Experience report
ANR:
Name:
E-mail:
Exchange semester:
Academic year:
Host University:
Country:
947311
Man Jie
m.j.guo@tilburguniversity.edu
Fall
3
Shandong University
China
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
How was your arrival organized? Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? Was an
orientation or introduction activity organized? How was accommodation organized? Does the
university provide you with accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university
provide? Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place
to live after you arrived?
Alright so let’s begin with the arrival. First of all I did get picked up from the airport but it was not
arranged by the University. I was lucky as the other student from Tilburg University arrived in Jinan
before me and arranged someone to pick me up. This was organized by a student association within
the university called SICA (Student International Communications Association). I got dropped of
inside the campus in front of the dorm where I would spend the rest of my semester.
The dorm was arranged by the university and I had to apply for a room before I left the Netherlands.
But… as I arrived a week before the semester officially began (in advice of my arranged buddy from
Shandong University), the university was still busy renovating the dorm. So it was a complete mess
and mind you its really not an understatement. The building was in itself at least finished but the
interior was just not done. Painters, cleaners and many different blue collar workers were still working
the day that I arrived (and afterwards still for 2 weeks). The water was not working properly, our room
was dirty and also there was no internet installed yet, and above all because of an greater than
expected number of exchange students the University was running out of rooms. I applied for a single
room but instead I had to share my room (aprox. 14m^2 including a private bathroom) with someone
else.
It might sound that I have no good word about the dorms but at last they were finished with the
renovation, I got used to living with someone else in my room and the rest was all fine. One more
thing, the dorms ran a restriced policy for using hot water. There were set times during the day when
hot water would be available in the dorms. It was not a big problem but just annoying when you would
just miss those times.
After one to two weeks of arrival the student association SICA organized an orientation day. They
gave a presentation with information regarding the university and the area itself. As I arrived early I
got to meet some students and explored quite a bit so most of the topics discussed was insignificant.
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? What is the best
place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? What are interesting things to see and do in your host
city? What was different than in Tilburg?
Our campus was located quite close to the city centre, by bus it would take around 15 minutes and by
taxi approximately 10.
Ok first of all eating! If you are a fan of Asian food you will have no problem finding a good place to
eat. The restauarants are literally everywhere so I suggest to try them all out to see which one suits
you best (also because everything is fairly cheap). The campus also has their own cantine with in total
5 different floors where you can eat different food. I suggest you to not eat there too often a few times
is ok but if you go everyday then it just doesn’t taste that good anymore, if you want to eat cheap than
the cantine is most suitable I think. Oh and also what I did at the end of the semester was order food.
It was great! You have this application where you can select your location, they provide you with a list
of take out restaurants. You put your order in, they bring the food to your dorm, you pay and voila no
need to go out if you are busy. Don’t worry about the price since they do not charge extra for delivery.
Second, sports, when I was studying there the university had closed their fitness centre so we found
one outside of school. But I believe they rebuilt it and opened it again. It is not too big but its very
clean and the all the equipments are fairly new so I would suggest to sport there, but if you want to
know which gym we went too just contact me. Also there is a running track inside the campus where
you can go for a run if you get tired of the treadmills. Inside the track they have a grass field where
you can play soccer, badminton whatever you want. Next to the track they have like 6 basketball
courts which are always occupied but the students there won’t make a fuss about it if you would like
to join. Last but not least next to the basketball courts there is a sports hall suitable for playing
badminton, ping pong and a few other sports.
Next up, drinking, for beverages bubble tea is the most popular by far. There are many located
outside the North gate so give it a try! As for alcoholic ones, you will probably stay in the exchange
students dorm and they have their own little caffetaria room (they don’t sell anything there, its just a
room with tables and chairs where you can relax and drink with your friends), next to the room there is
a little supermarket which sells everything including alcoholic beverages. So I would recommend to
drink there before going out. Also next to the South gate there is a newly opened bar called ‘Foy bar’,
the atmosphere feels really western and it’s a great place to drink and chat.
Jinan has a few famous sightseeing points which are nice to visit once. I will briefly list a few as you
can find them very easily on the internet. Baotu Spring park, Daming Lake, Heihu Spring, Qian Fo
Shan and Sring city square. Be sure to check at least those out and near Jinan there is also a big
mountain called the Tai Shan. They say it’s amazing to climb the mountain top and watch the sunrise
from there. We’ve been there but we went during the day so we didn’t get the chance but nonetheless
but was a lot of fun. Oh and one last location is the city centre. It houses two big shopping malls ‘Shi
Mao’ and Parc 66 (Heng Long). Lots of international brand plus restaurants there so be sure to go
there as well.
TOPIC: Academics
Which courses did you take and why? Which courses would you recommend? What did the courses
add to your program at Tilburg University? How does the university compare to Tilburg University
concerning the level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? Overall,
were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange? Please describe the
campus of your host university.
I choose the courses: Law & Economics, Financial investment, International Economics II-Finance,
International Business Etiquette, Entrepreneurship planning, Critical thinking and Financial
economics.
I would recommend exactly these courses with the exception of International Business Etiquette since
it is given in Chinese and I could not take the credits as Tilburg viewed it as similar to Cross Cultural
Psychology. To be honest these courses did not add too much to my current program. For myself I
would rather take business related courses and as you can see most of the courses were Economic
ones.
For me the overall level of the courses was below or comparable to that of Tilburg with the exception
of Financial economics which was way too difficult. The level of English of the teachers was below
par, at first it was very hard for us to get used to the thick accent most of the teachers had but we got
used to it in a few weeks. The workload is not too much, similar to Tilburg it was up to you to keep
track of the course contents and sometimes we would receive some assignments.
Overall I am content with my academic achievements.
The campus is really big I think its best to explore it for yourself.
TOPIC: Social life
Which social activities organized by the university or students? Did you have contact with local
students? Did you have contact with other exchange students? How did you get along with the local
students and other exchange students? Did you travel to other places/countries during your
exchange?
Like mentioned earlier there is a student association active for exchange students SICA. They
organize events for us. For example there was a two day trip to Tai Shan and Qu Fu. All the buddies
that were assigned to the exchange students are members of this association.
We did get in contact with local students who we met through SICA other than that we did not have
many opportunities to get in contact with them. We got along pretty well with the local students we
met (which mostly comprised of SICA members), which might be thanks to the fact that some of us
were already from Chinese origin. As for the other exchange students we got along even better, first
of all we lived together in the same dorm so most of the people we would meet regularly in the dorm.
Also there would be this natural connection between everyone since we are all living in a foreign
country far away from home. Maybe its easier to identify yourself there with the other exchange
students then with the locals which also strengthens the bond.
I myself traveled to a few places within mainland China. I highly suggest it as traveling is cheap and
the opportunity to experience the diversity of cities in China doesn’t come along too often.
TOPIC: Living costs
How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University?
What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? What did you spend most of your
money on? What would you advice future students to spend their money on? Please outline your
approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc.
I have family living in China and they supported much of the costs I had in China. Most of my money
went to food. Since everything is so cheap compared to the Netherlands we went out quite often
which of course in the end led to quite a high amount.
I would advice to save your money and spend it on traveling around China as this is the most valuable
experience to have. As for the monthly budget I had to spent 37,5 Yuan a day for my room which
comes down to approximately 1125 Yuan a month. Textbooks were never over 5 euros. Food I
cannot make an accurate estimation but you can make it as cheap or as expensive as you want. But
on average if you want to eat more fancy it will be around 50-80 Yuan. More cheaper ones range from
10-30.
TOPIC: Culture
Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? How would you compare your host culture to
your own culture? What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? What was different
about your host culture than you expected? What did you like and not like about your host culture? Do
you feel you learned a lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? How
would you describe your host countries culture? If you travelled to other cities/countries during your
exchange, were they different than your host city/country, and how?
I did not experience a culture shock during my stay, this had two reasons. I had quite a good
understanding already of the culture and at the same time I was very openminded. Some things
would surprise me but an actual culture shock never happened.
The Chinese culture is in almost no aspect comparable to the western one. It could be argued that the
two are complete opposites of each other.
To be honest I do not really have an own culture since at home I have grown up with a Chinese
background but outside the house I would come in contact with the Dutch culture. But I learned that
the Dutch culture is very well organized and the people are more civilized and educated in
comparison to the general public of China. China was more messy than I had expected. The store,
streets, traffic regulations etc..
I feel like I learned more about how people actually live there, how they behave and what there
everyday live is like. I would like to learn a bit more about the politics in China.
TOPIC: Personal development
What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? Would you do things differently if
you had the chance, and what would you do differently? What was your best experience, and what
was your worst experience? What will you remember for ever about your exchange period?
I learned that the world is actually bigger and more diverse than you might think. This may be caused
by the shrinking relative distance that we feel, so get out there and explore.
If I had the chance I would’ve done two things differently, I would’ve gone out more and tried to travel
to other Asian countries.
Actually the best experience I had might have been the moment that I left. I met many people and
when it was time to say goodbye I could feel how attached I had become to them, I think this feeling is
wonderful and unique. The worst would be 3 weeks after I arrived. I got depressed and I did not know
what to do. I am still not sure whether I was homesick or the cause lied somewhere else. Those were
not my happiest days.
I will remember the people I met there. The things we did, the experiences we shared, just everything
I will cherish forever.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
Would you recommend an exchange period? Would you recommend your host university? What
should prospective students bring with them/leave behind? What preparation is required for going on
exchange to this destination? Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn’t
do?
I would 100% definitely recommend to go for an exchange period. It has been the most wonderfull
experience I have had. I would recommend my host university, although the university and the city
might not have been one of the best, the people there are very kind and also its easy to travel from
Jinan. Maybe the only thing could be some food you like as imported food in China is very expensive.
All other things can be bought in China.
I highly recommend to take a Chinese language class before leaving, as most of the locals do not
speak English. As a last word of advice, just go out there, enjoy, do not worry too much and cherish
all the moments you get to spend there!
TOPIC: A picture is worth a thousand words
If you took any pictures or made any videos that you would like to share with future exchange
students, please include them (or e-mail them separately). Pictures that show your daily life or
symbolize your exchange period are especially interesting for future exchange students.