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	Letters from students abroad Manisha D. << zurück China 2010 I was in the Perspectives China Program (http://www.foundationge.com) in Shanghai in the summer of 2010. It was the first time in my life to be without my family for 4 weeks so I was really nervous. When I arrived at the airport of Shanghai a Chinese woman, who was one of the administrators of the program, picked me up and drove me to the hotel. There I met some of the other girls and after meeting my roommate, whom I got along with really well, the administrators took us all out for dinner. The next day the program officially started at 8.30 am with classes at the local high school two blocks away from the hotel. Twice a week I had Tai-Chi lessons at 7 o'clock in the morning. This may sound stressful (and it was the first two times), but then I got used to it and discovered how relaxing it was. The Chinese history class and the 2-3 hours of Mandarin classes are compulsory for everyone but the program offers a lot of different activities (e.g. tennis, swimming) and optional classes on very different topics, e.g. Chinese literature, calligraphy, Kung Fu. Also, there are workshops on Chinese medicine, philosophy and cuisine. You don't spend that much time in the high school as you may think, a lot of classes are outside the classrooms, for example in the Chinese art class we went to some small art galleries and different museums. The program honestly opens up new perspectives on every possible aspect of Chinese culture. Although there is a tight schedule you also get some free time everyday and one free day every week. On these days you can either go on one of the excursions, which the administrators offer, or you can explore Shanghai on your own (in groups of at least 3). This leads me to another very positive aspect of the program: the people. I met about 30 other students from very different countries and backgrounds, all with one thing in common; we loved being abroad and exploring. All of us were open-minded and curious, which gave us the opportunity of sharing our different point of views on certain topics and caused a lot of discussions, broadening the minds of all of us. I'm pretty sure not a day went by without something interesting or funny happening to all of us, whether it was weird looking food which we tried to eat, or Chinese people dancing to techno music in a public park. This summer program gave me both a relaxing and relatively carefree vacation that had been expertly mixed with an academic experience. However, the academics were never too difficult and the lack of homework removed any stress that could have accumulated over the month the program lasted. Also, I automatically improved my English and learned some Chinese. For me the most important thing I gained from my summer in Shanghai - besides the fact that this program really expanded my horizon - are the friends that I made. I'd never expected to contract such lasting friendships which still enrich my life as I skype with them a lot and we visit each other. Without getting too long-winded, that is the best I can do for a description, but would encourage everyone interested in cultures other than your own to apply and attend! Manisha D. (10th March 2011)