About to graduate and confused?
May Fourth Square
Nothing is more daunting than the fact you are about to graduate and you have no concrete plans for the future. The questions that arise are; do I carry on with education and do a masters or do I take the plunge into real life by becoming a full time adult and start work as a graduate?? Well, that was my predicament until I came across InternChina. I applied for the marketing & business development position in the Qingdao branch and was offered the 3 months internship (yay!). Interning in China has given me the opportunity to gain great experience whilst figuring out my future plans!
On my arrival, I was picked up from the airport by one of my soon to be colleagues. She was incredibly welcoming and helped me settle in the shared apartment. What I like the most about the apartments in Qingdao is that they are graciously spacious yet have a very cosy vibe to them. My roommates are my fellow colleagues at the IC Qingdao branch, so it was great to be able to meet them outside of the ‘work’ environment. (I did find it rather humorous that each one of us were from a different European country, one Brit, one French and one German… it almost sounds like one of those bar jokes).
You think the coffee is cute? Wait until you come to Qingdao and check out the cafe’s decor, it looked like something out of Harry potter!As I had never been to Qingdao before, my roommates took me out and introduced me to fellow individuals who are part of the InternChina programme but are interning at different companies. As we are all connected through InternChina it was very easy to get along and feel comfortable with one another. Plans for the weekend were discussed and I was thrown into the mix and was able to explore Qingdao with them all!
Ever tried Hotpot? Well this is sort of like that but the non soup version, aka DryPot or as it’s known in China, Malatang!There are really cool cafes, bars and restaurants in China, so regardless of the city you’re in, you will always be able to find somewhere that is to your liking. The food is cheap and cheerful -some meals will cost you max 3 pounds (I can’t find the pound sign on my macbook sigh). Moreover, you can actually find food that is halal and great for vegetarians!
Cool cafe called Essence Trend in Qingdao, owned by one of our work colleagues!Honestly, I have only been here a few days and already I have some ideas on what I wish to do once I get back to the U.K. It also helps to be around people from all over the world as it is a great way to broaden your horizon and learn more. So if you’re currently unsure and undecided, I would wholeheartedly recommend an internship (especially one in China).
To start your own internship adventure in China, apply now!
InternChina ist nun auch offiziell auf dem europäischen Festland vertreten. Wir haben ein Büro in Mainz eröffnet, eine Stadt, die durch die zentrale Lage und Nähe zum Frankfurter Flughafen überzeugt.
InternChina-Büro in Mainz
Der Gründer InternChinas, Frank Lenhardt, zog mit seiner Familie nach Mainz. Dort baut er mit seiner Frau, Yi Fan (一凡), die Europapräsenz InternChinas auf. Er hat sich aus einer Vielzahl von Gründen für Mainz entschieden. Zunächst einmal ist Frank selber aus genau dieser Gegend, also ist dieser Schritt gen Heimat für ihn eine Art Rückkehr dahin, wo alles angefangen hat. Dem kommt hinzu, dass er seine Familie in China gegründet hat und deshalb haben weder seine Frau, noch seine Kinder jemals in Deutschland gelebt. Also verbindet Frank Familie mit Beruf und während er InternChinas Europageschäft erweitert, zeigt er gleichzeitig seiner Familie die deutsche Kultur und wie es sich in Deutschland so lebt – und welcher Ort ist besser dafür als der, an dem Frank selbst aufgewachsen ist.
InternChina-FamilienfotoAußerdem spricht Frank von Haus aus sowohl Französisch, als auch Deutsch, weshalb er bestens geeignet für die Erschließung neuer Märkte in Europa ist. Bis dato hatte InternChina nämlich noch keine Zweigstelle in Europa, was die Akquise neuer Kunden dort erschwert hat. Durch Franks und Yi Fans Unterstützung vor Ort haben wir nun die Möglichkeit genau diesen Schlüsselmarkt zu erschließen und dadurch die Bekanntheit InternChinas bei möglichen Partnern in ganz Europa zu steigern. An dieser Stelle kommt die Nähe Mainz‘ an Frankreich, wie auch die zentrale Lage in Deutschland und Europa generell gelegen. Auch liegt Mainz äußerst nah an dem Frankfurter Flughafen, der Direktflüge zu vielen InternChinastädten in China und natürlich auch Manchester anbietet. Das kommende Jahr in Mainz wird also hauptsächlich durch Marketings geprägt werden, da Frank von Stadt zu Stadt von Uni zu Uni zieht, um für InternChina zu werben. Es sind bereits 50 Besuche bei verschiedensten Instituten fest eingeplant.
InternChina-Mainz in EuropaDer Standort Mainz hat jedoch auch andere Vorteile. In England hat InternChina eine Partnerschaft mit dem sogenannten Generation UK-Programm für Studenten, das den kompletten Auslandsaufenthalt des Praktikanten bezahlt – ein sehr verlockendes Angebot für viele Studenten. Ähnliche Programme und Möglichkeiten eröffnen sich uns jetzt auch in Frankreich und Deutschland mit dem dafür notwendigen Standort in Deutschland; das macht unsere Angebote noch attraktiver für Studenten.
Somit erhoffen wir uns mit dem neuen Standort Mainz mehr Marktpräsenz in Europa zu erlangen.
What´s the first thing which comes into your mind when thinking about Valentine´s day???
LOVE, ROSES, HEARTS, …. Sooooo romantic 🙂
But what do I have to expect in a very new environment and culture? Well let´s find out together…
Chinese people also celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February. So it´s basically the same ritual than in Germany and most other Western Countries. Still, they also have their own traditional day. Qixi Festival or the Seventh Eve is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh Lunar month – which is usually in August. The holiday comes from a traditional old story about a love tragedy that has been passed down from one generation to another.
Listen to this: It´s about the romantic love story of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu. Niu Lang was actually told by a cow, his only friend, to find his way to the beautiful Zhi Nu. The magical cow told him to make his way to the riverside where Zhi Nu (a young fairy) and her six sisters had a bath. He took one of the beautiful silk dresses of the girls and hid behind bushes. When they came out of the water the youngest couldn´t find her dress anymore. Then, Niu Lang came out with her beautiful dress and asked her to stay with him. Several years passed and the two still live happily together. From then on both of them meet on a bridge of magpies every year on the seventh eve. So raise your head, you will find romantic going on in the sky 🙂
Awwwwwww how sweet is that :)! The only question which came into my mind: How can she think that it is nice if a guy steels her clothes????
Anyways, the annual gift giving which is commonly associated with Valentine’s Day doesn’t take place in China. So to all of the foreign Girls which live in China – DO NOT WAIT FOR A ROSE, CHOCOLATE OR ANY OTHER GIFT! This will have a tragic end 🙂
But also in China there are several charming customs associated with this romantic day for lovers. On the Chinese Valentine’s Day, people in love like to go to the temple of Matchmaker and pray for their love and the possible marriage in China. So still there is lots of Love in the air 🙂 And the people which are still single will do the same thing but they will ask for their luck of love in the Matchmaker temple. And maybe they will even find another lonely person right next to them. You never know, right :)!!
Jula 🙂
Hi my name is Thea Zhu and I am currently studying at the University of Vienna Economy and Society of East Asia.
Summer was coming up and I got the feeling all my friends and fellow students around me had already found the perfect internship while I was pre-occupied fighting with the midterm exams. Time flew, and suddenly it was the end of May and I still had no plans for summer, though I was sure of one thing – I want to do an internship and it has to be somewhere outside of the country I have been living for the last twenty years. It had to be an exotic place, with economical potentials but the same time also fun to travel in – so why not China?
Since my major is about East Asia it turned out to be a perfect fit. Everyone around me told me that there would be absolutely no chances for me to find an internship on such short notice. Nevertheless I tried anyway. InternChina was one of my first hits – I did not know about it before I randomly stumbled over it on the German Job board Kopra. I first applied directly at InternChina and got in contact with Chengdu office manager Jenny Hofmann. After my interview with her I received a better view of InternChina and was quite impressed about their work and success. I will now be working for InternChina’s Chengdu office and will also gain experience at one their client companies in Qingdao. After impromptu tea house visits, cuddly pandas, and boisterous bars, Chengdu I can honestly say Chengdu’s growing on me quickly!
Want to explore Chengdu with Thea? Apply now for an internship or send us an email for more information.
Some of you may know it (as I’m always repeating it since I’m back, cf.: my first blog), but 4 years ago I came the first time to Qingdao: thanks to Intern China. Now today I would like to take a step back and compare how the city changed, and how it’s different today.
But before a little bit of history. Back in 2009 I was student in a International Trade BTS degree. BTS is a typical French diploma that is quite short (only two years), but the 2 years are really enough, it is a post A-level degree.
To complete my first year, I had to do an eight weeks internship abroad, Yifan and Frank found me a placement and a Chinese host family here in Qingdao.
It was the first time that I went out of Europe, and I was pretty anxious, but when I arrived, the InternChina team did all the best to make me feel like I am at home, and I really enjoyed the experience.
You could see almost everywhere in the city that part of the Beijing’s Olympic games took place in Qingdao – On the busses or taxis with the motto “one world, one dream”or with the logo of the Olympic games.
The former olympic village was still being built to be replaced by the Mall Marina City that we know today and where Intern China Qingdao team often goes for lunch 🙂
Of course there are also more skyscrapers than before, and the best example is with the two pictures below :
As I said before, I lived in a host family. This experience was really nice, it’s a good way to get really immersed in the Chinese culture. The host mother cooked me really good dishes and my host sister always helped me when I was looking for something in the city.
Furthermore, I was living about 5 minutes walk from the commercial street Taidong Lu, with lots of shops and restaurants. I really liked the place because you could go shopping, drink a coffee, etc.
When I came back to France, I had the feeling that my stay in China was too short, with “only” two months here I had the impression that I didn’t see everything. For this reason I decided to come back for my Master’s internship, and I applied for another internship in China – this time in the Intern China office.
Although the city has changed in some kind of way, the daily life is still enjoyable and Qingdao is a wonderful place to live!
Do you want to discover the wonderful city of Qingdao ? Apply directly on our website or send us your application to info@internchina.com
Long distance flights are an annoying thing, especially if you can image so many other things you could do while sitting 10 unknown hours on an airplane, not knowing what to do. Many friends of mine were never on a flight longer than 3 hours. While staying in Europe, you can get to most destinations without having to spend a lot of time, even to countries like Tunisia you only need three hours.
So for those of you, who have never been on a long distance flight and for those, who dread them everytime they come up somewhere in the near future, our whole Intern China Team sat together and thought of their best tips for long flights. We hope you enjoy reading and have a relaxed flight to China! So…
…what do the interns say?
Dani Fernandez (Zhuhai):
1) Her first and most important tip is to not get a lot (or best any) sleep the night before your flight. You will be so tired during the flight, that you’ll just fall asleep, even though the seat might be uncomfortable.
2) Take your favorite entertainment options with you, and best more than one (e.g. books, music, games).
3) Choose an aisle seat, so you can stretch your legs a little more (and it’s a lot easier to get up in the night to walk around a little or go to the toilet).
4) Take a scarf, hoodie or jumper on board with you, in case the airline doesn’t give you a blanket and you don’t want to wear an uncomfortable jacket/coat for the whole flight.
Hanna Sand (Qingdao):
1) Most important thing for me is to have a good and fully charged battery for my netbook (tablet or laptop will do as well I guess ;)) and a hard-drive fully loaded with TV shows and films. The thing is, after finding my seat on an airplane, the first thing I do is check out the on-board TV. It’s a serious process because I start making a ‘schedule’ for the whole 12 hours (or however long I will be on the airplane). Sometimes I work out a really good programme and then I just fall asleep, which is the best thing that can happen really. But normaly it isn’t that easy, so I have my TV programme. After being happy with my plan for the next 12 hours, being able to watch all the movies I didn’t have time to see in cinema, the person in front of me starts moving their seat to the back which makes watching movies uncomfortable or I realize that the screen’s quality is actually not best or well, I never end up watching on board TV because something always happens…and that’s when I remember that I took my netbook, its 9.5h battery and a bunch of TV shows and films with me…Have a good flight! 😉
1.1) In addition to my tip above, don’t take sad movies with you, if you cry easily. Your stewardess and your neighbour in the seat next to you will be slightly confused if you look at them with red, teary eyes.
2) Choose your own seat! It’s possible with most airlines to log in online up to 36hours before departure and choose your own seat. Like Dani, I would choose an aisle seat since it’s easier to stretch legs, move around and go to the toilet.
3) Wear comfortable clothes! Nothing is worse than short skirts and tight pants on an airplane.
4) Order a special meal before your flight, if you need one (e.g. Vegetarian, Halal, Low carb, Vegan). Just getting a piece of bread in 12hours, while everyone else is eating is not sooo funny. (Therefore, Veggies, don’t fly with Aeroflot, they don’t like Vegetarians and ordering a special meal doesn’t help…).
Lisa Samani (Qingdao):
1) Our fashionista-intern Lisa’s most important tip is to not wear high heels on the airplane or any uncomfortable clothes at all, since you want shoes and clothes you can pull and carry your luggage with. You should also not wear any make up. It’s bad for your skin and the on board air is very very dry. So best just take some lotion with you that keeps your skin moist.
2) Bring your own food! Airplane food is not always good, and if you’re a vegetarian for example and forgot to order a special meal, you won’t be able to eat much.
3) Sleep on the airplane, but not before your flight! And remember to take a tooth brush with you, nothing is more disgusting than waking up in the morning and not being able to brush your teeth. 😉
4) Change your seat. You can always change your seat when all passengers are on board and if you see a free row at the back: Go for it!
Jonathan Libis (Qingdao):
1) Jonathan is not really concerned about long distance flights, since he can sleep almost everywhere. He only advises you to bring your MP3-Player and something easy to read. Just try to sleep and wear comfortable clothes.
And today’s special guest…
Frank Lenhardt (Co-Founder of InternChina):
1) The first and most important thing for Frank is to book and choose your seat in advance, so you don’t have to sit somewhere in the middle. Even AirChina allows you to do so, so don’t waste your chance to get a good seat!
2) Here is Frank’s ultimate luggage trick: If you have too much luggage, let your parents or friends wait with your actual carry-on baggage. Then go to check-in and ask them if you could – because it’s sooooo much more convenient – also drop of your hand luggage. They won’t know that it’s actually your parents having your hand luggage and you got a few more free kilos!
Share your tips and tricks with us! Send us a Tweet, share them on our Facebook Timeline or visit our Instagram feed!
Hey,
my name is Philipp, I am 25 and from Germany. It is now my second week at InternChina and I could already write a book about my experiences here in the beautiful coastal town Qingdao !
The team of InternChina is really great, working here is fun and I had a lot of responsibility from the first day on. The connection between all the interns here in Qingdao, placed by InternChina, is perfect. We have a lot of things going on, like having fun at Bars and Clubs, visit the most exciting places or go out together for lunch or dinner.
To describe a part of the cultural experience the best, I would like to give an example of my evening yesterday:
I decided to live with a host family (a great thing to deepen your cultural insight of China) and accompanied my host mother to a revival of her old class from school. After a lot of “Ganbei” with Tsingtao beer and delicious food (served in China mostly on a “turn around” table), I was invited to a friendly family and was suddenly confronted with the question, if I would like to marry their daughter ! So some sort of an “arranged marriage” ! Her parents told me that she is very clever and hardworking and I could marry well. They took me around in the house so I could see for myself that they have expensive furniture and stuff. If I could imagine a marriage?! I was so surprised as I had never ever expected this and said (big surprise)that unfortunately I can´t imagine that. Even so, she was beside me all the time and looked after me very well. That was a pretty dazzling experience, but that makes life interesting, right ?
The “Laowais” (foreign people) are definitively a highlight for the people here in China, as most of them don´t have the chance to travel and go abroad as we do in Europe for example. I got used to the fact, that people stare at us western people quite indiscreetly, but this is not meant in a bad way as they are just curious.
So there are still a lot of experiences to be had and I look forward to my time in China, as I see this as a really awesome modern adventure.