Category Archives: China – Summer 2018

Day 3 – Case Studies, Culture and the French Concession

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I woke up today still in awe that I had the opportunity to participate in the study tour and visit China. There are no words that can explain the gratitude I feel to all those who made this possible for us at CSUN. We’ve been here two days and I am learning a lot from the daily interactions I have with Chinese students and people. Today, we started out by having breakfast together at the usual time at 7:45am. I had a hard time sleeping due to the jet lag and kept waking up throughout the night, but it’s all part of the experience and I’m soaking it in. After breakfast, we started our day by going to class and listening to Dr. Degravel’s lecture on management consulting. Dr. Degravel’s lecture was my first time being introduced to management consulting and I found the topic/lecture to be very interesting. The lecture gave us insight into what management consulting is all about and I feel that any of us, regardless of what major we are studying, can get into this field. Management consulting allows individuals to be entrepreneurial and to build their own brand and reputation. Following the lecture, I gained much interest in management consulting and will be doing my own research so that I can possibly engage in this field in the future. After the lecture we had lunch back at the foreign exchange student dorms and then had a lecture that introduced us to our case studies.

Photo of Students Having Breakfast Photo of Professors Degravel and Li with Sanda U Host

The case study lecture was informative and broke down how we should analyze our cases. Dr. Degravel clearly stated how the cases should be analyzed and gave us frameworks to follow. Once the lecture was over we had free time for activities. We all headed back to the dorms to relax and freshen up before heading out on an adventure to the French Quarter, also known as the French Concession in the city. To get to the French Concession we took the metro subway which takes you throughout the city. The metro subway infrastructure that China built for Shanghai is highly advanced and practical, as all the lines are connected to each other and travel relatively fast. Upon seeing and using the metro system in Shanghai I realized that we had much to catch up on back in Los Angeles regarding infrastructure. When we arrived to the French Concession the first thing I noticed was how  beautiful the streets looked lined with trees. Walking through the Concession was surreal as I still couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be able to travel to China. As a group we explored and walked around the area before finding a place to eat. Some of us broke up into smaller groups and went to different restaurants. My group went to get Pho and the food was very delicious. One thing that as difficult was the language barrier, but that made the experience even better as we had to resort to other means to understand one another. After eating we explored some more and went back to the dorms around 10:30pm, as the last metro line that we needed to take stopped running at 11pm.

Photo of Students in Classroom Photo of Professor DeGravel Teaching

The moment we arrived in China I realized that I couldn’t read, write, or speak the native language so in every interaction I had I tried to learn little key words here and there. Communicating with people was a great experience as I was able to communicate through other means, I attempted to speak Chinese, and the people I tried to speak to would laugh with me as we realized through trial and error what we meant. As I walked through the streets of China and interacted with people and the environment I pictured myself in my parents’ shoes and realized how they must have felt when they arrived to America. My parents immigrated to the United States due to the civil war in El Salvador, and when they arrived they didn’t know how to speak, write, or read in English. Being able to experience what my parents went through opened up my eyes up more to the sacrifices they made in the pursuit of a better life.  Through it all, my parents were able to adapt and create their new life. This experience is a clear example of what we are capable of as humans, and that no matter what obstacle is in front of us we can get through it. It’s humbling to be put in that situation where one can’t read, write or speak, and I believe that gaining experiences such as this can help bridge the divide we see occurring today. One thing that I’ve always known and that the trip to China reinforced is that regardless of the differences in cultures, practices, ethnicities, and skin tone, at the end of the day we are all the same just humans trying to better ourselves and live and maintain.

Day 2 – Welcome to Sanda University & Shanghai

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Today was our first real day in China after hours of traveling the day before. We woke up early as breakfast would be waiting for us daily at 7:30am. Our meals were always authentically Chinese, served in orange Bento boxes, with rice being the main staple of every meal. Breakfast included soup dumplings, which was delicious but quite a different breakfast food than we are used to having.

After breakfast we had a welcome orientation with Lily, the international department coordinator and the dean from the business school. She has very kind and sweet and went over a PowerPoint presentation telling us about the school and what we could expect in the next coming days. After her presentation we went on a tour of the campus. We toured the business/media building, the medical building, and the gym. We were lucky to see some ancient artifacts in the gym, they were holding a mini exhibition with ancient Chinese tools. After walking through campus, we had lunch.

Photo of student at mini exhibition   

After lunch, we all decided to go for a walk around the surrounding area, where they had a small shopping center. The center was aligned with various restaurants, little shops, and our favorite grocery store: Carrefour. That night we had a welcome dinner where we met the university dean and had a lovely dinner in their banquet hall. Everyone was very welcoming to us and made us feel at home right away.

Photo of shopping center in China  

Later that evening, a group of us decided to go into the city and visit the Bund, a truly magnificent view to behold light up against the night sky.

It was great to have a welcome orientation and tour of the campus. It really helped us feel more at home and comfortable with the new surrounding environment. For the welcome dinner the even made us chicken nuggets so we would feel more at home. It was a simple gesture, but it showed to me that they really wanted to make us feel at ease. The campus itself is also very inviting. It was a great location too, next to a subway station that connected us to all of Shanghai. I was surprised at how clean and efficient the metro system is in Shanghai, much better than here in LA. The railway even has doors that close until the train comes to a complete stop to prevent people from falling in front of a moving train.

Photo of students with metro cards  Photo of the Bund in the evening

It was truly an unforgettable experience. It exposed us all to an unknown world in which we were able to adapt to the new culture and appreciate its rich history and customs. It also gave us greater appreciation for home and all the little comforts we take for granted that not everyone gets to have. It really had a profound impact on my personal life, seeing as it was the first time I was ever away from my daughter overnight, let alone for a couple of weeks. I learned about the importance to make time for myself and have a social life outside of my mommy circle and I also realized that she is a resilient little girl who is growing up and can handle being independent away from mom for a little while. I also definitely made a great group of new friends whom I hope to call friends forever.

Day 1 – Arrival in China

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We were all very tired particularly from our 14-hour flight. I know for most of us it was the longest flight we have ever taken, which made 4-hour long flights seem like nothing! While boarding our second plane a couple asked us if we were from a group or if it was a school thing, because we all had matching CSUN shirts. I quickly responded yes, we’re from CSUN – I didn’t finish my sentence when it hit me we were almost 7,300 miles away from home and I had to explain that CSUN meant California State University, Northridge. That alone made it feel more exciting – It meant we were in China!

Photo of Students in the Airport in China  

Upon arrival you could immediately feel (besides the humidity) the eagerness and some tiredness from the group and myself. Although I have traveled before to Mexico about 6 years ago, it felt nothing like this. I am no stranger to the feeling of culture shock, but this time it was extreme. As soon as we got off the plane I hoped that my ability to play “Charades” would come in handy because I didn’t hear a word of English that came from anyone else but our CSUN group.

Photo of Students on the Train in China  

A few hours later we were ready to go on the train and it turned out to be quite a challenge.  Who would have guessed getting a simple token would require the building of a human wall! We quickly found out that when it came to line formation this was not a common concept in China, everyone is in hurry and trying to get to their destinations as quickly as possible. Besides that, the language displaying on the screen was of course Chinese. This is where I got a sense that this trip would build camaraderie among us, because as soon as one of us figured out the process we helped each other out. We only had one native speaker in our group, Professor Li. Putting this experience behind a career spectrum, it is very important to have a proactive team mentality when dealing with new tasks. Especially if something as foreign as finding your way in a new country with such a strong language barrier that there is no one you can ask for help but each other.

Welcome to the International Study Tour Blog!

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Photo of Students Arriving in China

Welcome to the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics’ International Study Tour blog.

This year’s study tour hosted 20 students from all majors in the Nazarian College and took place in China with university partner, Sanda University in Shanghai from June 9 through June 21. Follow the blog to see what students learned and experienced during each day of the International Study Tour.

What is the International Study Tour?

The International Study Tour was created to provide extraordinary opportunities for our students to discover other countries and cultures, and to venture outside their comfort zone. It prepares our students for the reality of a globalized business world, where the United States is part of a large network of international business connections.

It is important for our students to learn how to become globalization-savvy and be prepared for international careers. Even if they do not choose to work abroad, it is likely that at one point in their career, their company or organization will have international business operations or ties. In addition the professional benefits, the personal enrichment generated by the International Study Tour is also extremely valuable. It builds confidence, improves communication, broadens horizons and is an opportunity for our students to experience independence and responsibility. Furthermore, our students are able to connect with students from the local area and understand their culture and life.

The International Study Tour’s length is generally between 10 days and two weeks. It is organized by the Nazarian College, and financed in part by the students, but mostly by donations and grants. These trips encompass lectures about one or several disciplines, the opportunity to apply these disciplines to the context of the visited country, and cultural visits to places of interest. Students also go on business visits, which enable them to discover places that connect with the studied disciplines and illustrate the concepts. Case studies also contribute to the construction of knowledge about the country or about local companies or organizations. Free time is provided to the students for their own discovery of the country, under the supervision of faculty members from the Nazarian College.

The Nazarian College relies on partner universities to build these study tours where students can be hosted and benefit from the connection of these universities in the business world and their knowledge of cultural realities. Partners can also develop strong relationships with CSUN and the Nazarian College to collaborate on other activities and better accommodate visiting students.