STORIES

The CEISS summer schools in shanghai offered met a portal to an emerging world we know so little about in the western world. The lectures of professors who have been living in China for many years and the interaction with Chinese students made me knowledgeable about the Chinese business culture. But outside the class room there was enough time for exploring the city of shanghai with a cultural diverse group of students.  The Chinese culture never failed to surprise me during the two weeks I spend in shanghai. The experience I had with families in matching clothing, rush hour in the subway, their advanced WeChat, the pouring rains, the street food, KTV, the Shanghai nightlife and the traffic I will not easily forget.  The location of the campus near the city centre and the involved staff, professors and Chinese students offered me the opportunity to not have a tourist experience of shanghai but rather experience the city as an inhabitant. The experience I had here gave me an more complete and sophisticated image of what is happening in ‘rising China’ and I will take it with me in my further student and working life.