This China trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity. This trip alone has opened up my eyes to a whole new part of the world. Before coming to China, I never really considered traveling to this part of the country. After spending a week there, I would most definitely come back and even travel to other parts of China in the future. I came to China with very little expectations and really wanted to take everything in as it happened. While in Shanghai, I was really able to see that this place was very similar to New York City, but about three times larger. Shanghai was very modernized and had many tall buildings. Shanghai had a very impressive financial district as well. There were many places to shop and eat, with many recognized brands that we see in the United States. One thing that really caught my attention was that many people even spoke English in Shanghai. You could almost get by with only English there it seemed like.
Xiamen was the other place we visited while on the trip. Xiamen reminded me a lot of Hawaii with the palm trees and being right off the water. Working with the companies in Xiamen was incredible. They were all wonderful people and great to get to know. They were just as excited to see us as we were excited to see them. One company even took us out one night for KTV, which is a huge thing in China. Being able to work with our company was an overall great experience and we were able to see that our work really meant something to them and to the future of their company.
Overall, I had a great time. It was at sometimes a culture shock and sometimes I felt like I had never left the US. The food was very different in some aspects and is the only place I know of where soda is cheaper than water. We were able to do and see many things in a short period of time. This trip was one that I will never forget and has now helped me realize that I have a lot more exploring to do on this side of world.
Jonathan Ginsburgh, MMG Class of 2015