|
|
1. What should I do about travel insurance?
Travel insurance will be taken care of for you by the program. For
us, AIG Assist was purchased.
2. Do I need to bring linens?
No.
3. How much weight can I bring?
Since you will take a domestic flight from Bejing to Qingdao,
and the domestic checked baggage limit is 20kg, you are best-off bringing
about 20kgs of luggage. You don't need too many clothes, as they can be
bought here, along with most daily personal use items.
4. How will housing work?
Housing was arranged for us. We moved from the Yin Hai (a somewhat
run -down hotel for foreign students) to the Jin Hai (a much nicer, newer
hotel for wealthier folk) half way throuhg the summer. The Jin Hai was
very nice, comfortable, and had central air. The rooms were cleaned on a
fairly regular basis, mostly every day, but occasionally days would lapse
between cleanings for no apparent reason.
5. Do I need to arrange my visa?
The travel agent the program hired arranged our visas for us,
although we paid the visa fee, which was $90 USD.
6. Do I need to bring a computer?
Bringing a computer is not neccesary. However, those of us who had
laptops did bring them and found them useful. Some of us used them at
work, while others just used them to do occasional work in their rooms.
Also, the hotel has internet available, althouhg it is somewhat
expensive, and we made good use of the wireless router someone brought on
more than one occasion. Also, we pruchased a set of S-video cables and
hooked our laptops up to the room TVs for good movie-watching.
7. How will I do my laundry?
Laundry was a bit of an interesting issue, espeically after we moved.
There is a washer in the Jin Hai that costs 5 RMB/ hour (less than a
dollar) but the washers here take much longer than the washers in the
states. Other people just washed their clothing in the sink. The
intersting think was figuring out how to dry our clothes, since there is
no good place to hang them outside, and putting dripping clothing over
new carpets is not advisable. We figured out a system of hanging them in
the bathroom until they stopped dripping, and then moving them to hung
them around the room in intersting and creative ways. We never reached a
consensus about on whether it was better to leave the AC on or if it was
better to open the window.
8. How does money work?
Since Chinese currency cannot leave China,
our group turned our $1000 advance into travelers checks at a bank in Potsdam
(some of us also turned our own cash into travelers checks) and exchanged
the checks for Chinese currency at the Bank of China
at the airport and in Qingdao.
More and more ATMs which accept Visa and Mastercard are becoming
available in Qingdao, and
some people used this as an additional source of cash.
9. What daily-use items do I need to bring enough of for the
entire summer?
Most daily-use items can be bought in Qingdao
either at the local market or at Walmart of Carrefour (a French
department store). For girls, sanitary napkins were available, but
tampons were hard to find. It's defintely essential to bring enough
deoderant for the whole summer, if you make use of this item, because you
will not find it here. Also, we had a hard time finding conditioner, so
you may need to bring it.
10. Is Shanghai
worth the travel expenses?
YES! It's not that expensive, and it's a great city. We all had a
wonderful time.
11. Do I need to dress nicely for work?
No, you can wear casual, comfortable clothing. As the summer wears
on, it gets very hot in the offices which aren't air conditioned, and
dressing comfortably is essential to survival.
12. Should I bring a guide-book?
Not every individual needs to bring a guide-book, but having a few
per group was helpful for finding our way around Shanghai
and for finding things to do in Shanghai
and in Qingdao. Bring a
phrase book.
13. How much money should I bring?
$1,500 uSD in travelers checks should be plenty of money for the
entire summer. The cost of living in China
is very low... it's unusual if a meal out costs $2 USD.
14. What is the summer weather like in Qingdao.
Hot. somtimes very muggy. But mostly just hot.
15. How demanding is the research?
The rigor, as well as the quality, of the research is dependent on
your mentor. However, we all found the research manageable and felt we
that we had time to explore the city and the local culture.
16. What is the most disgusting thing you ate in China?
I would have to go with larva. Other people say the prawns that were
not quite dead. And others would say the clear jello-looking stuff cooked
in vinegar.
17. What was your group’s favorite dish?
TOMATO AND EGG.
|
|
|
