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June

无论你付出多少努力,到考试的时候,仍然会觉得没准备好

June 5, 2018

And just like that I'm 2 months away from the end of the internship. The end of the program is also coming up fast as we have our final testing for Flagship the week of June 11-15.

A note on final testing:

  • If you are interning outside of Nanjing the Flagship Center will cover your travel expenses and 2 nights in a hotel
  • The testing schedule consists of an in-person OPI, a reading test and a writing test, all spaced out over a few days so you don't get overloaded with exams. 
  • The goal for the testing is mainly to get a Superior score on your OPI and the same level scores on the reading and writing so that you can get a certificate from Flagship for successfully completing the program. 
    • Before I started my internship phase, I scored an Advanced-High score on the OPI (just below Superior) so I'm a little nervous that I won't reach the goal, but I'm hopeful!
Many people will be finishing their 4 month internship soon (either the week before testing or right after), so it will be an emotional time not only seeing everyone again, but also having to say bye to them.

The next holiday in China is 端午节 or the Dragon Boat Festival. On this day, people all over China will race dragon boats and eat a type of mochi rice with meat cooked in leaves called 粽子。The Nanjing Flagship Center actually gets together and Flagship students from the Fall and Spring cohort can get together to form a team to race. Unfortunately I'm too far from Nanjing to participate, but my classmates on the team are having a lot of fun practicing! (Below is a picture from Baidu, not of the Flagship team)

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In other news, Shenzhen has been getting very hot and humid, making my 40 minute morning walk to work a little dreadful. The good news is that my department is moving buildings to the new building next week-which I live right across of! That will be really nice commuting wise and health wise- they have a nice new gym over there that I can't wait to use everyday!

I also have been enjoying getting to the office everyday a little bit earlier to eat breakfast -for free! I have attached a picture of what I normally get.

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June 14, 2018

Flagship testing is over!!! What a journey. Usually, the final testing signifies the ending of the program, but this year's Chinese New Year break was late into February causing a lot of students to move their internship starting date back. Most will end at the end of June and then head back to America. Below is the gist of testing, along with some do's and don'ts.

Flagship Final testing:

The Flagship program bought my roundtrip plane ticket to Nanjing form Shenzhen to take the exams. Those that lived closer just had to get their train tickets reimbursed at the office. Flagship also covered our hotel rooms for the duration of the stay (with a roommate of course). The testing consists of an OPI speaking exam and a Listening and Reading exam spread out throughout a few days so don't worry about being bombarded with exams. Your class during your internship phase will help you prepare for the OPI. And this OPI was different because it was in person, different from all the phone ones you will have done in the past.

For the reading portion, I recommend studying on your own time for traditional characters because I was under prepared for that portion (Every other passage was in traditional characters). Everyone said that the reading portion went by really fast and there was not enough time to answer all the questions. Time management is key!

Alumni Roundtable:

Another event that was planned was an Alumni roundtable for the spring cohort of Flagship students to ask my cohort about our experiences and just to provide a few answers for them. Take advantage of this opportunity! Ask them about their biggest accomplishment/biggest regret, anything! I personally learned a lot from last year's meeting and enabled me to make the most out of my internship experience, but there are definitely more things that I encountered that also being learning experiences to share.

Bank and Phone information:

Being a foreigner in China, you will encounter many obstacles with basic living expenses. Because the Government likes to keep a check on you, there are many laws that you wouldn't normally think of. For example, you have to open and close your bank at the same branch, any wiring of money/change of information must be in that same city. Therefore, when I went back to Nanjing, I made sure to close my account because I knew I would not be back in Nanjing after this trip.

For the phone plan, I switched my plan to a 全国 or whole country plan before moving to Shenzhen (I pay a little more every month). However, I wasn't sure if I could cancel it in Shenzhen or if I could only do it in Nanjing. So, I went to the store in Nanjing to ask if I could pre-cancel and have it automatically cancel my phone plan next month. The answer was no. Now, my plan is to go to a 联通 store in Shenzhen before leaving and see if I can cancel it then. If all fails, if you don't pay for 3 months, your number automatically cancel, but you pay a month's fee. We shall see how it plays out!

Fall 2017 Cohort:

It was very nice seeing all of my classmates in Nanjing, after 4 months. It was just like old times where we could all go out and eat together, go on adventures or just enjoy each other's company. This program really has a way of bringing together amazing people from all across the country, all crazy about learning Chinese. We ate at an all you can eat Indian Buffet in 狮子桥,rented a private movie theater (viewing room) at 新街口,ate 云南菜 and Uncle's pizza, etc. See below for some pictures.

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June 27, 2018

Exactly one month left in my internship! 大卡! My department has moved to the new 滨海 building and so I am figuring out a whole new environment. (Living a lot closer now definitely has its perks of not having to wake up early :)) This new building also has a lot of new amenities to use such as a gym, ping pong tables, badminton courts, you name it. I'm having a lot of fun and I think meeting a lot more people here just in general.

Current feelings of only having 1 more month left in China:

  • Anxious
  • Nervous
  • Restless
  • Excited
  • Busy
  • Thankful

I have so many feelings for the most because I still have a lot of things to accomplish and plan before I leave here. Job search, HSK testing prep, August travel plans just to name a few. However I am taking it one day at a time, and putting my best foot forward!

Things to keep in mind as you near the end of your internship:

  • If your internship goes beyond the original time frame covered by the insurance policy, Flagship may require you to purchase more insurance coverage. I received an email today saying that I was automatically enrolled into an insurance policy (CISI) for another month ($74) to cover my extra time here
  • You will have to write a end of internship report covering anything and everything about your semester including but not limited to: Language use and development, cultural exposure, work experience, internship preparation and search process, cost of living in your city, additional comments
  • Be sure to send your travel information back home to the Flagship Center as soon as you book it because they like to keep a track on your travels.