rickywc

[rickywc]

12-16-2017

We graduated! This may or may not be my last post. In the meantime, I wanted to say thank you for everybody who took the time to read my writing on my journey abroad.

Studying abroad was the first step in my transition into my new life and take on life. Coming home and reflecting on my adventures gave me a newfound appreciation for time and all of the abundance in my life.

I’ve become a big advocate for studying abroad, personal growth, and giving back. I joined new clubs, gained work experience in new industries, and became more involved in school.

It was an investment in my future. Having 5 classes, 2 jobs, an internship, and maintaining membership in 3 clubs was no easy task, but it was well worth it in the end.

Thank you again to Rikki and the Shidler College of Business for all of the opportunities - I’ll never forget you!

[rickywc]

“I have heard that you will make a lot of friends when you study abroad, but something tells me that not many people will have gotten as close as we did.”

Words left by Aino and a statement that is as true as the virtuous person she is.

When you meet a group of people that are truly good and share the same values as you, the spirit of camaraderie surpasses all national and linguistic barriers. Friendships like these come every once in a lifetime. Cherish them when you can.

In Fall 2016, I got lost in Shanghai... and found some of the greatest people you will ever meet. Finally glad that these photos resurfaced after months of being on Weidan's camera.

[rickywc]

2/12/2017

The five months I spent in China gave me plenty to be thankful for. I’m never going to forget the friends I made, the food I ate, and the lessons I learned from my time abroad. I have emerged from this marvelous journey as somebody that has not only become more confident and aware, but culturally sensitive and appreciative of the world and where we’ll be going in the coming years. 

No matter where we are in the world, China is going to play a big role in our future, so keep an eye out!

Special thanks to my friends and family back home for being there for me with every step of my journey. Another shout out to my friends in UCB for challenging me and giving me a fresh pair of eyes to see the world I live in.

Until we meet again!

[rickywc]

2/11/2017

This is the view from the 23rd floor of the International Student Dormitory. My best friend Joe had the lovely privilege of waking up to this skyline every morning.

Isn’t Shanghai beautiful?

Looking back, I wish I spent more time in this lovely city. I spent a lot of time studying and wasting time on social media instead of spending time with my friends.

Some days, I’d go straight home from class and wait for plans to arise, just to have a reason to be in the city or have somebody to go into the city with.

I don’t know if I was just lost or scared at the time, but if I were to go back and do Shanghai all over again, I’d definitely do things a little differently.

[rickywc]

1/15

Here’s an interesting video about the bike-sharing system that was prevalent in Shanghai. Watch the video above to learn more!

Transportation in Shanghai was convenient and affordable to say the least. I had a purple Shanghai transportation card which was used for the metro train, bus, and ferry. Although I had never personally participated in the bike-sharing system (I never got around to figuring it out and bought my own bike), it was something that I always wanted to try.

Being able to have access to any bike through the bikeshare app would have been extremely convenient for me, especially during late hours. The nearest metro station was around 20-30 minutes on foot, which was a little inconvenient in comparison to Tongji and Jiaotong universities, which have their own metro stops on campus.

If you are going to study in Shanghai, consider signing up for either Mobike or Ofo. Remember to be safe when riding on the roads!

[rickywc]

1/14

Here’s some photos from one of the first few weeks of school, when we visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum. My friend Joe (from Leeds) had a school trip for his class on Chinese culture and society and invited me along for the afternoon. I casually joined him on this class excursion on my day off and learned a lot about Shanghai’s history and development in the process. 

The museum had plenty of displays that showcased which architectural themes were prevalent in Shanghai over the past two centuries. We saw how the architectural style of Shanghai had evolved from the traditional pre-Qing Dynasty era to the cutting-edge and metropolitan city it is now.

European influences definitely had a big impact on the history of Shanghai - a city that had benefit largely from rapid growth and trade. I walked through an entire exhibit dedicated to Laszlo Hudec, one of the city’s most renowned and respected architects. To me, it is amazing to see the legacy and impact that one person can have on an entire city - I’m positive that he inspired an entire generation of architects without even knowing it.

The main attraction of the museum was the miniature model of the city. Despite not having Yangpu district (where Fudan is), I was incredibly impressed with the level of effort and detail put into this project. I wonder how long it took to build!

I enjoyed this museum a lot. Being a student, I was able to enter the exhibit for a discounted price, which was great! If you’re in Shanghai, you should definitely consider visiting.

Pictured in this photo in the front row are American (from left to right) - Elmer, Crystal, Ali, and myself.

In the second row, my English friends: Joe and Emma.

We were strangers at this point, but became good friends afterwards.

It feels like forever ago, but this is a memory that I want to keep.

[rickywc]

1/14

Quick throwback to our Christmas dinner. We had dinner at the Hilton with some Nordic and Scandinavian friends.

Although my friends and I came to China on our own, I’d like to think that our circumstances are what gave us a unique experience and strong friendship. Some of our friends came to Shanghai in groups of 2 or 3, which (I’ve been told) prevented them from meeting as many people. Going out and making friends on my own as a challenge, but one that helped me grow socially.

The sad reality about being from Hawaii is how far you are in relation to everybody else… I wanted to surround myself with people I wanted to remember and people that would remember me. Thus, I was very selective of the people I spent my time with and wanted to leave a positive impact on their lives.

For a lot of people, you will be the first person from Hawaii that they will ever meet. Whether or not you consider the list of typical American stereotypes to apply to you, I always thought in the back of my mind that if I represented myself and my people well, then maybe that would have an impact on how they feel about America. I learnt quickly that people have had assumptions about me, but I focused on the positive attributes of what made my personality unique and built on that.

My circle of friends (there are 8 of us) are still in touch through Whatsapp. Although we haven’t made plans to reunite anytime soon, I hope that day is not too far in the future. It’s been less than a month since we’ve all said goodbye, but if I’m ever in Europe, I’ll see you all soon. :)

[rickywc]

1/14

A quality photo from our last Chinese lesson, featuring an Englishman, two Finns, and a Hawaii boy. We all met at a birthday dinner!

Here’s the story - there was an open invitation to a girl’s birthday party over a giant group chat at Fudan. It might have been my second or third night in Shanghai and I had not made any friends yet. The plan was to meet in the lobby around 6:00PM to head to downtown.

Feeling hungry and bored, I made the spontaneous decision to go out and meet new people downstairs. Putting myself out there and exposing myself to new people isn’t something that I would usually do, but I wanted to make some friends and see downtown Pudong at night. After an hour and a half of wandering around in a group of 20+ people, we eventually had dinner at Din Tai Fung. I ended up meeting some of the people who became my closest friends from that very night. As a bonus, I learned that they would be in my Chinese class a few days later!

These three people are some of the people who made my time in Shanghai the most memorable!

Aino, Joe, and Kalle - you are all very significant to me. I haven’t met people who made learning Chinese as fun as you did... So to say that we had a great semester is an understatement. We hadn’t been friends for very long, but our memories mean a lot - for now and for a long time.

[rickywc]

1/13 - Finals

This is a late post, now that I am back in Hawaii. This is actually the third time I am writing this post since for some reason, Tumblr kept losing my drafts. Since this a rather important topic, I’ll chime in my two cents.

I took 5 classes in the Fall of 2016, having 4 of them in the school of management at Fudan. Like I said earlier in the semester, the exams at Fudan are trickier than the ones at the University of Hawaii, since a good portion of my classes required short answer responses instead of multiple choice.

Here’s what you can expect from my classes. 

*Do note that I am not disclosing anything that my professors would not have told me before taking the exam.

Elementary Chinese - The final is presented in the same format as the midterm. There is a section on grammar, word choice, and character writing. My professor gave us a helpful practice exam that was quite similar to the real exam. If you pay attention in class, keep up with character writing, and spend maybe an hour or two reviewing materials (per week) the month before the exam, you should be in good shape! The most difficult part of this class was remembering how to write the correct character from memory, but fortunately, this is only 20-30% of the grade. Make sure you know your grammar and sentence structures!

Project Evaluation - Half of this exam is on theory, while the other half is a practical excel portion. Make sure you study the slides and are comfortable calculating NPV, MIRR, PI, Payback Periods, and WACC at the very least. My most biggest challenge with this class was the practical, but this is something that our professor goes over throughout the semester. Worry not - if you have a study group that is focused and able to go through the cases together, you should be alright.

International Market Study - The professor literally tells you what topics you must study the week before the exam. His exam mostly consists of short answers and an essay, so try to study every lecture after the midterm at the very least. Thankfully, he even tells you what you shouldn’t focus on. That’ll save you a bunch of time.

Entrepreneurial Development - Professor Michel has an interesting test format. He’ll have perhaps 30-40% of his final exam on theory learned in class, while 60-70% of his exam is on the group project you will be doing in class. It is important to understand how the theory tied into your project and to know your project well. He wants to know if you were as heavily involved in your project as your other group members, so he’ll be asking you questions about your project overall, even on parts he knows you didn’t do. For my class, I developed an app prototype for our business that we were pitching. His exam required us to know everything from our business canvas, our ERRC grid, value matrix, equity proposal, etc. I had participated in the formation of these elements, but they weren’t my primary responsibilities in the group. As such, he still tested everybody on it.

Foreign Business Investment - You’ll learn a lot about inward and outward FDI in China throughout the semester, and you’ll learn about the ways companies behave when they venture into a new market and/or region. Our professor did not require us to take a final exam, but instead, he had us submit a 20 page final CSR report. We did a project on Nestle vs. Danone in China, and had to narrow down the many different elements of CSR down to the milk scandals faced in China.

-

All in all, I can say that I maintained a good balance of academic, personal, and social growth while at Fudan. I walked away from this semester with a 3.4 GPA, which is not the best grades I’ve gotten in college, but not the worst case, considering how I was living in a city where the majority of people I encountered did not know a great deal of English. It was an uphill climb to complete simple tasks, but the feeling of accomplishment after it all was well worth it.

I will say this - time flies rather quickly after you take your midterm exams. Do find ways to make the most of your time! You’ll have group projects, homework assignments, and finals on your mind; but you’ll also want to have time for yourself and for your friends!

Take time to travel to different cities (or countries, depending on your residence permit status), because there is so much that you can see and learn about China that you can’t experience in just Shanghai. Even then, plan days to explore Shanghai with your friends and maybe visit museums to learn about the history of Shanghai and China (the Propaganda Art Museum is great for that!).

You can visit a ghost town, walk through the French Concession, roam the streets of Xintiandi, and maybe learn to appreciate the “Chinese” parts of Shanghai in People’s Square and Laoximen. There are some of my favorite things about Shanghai, and if you get the chance to visit, you should experience these things for yourself!

Time really flies. It’s hard to talk about Shanghai now that I am because there were so many great feelings that were felt throughout the semester. It wasn’t always just “fun” or a “blast”, but there were moments that truly took my breath away and left me speechless. It may be a little cheesy, but there’s some sort of beauty in knowing that you have done a lot in a period of your life that you will never be able to experience again.

I’ll save you the trouble of reading this extended blog entry, there’s more on that abstract thought later.

[rickywc]

12/8 Bypassing the Great Firewall of China

When studying abroad in China, you will more than likely witness the great power behind the Great Firewall of China in at least one way or another. 

The Chinese government censors a significant number of websites on the internet for various reasons. Some significant examples include: Facebook, Google (including YouTube and Gmail), Twitter, Tumblr, and several Western media outlets. While the Chinese government may have their reasons for doing so, it can be an inconvenient obstacle when you try to access the sites you’d use on a regular basis back home.

If you are a student at the University of Hawaii (like me), you’ll be needing a VPN for a number of reasons. For example: I use my VPN to check my Gmail, share photos, access cloud storage, read the news, and update this blog.

Without a VPN, you could risk missing important notifications such as class registration or advising back home. You could miss an important email, or you could even miss a deadline. Keep in mind, you could also lose the ability to use Google Drive and/or Dropbox without a VPN. I never knew how crucial a VPN would be in my life until I had internet connectivity issues on and off for a week...

My biggest issue with internet was falling out of contact with people that relied on me for email correspondence. I’ve nearly missed deadlines because of my inability to check my email. Being here taught me that you need to be accessible no matter what, or you’ll miss out on a bunch of important details.

I decided to register for ExpressVPN because it was one of the few VPN’s that worked in bypassing the Great Firewall of China. Not all VPN’s work against China’s firewall. ExpressVPN is fast, reliable, and has one of the biggest number of available servers to connect to.

ExpressVPN has servers in every major continent in the world, and spans several regions. The servers that work best for Shanghai (in my opinion) are: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Tokyo.

Unfortunately, ExpressVPN is not free. The good news is-- if you sign up with my reference code, you’ll get yourself a month of usage for free! If you don’t use my code, you’ll pay regular price for the first month, like everybody else.

Here’s my referral link.

There are many payment plans to choose from. In my particular situation, I decided to go on the monthly plan because I am technically in Shanghai for 4 months and not 6. This saves me a little bit of money. If you like the service, you can always purchase a long-term plan to save some money.

Keep in mind: Chinese law doesn’t have anything specific in writing that forbids the usage of VPNs. In fact, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of Chinese businesses that incorporate VPNs in their daily operations. As long as you do not engage in illegal internet activities, you shouldn’t run into any trouble with the law.

Disclaimer: By informing my readers about VPN’s, please note that I do not condone or intend to promote internet activities that defy Chinese policy and/or laws. You should always exercise good judgment and safe browsing habits whenever you are online!

Also note: I am not officially affiliated with ExpressVPN, nor am I being compensated to recommend their product. I have merely included my reference code because I have provided it to a fellow classmate at Fudan who had made use of the free month. By using my code, you also give me a free month of usage. It’s a win-win for the both of us. :)

Please enjoy, and happy browsing!

[rickywc]

11/28/2016 - Huangshan

Huangshan was incredible, but as with any journey, the people you bring along can make it even so much better.

Studying abroad and being around so many new people and things has done so much for me in such a small amount of time.

I’ve learned that some of the most beautiful things in life are the adventures you’ll have and the connections you’ll make with people from different countries, backgrounds, and outlooks on life.

Despite spending this thanksgiving weekend away from home, I remembered to count my blessings. I am feeling extra thankful for the great people I’ve met in Shanghai, or else, I could’ve had a completely different experience abroad.

Lastly but not last, I am incredibly humbled by the love, support, and loyalty shown by my friends back home. I am lamenting the fact that I’ll be on a flight back to Hawaii in 6 weeks, but I am looking forward to seeing everybody soon!

[rickywc]

11/21/2016

牛蛙面, known in English as bullfrog noodles, was one of the most delicious and memorable meals I’ve had in Shanghai.

Costing only 28元 ($4.06 USD), this was a steal compared to how much a dish like this would cost in the states.

Recommended to me by a former Shanghai native now residing in Hawaii, I’m glad I got the chance to try this out!

[rickywc]

11/12 End of Midterms (2/2)

As of last week, my midterms at Fudan University are finally over. 

With results from every class slowly coming in, I can proudly say that I’m making school a bigger priority than I did back home. The scores speak for themselves. I’ve received satisfactory marks on my midterms, but I’m not really satisfied yet. I want to earn these A’s and say that I did this without relying on the curve. I want to hold myself to a higher standard this semester than the ones I’ve had before this.

I’ll continue trying out new ways to study that work best for me. I’m not a student that can easily sit down for 6 hours at a time to study for a class. It’s hard for me to imagine people that are able to study for twice that. It’s crazy- this is typical for some of the students I’ve met here, whether they are local or from Ivy league schools. Their ability to focus is something that I really admire.

My Capital Budgeting and Chinese classes are my most difficult classes this semester. These professors have set really high standards for their students, and so, the classes aren’t exactly easy. I’ll admit- I struggle when I lose focus in class. 

Here’s a helpful tip: the practice midterm for Elementary Chinese is VERY similar to the teacher will give you in class. If your professor gives you a practice midterm, study that well. Also, try to review every lesson every week so that you KNOW your characters.

On the other hand, the practice midterm for my Capital Budgeting was a walk in the park compared to the midterm he actually gave us.  The midterm itself was half doable, half extremely difficult. Part of the midterm was multiple-choice, while the other half was a practical test that gauged your knowledge of the concepts in class. Expect to make calculations and apply them to your scenarios. It’s important to know all of the “moving parts” of the income statement, and how to calculate MIRR, Payback Periods, NPV, along with the other stuff you’ll learn in class. That’s as general as it can get. If you’re reading this, good luck.

All in all, midterms at Fudan were a nice challenge, and not too impossible. With that in mind, my main responsibility now is to form better habits and become a better student so I can crush my finals. Can I do it? Stay tuned.

[rickywc]

10/22 Midterms Week (1/2)

Well, the first week of midterms have come and gone, and I have 3 more exams to look forward to in the coming weeks. I’m feeling a little relieved, but I’m also preparing myself to study some more. The midterms here are a little different from what I’m used to back home, so I’m really glad that I’ve found some extra time to study.

Before leaving for China, I spoke with some students that have gone on exchange to Fudan before me. They warned me that the exams were a little more challenging than the ones we had back home, but not to worry about being able to pass my classes. Although this description of my (then) future classes was a bit vague, I can now see why they said that.

At the University of Hawaii, the majority of my exams in my business courses were in multiple-choice format, which is, at least in my opinion, a little easier to prepare for. I could review my lecture slides the night before an exam and be able to get by with a B+ grade. Healthy habits, no? Definitely not.

I’m not proud of my study habits back home, and so, I knew that I needed to change them if I wanted to succeed at Fudan. I’ve taken to rewriting my notes, reviewing my work earlier in the week, and organizing productive study groups, where notes are shared and topics are discussed. 

I feel a bit differently about school now. As a student, I no longer want my education to take a back seat to my part-time job, social life, and extracurricular activities anymore. I feel a little more willing to sacrifice sleep and time on social media in order to ensure that I’m taking responsible for my own learning. 

I’ve done a lot more studying here than I have as a student back home, and to be honest with you, I feel great about it. 

Here’s a tip: expect the midterms for Entrepreneurial Development and Foreign Business Investments to be consisting of almost all short-answer questions and essays. Your professors will expect you to understand not only concepts and definitions, but also, details from your readings and peer presentations in class.

Stay sharp, friends. Studying abroad at one of the best universities in China is no walk in the park, but prepared to suffer the consequences if you treat this experience as a vacation.

Hope this didn’t scare you! I love my classes.

[rickywc]

10/11/2016

The Bund is incredible.

Another week has flown by in such a blur. I haven’t seen much of my friends outside of class this week, which makes me feel a little sad. We had plans to go bowling tonight, but unfortunately, my friend Kalle is down for the count. Food poisoning. Not today, I guess. :(

In other news, midterms are coming right around the corner! We had just finished up 7 straight days of class this week, thanks to the adjusted schedule for the National Day Golden Week holiday. I have 2 midterms next week, and another 2 for the following week. I also have my Chinese midterm on November 1st... Time is slipping so quickly. This entire experience is definitely NOT a vacation.

What can I say? I am quite exhausted. It’s a bit alarming when you open your class assignments, only to discover that you don’t know where to start. I’ll admit- I feel like I’m falling behind in my capital budgeting class... I opened an assignment and didn’t know how to start.

Luckily, Fudan has an online portal between teachers and students called eLearning. It’s a lot like Laulima back home, and I can easily download the slides from classes for review. The resources are there, I just need to put the time and effort in to see results.

[rickywc]

10/10/2016

Here’s a final list of my courses here at Fudan University

Since the Freeman Scholarship requires me to take at least 3 business courses abroad, I decided to take 4 business courses, as well as Elementary Chinese.

Here are the summaries of my classes:

International Market Study - Basically a class that centers around the concept of a Market Intelligence System, which is something that most companies use in order to sustain a competitive advantage in today’s day and age. This class in particular focuses on multinational companies that work in international environments.

Foreign Business Investment - It’s a class that is based around Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and its effects on the economy. We have an emphasis on China as a business environment for different foreign industries. In our first month, we’ve already gone over the automobile manufacturing and banking industries in China.

Entrepreneurial Development - A class that helps to outline the process of turning an idea into a potential business. In classes, we learn about common issues that most start-ups face in early development, and also, how to create a business model and plan. My professor is fairly young, and so, classes are real easy to follow. I feel that he also has plenty of experience in the field of entrepreneurship.

Project Evaluation - It’s a Finance course with a focus on capital budgeting and teaches you how to conduct analyses of potential investments. It’s pretty excel heavy, and you’ll be expected to have at least a basic fundamental background in Financial Accounting and the basics of Finance.

Elementary Chinese - A basic Mandarin Chinese class, meaning, you’ll be learning the very basic fundamentals of Mandarin Chinese. There’s a large gap between taking Elementary Chinese and Intermediate Chinese. I’ll admit- I wasn’t the best student in my Chinese class back home, but- I’m making amends now. My proficiency lands somewhere in the middle of Elementary and Intermediate Chinese, but I decided to take the elementary class, because i wanted to relearn how to read and write from the beginning. I’m liking the way this class is taught, compared to our program back home.

All in all, these are the classes I’m taking. I really like all of my classes - especially the fact that most of them occur once a week. It give me a lot of free time throughout the day. My professors are great. I feel that all of my professors bring lots of experience and wisdom in the fields that they are teaching. Both professors and students seem to be highly engaged and bring a great sense of energy to the classroom. I‘m really starting to like this school and program.

Of course, I could be speaking too soon. I don’t have too much homework, but I’m trying to do what I can to stay ahead in class. I’m studying a lot more than I did at school. It feels liberating to take more responsibility for your learning when you live on your own and set your own schedule. I’m trying to form better habits and spend less time on social media. 

I just hope I don’t get wrecked by my midterms. That would really set me back. I really enjoy the quote, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,”.

Then again, you can’t really cure a failing grade... I know my classes are pass/fail towards my home university. I just want to learn as much as I can and want to be proud of my transcript from this school when I get home. 

I’ll be fine when I get it. I’ll be goooood. 

[rickywc]

10/9/2016 (Photo originally posted on Instagram approximately 5 weeks ago)

Here's a view looking down all 89 floors of the Jin Mao hotel in Shanghai. So... How much would it cost to have a taste of the good life? 150 yuan ($22.5 USD) to have access to a magnificent view and a seat at the extravagant rooftop bar that we were at, along with 150 yuan worth of drink credits. Did we stay? Unfortunately not. 150 yuan is a sum of money that can go an extremely long way in China. On average, I tend to spend 10 yuan ($1.50 USD) per meal at the cafeteria. Some dishes and foodstuffs can cost even less than that. 

(I’ll do a cafeteria food review post later.)

As of today’s writing, it’s been a month and 5 days since my classes had officially started. I can really say that I’m loving my experience studying abroad in the city of Shanghai. I feel extremely blessed to have surrounded myself with some really, really good people that I met at a birthday party. In fact, this is photo is from the day of the birthday party! My friends in Shanghai are able to make me laugh on a daily basis, but we’re also able to have serious conversations. Perhaps I will introduce them to you some day.

The day I took this photo, I hopped into a taxi in front of the hotel with two people that I had just met 2 hours earlier, where we all got scammed by a taxi driver who didn't charge us what was on the meter. Always try to find an honest taxi driver.

Here’s a pro tip: If a driver sets his trip price before he takes you out of the city, try to find another taxi. If taxis are in short supply (like, if you’re in the middle of nowhere), you need to swallow your pride and pay the premium, unless you like walking for hours. 

We paid almost twice of what we officially owed on the meter. I argued with the taxi driver for a few minutes, but couldn't get anywhere with the language barrier. I'm pretty sure that he was threatening to kill us, so we paid and left... but we all managed to spend a little less than $15 USD per person by the end of the night for dinner at Din Tai Fung, socializing, and transportation to and out of the inner city. Not the worst experience if you ask me. But as with all things in life: you win or you learn.