My International Experience

The summer going into my junior year of high school, I traveled with my German teacher and group of about 40 students to France, Switzerland, and Germany. We spent around four to five days in each country and we visited many different historic and cultural sites, such as Mount Pilatus in Switzerland and Dachau in Germany.  My group traveled with EF Tours.

Why China

I want to go to China because it is a country that plays a very big role on the world stage, but it is one I know little about. My intended major is Environmental Engineering and a big part of environmental science is how humans interact with their environment. As a developing nation, China will have major power over what the future of our world will look like. I want to learn about China’s current economic growth and see where it could lead them.

Professional Work Differences

I think the main professional work differences I will experience will be that workers will be specialized in one specific area. Everyone will have their own unique, individual part to play, like pieces in a big machine. I think this will be the case because there are a lot more people in China and things just seem to move faster, so workers there need to be extremely efficient.

Cultural Differences

I expect everywhere to be crowded. Since China has the biggest population in the world, and since we will be traveling to major metropolitan areas, I expect there to be a lot more people than what I am used too. I also expect there to be more pollution in the urban areas that we travel to. There are more people in very concentrated areas and pollution controls are much more relaxed than what they are in the United States.

Political Differences

I know that China is a communist country, but I also know that currently the country is trying to build up its industry. I honestly do not expect there to be that many political differences between China and the United States.

Students in China

I expect the Chinese students to be farther along in their education. I have heard that education is very competitive in China, so I expect the students to have a very strong work ethic and to be highly motivated. I think they will be a little intimidating at first because of these characteristics.

Major Living Differences

I think the living conditions I will experience while I’m in China will be a lot smaller than what I’m used to. Since we will be traveling to large cities, I expect that space will have to be used effectively because it is a necessity to house many people with a limited amount of space.

Most Enjoyable Experience

I believe the most enjoyable experience will be seeing all the historical sites that I have heard about or seen in pictures, but now I can see them in person. One of the reasons I wanted to participate in plus3 was to see a part of the world I never imagined that I would actually get to see.