I’m a firm believer in travel. It could be across the globe, or down the street, but regardless, I’m a fan of getting out and seeing something new. It was no surprise then that at the beginning of my junior year, last fall, I was contemplating signing up for the travel study course to China.
A travel study is different than studying abroad. Instead of spending a semester over seas you combine the hands on trip experience with a classroom component. In this case, the trip consisted of a Business in China course over the semester, concluding with a two-week trip to china at the beginning of May.
There were pros and cons to wanting to go: I would be in China, which was hard to pass up, however, the course was scheduled as a night class, and I would have to take my spring finals a week early in time to leave for the trip. I weighed my options, and without so much as batting an eye, I turned in my application. I had almost an entire semester to save up for the trip, and I knew that a trip to China was not something I could easily turned down—when else would I get to travel there with an experienced professor who was from the area?
The fall semester flew by and before I knew it I was ready to start the course in preparation for our two-week trip in May. I knew the trip itself would be amazing, but I was skeptical about spending a semester “getting ready” to go. What could I learn in a classroom three months before I left that I couldn’t learn once we got there?
Looking back now, taking a class about China before I ever went there made all the difference.
Before I go into detail about why you should all visit China, here are the top reasons to spend time preparing before any over seas trip.
- A class, or at least research on the area, will prepare you for what’s to come. China was a fascinating place, but without at least some prior knowledge about culture norms, or acceptable practices, I would have been lost.
- A class will put topics, or facts, or any previous knowledge about a place into context. I knew some things about China, but taking a class allowed me to understand why certain things are the way they are.
- Preparation will help you prepare a game plan, or some list of places, sites, foods, or experience you want to make sure you don’t miss.
- Questions. By preparing before a big trip, especially to a place as different as China, it allows you time to ask questions, make arrangements, and start your journey feeling confident and ready.
In my next China blog post, I will share my favorite moments from my trip and hopefully help you start to plan your future itinerary!
– Ring Queen