Where are you currently on exchange?
I am on exchange at Fudan University in Shanghai.
Which courses are you taking?
I am taking “Social Security and its Reform in China”, “International trade theory in Practice”, “China and Globalization”, and “Design-driven Innovation and Entrepreneurship”.
What is the study load?
It is way less than at PPE. PPE recommends you take Master's courses, and these are only one 3-hour lecture a week, ending in December. For a lot of courses, the grade is based on a final exam and then either participation, a presentation, or a group assignment. There are no seminars, but the lectures have mandatory attendance.
How much did you travel in China?
I went to multiple cities already. We went to the Avatar Forest (Zhangjiajie National Forest Park) with a long train ride. You can also make nice day trips, the trains here are super fast and cheap.
Are you taking a Chinese course?
Yes, but I don’t get any credits for it.
Where do you live?
I am renting an apartment with another girl from the exchange. It’s a 7-minute bike ride from the university and costs 530€ a month. Finding a house is not difficult - you can find housing within 3 or 4 days after you arrive, and you don’t need something in advance. This is a stark contrast with the situation in Amsterdam.
What does your typical day looks like?
Most of the time, my lectures are in the evening. After class, I go to dinner with my friends. The food culture here is amazing: you can eat very good and cheap on Campus. Sometimes I also go to the centre, which takes 50 minutes by metro.
How difficult was it to get adjusted?
The first weeks were surprisingly easy. You have this adrenaline and feeling of everything being new and cool. If you have a phone and data, you are completely fine. Chinese people barely speak English, but if you have a translator, you’re good to go.
You do need some help in advance (which apps you can use, Google Maps does not work here). One thing: As a vegetarian, you will struggle. Even if you eat veggie ramen, there is seafood or animal oil in the sauce. Vegetarianism is not a concept for the Chinese.
How do you make friends? Did you make friends with Chinese people?
All exchange students immediately flock to each other. There are a lot of Dutch and Belgians here (and Germans), so I am usually friends with them. You think making friends will be difficult, but there are a lot of activities targeted at meeting people. I have not made friends with Chinese people. They don’t really talk to each other and are on their phone a lot. I’ve seen people on hangouts sit in a cafe and be on their phones.
What differences do you see between PPE at the VU and Fudan besides the workload?
PPE is far more organised. There is also far more feedback between the programme and the students. Here, there is the unspoken rule that you cannot criticise Fudan. Also, everything (like lecture slides and the syllabus) goes through WeChat, which is less organised and formal than Canvas.
Do you miss the PPE community?
Yes. Very much so. I miss the community, and the fact that people usually share the same values. There are a lot of Americans here that have such different ways of voicing their opinion. I have never been to America, but now I learned how much I value Europe.
