time it will be for my two month internship in China.
My name is Nathalie Snels and I am an Urban Design and Planning master student at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. I already started my master in September 2013, but decided to take a year off in 2014 to focus on getting some work experience and to have some time to travel. So first I did a 7 month internship back home. Then I started traveling in Australia for 9 weeks, and now it’s finally time to start focusing on my great opportunity in Shanghai through an internship in China.
Now that my travels are almost over, I really start to realize that next week I’m going to work in a city with so much energy, life and especially a lot of people. I’ve heard that entering the public transport for the first time will be an eye-opener. Furthermore, I’m really looking forward to eat Chinese food again, because ever since I’ve visited China for the first time, the Chinese food back in the Netherlands doesn’t really taste that good anymore.
As regards to my internship, I’m glad that I will be working for a firm where they mainly speak English. At first I was afraid that I had to speak Mandarin. I’ve been practicing a little bit, but it is a real difficult language to learn. I’ve already met my mentor at the company. We had a skype meeting in which we discussed what they expected from me and what my expectations were of the internship. Long story short, the architectural firm where I’m going to be working has four disciplines: architecture, interior design, urban design and landscape architecture. The idea is that I’ll be helping the team in all four disciplines when they need help. This way I’m really going to get to know the company in two months’ time.
So in the end, I hope that this experience will bring me the understanding of the Chinese culture, as regards to the social and the business aspects, and give me a work experience I can carry with me for the rest of my life.
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