by Emily Zhu

Hello USWIB and greetings from Shanghai!
 
Prior to studying abroad at NYU Shanghai, I had only seen the countryside of my parents’ hometown in Fuzhou. Given the opportunity to study in China for an entire semester, I wanted to improve my speaking and writing abilities in Chinese, while doing something outside of my comfort zone: challenging myself to use my Chinese while traveling to new places in China. Currently, besides Shanghai, I have visited Beijing, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Zhangjiajie, Xi’an, and also got to see family in Fuzhou! Every trip I’ve taken so far has been wonderful, but there are a few memorable sights and attractions that I think are must-sees in China.
 
Zhangjiajie
Before coming to China, I really anticipated going to Zhangjiajie, which is located in the Hunan Province of Central China. If you have seen Avatar, then you would probably notice that, in fact, the shots of the Hallelujah Mountains were taken within the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Zhangjiajie is a great place for people to appreciate nature and a great escape from the daily bustle of urban life. I was awed by the beautiful scenery of this city. The three main attractions in Zhangjiajie are: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianmen Mountain (or Heaven’s Gate Mountain), and Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge. Since we only had a weekend there, we unfortunately did not get to see the National Forest Park, where the mountains and peaks shown in Avatar were modeled after. To get to Tianmen Cave, we had to take a bus up a road with 99 bends, which was a scary ride but with beautiful landscapes to keep my mind off the winding roads. After reaching the bottom of the cave, there were 999 steep and narrow steps up to the cave, which is a huge hole in between two peaks, and is known as the “Stairway to Heaven.” As you can probably tell, Chinese people really like the number “9” as it has the same pronunciation as longevity. After reaching the top of the cave, we had to take several escalators to the summit, which had spectacular valley views, and thrilling glass and cliff path skywalks.

Hangzhou
Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province, and is just under an hour train ride away from Shanghai. There’s a saying in Chinese that “just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth.” The views at Hangzhou do live up to the saying. Our day trip in Hangzhou was spent around the West Lake, a landmark known for its beauty that blends well with the historical and cultural sites within it. We began the day by visiting Lingyin Temple (AKA Temple of Soul’s Retreat), which is on the northeast side of West Lake. It is known as one of the ten most famous Buddhist temples in China. For our next stop, we went further into West Lake and took a sightseeing car that traveled full circle around the scenic places within West Lake. The highlight of the trip was seeing the beautiful views around West Lake. We wrapped up our night by visiting Qinghefang Ancient Street, just several hundred meters away from West Lake. This street is the only well-preserved part of the ancient city. Qinghefang was filled with souvenir shops, restaurants, teahouses, street vendor stalls, and of course, lots of people, every block of the way.

Beijing
I visited Beijing during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is one of the peak seasons for tourism. Despite how crowded the city was everywhere we went, I was fascinated by Beijing’s ancient past. Specifically, I really enjoyed walking around the Forbidden City Palace, which was home to the imperial family for more than 500 years and has an extensive collection of relics, paintings, calligraphy, and bronzes. We spent 3 hours in the Forbidden City and yet still did not see all of the halls/palaces. Another highlight of our Beijing trip definitely was trying authentic Peking duck at Quanjude, one of the most well-known restaurants in Beijing that serves roast duck.

Shanghai
Of course I can’t forget about my study abroad site! My two favorite attractions in Shanghai thus far have been Zhujiajiao Water Town and the Bund. Zhujiajiao is an ancient town located close to the outskirts of Shanghai. It is a very beautiful water town and was a great change of pace from the bustling, metropolis city I was used to. The Bund (or Waitan) is also a must-see in Shanghai. Walking along the Bund at night, you can see the four highest skyscrapers in the city across the Huangpu River and all of the buildings’ lights reflected on the water creates a pretty view. Along the Bund walkway, there are also clusters of colonial-era buildings. It was really interesting to see the contrast between the century-old history and the futuristic buildings of Shanghai as I walked along this waterfront.

by Jordan Feast

One of the first things I noticed about London is just how expensive it is! Despite my money-saving woes, London is one of my favorite cities because of the moments of tranquility I experience here that I struggle to find in New York. I love London and would definitely recommend it as a study abroad site; there are great class options and it is easy to travel all over Europe! I hope that by reading about a day in my life, you can gather some insights on what it is truly like to be an NYU London student and pick up a couple of money-saving tips.
 
My Course Schedule:
Monday 1-4pm: Management and Organizations
Tuesday & Thursday 4:30-5:45pm: Organizational Communications and Its Social Context
Wednesday 9am-12pm: Media, Culture, and Globalization
Thursday 9am-12pm: Health Policy in a Global World

Monday

7:00 am
I am not an early riser but I like getting my day started relatively early. I am most productive when the sun is out and since the sun is setting at 4:30 pm I like to get a head start. After quietly getting ready and making breakfast to avoid waking up my flatmates, it’s off to the gym!
 
8:00 am
My gym is about a ten-minute walk from my dorm and I usually go about five times a week. I take a 30 minutes abs class and make myself run on the treadmill before leaving. Since we have to pay for our own gym memberships (mine costs about £23 a month with a student discount), I try to take advantage of the free classes my gym offers.
 
9:00 am
Before going back to my dorm, I stop by Waitrose for my weekly grocery shopping. I spend about £30-40 a week on groceries and eat out a couple of times on the weekends. I grab ingredients to make sandwiches for lunch and a pasta-bake for dinner. I also go to a Korean grocery store once in a while to stock up on everything I need to make Korean dishes. I found a small family-run store that offers a 10% student discount!
 
9:45 am
I put away my groceries and realize that I still have to unpack my suitcase from my trip this past weekend. My flatmates and I went to Edinburgh and got back on Sunday night. So far, I have been on four trips this semester: Madrid, Paris, Brussels, and Edinburgh! We always leave on Friday mornings and get back on Sunday nights. Compared to the US, travel is very cheap in Europe. We take the train when we can and booked all of our trips at the beginning of the semester when prices were still low. For train travel within the UK, there are great 16-25 discounts. You can buy a one-time £30 railcard and get 1/3 off all rail travel within the UK! For accommodation, we stay in hostels which are very popular and nice in Europe. The NYU London staff has a list of recommendations that helped us find budget-friendly hostels for most of our destinations. Next weekend, I am off to Amsterdam and then I only have one more trip to Italy before the semester is over.

A day trip from Brussels, Bruges is one of my favorite travel experiences!
 
11:00 am
After a quick shower, I brush up on my management reading and make lunch before heading to Management and Organizations with my flatmate.
 
1:00 pm
Management is my favorite class in London; the professor is amazing I am never bored in her class. Today, we are talking about designing teams and do an in-class survival simulation to test out our teamwork (my team did not survive).
 
2:15 pm
Finally, our coffee break! Most of the classes here are once a week and three hours long so most professors give a thirty-minute coffee break about halfway through class. My friend and I head to Gail’s; it is not as cheap as my usual Pret a Manger, but they have great hot chocolate and coffee and are right by campus.
 
4:00 pm
After class, my flatmate and I make the fifteen-minute walk back to our dorm. It is raining, a constant here in London, so we huddle under my umbrella. When we get back to Byron Court (our dorm), I start practicing for my OrgComm presentation that I have tomorrow. My presentation is a corporate reputation analysis of Disney and I have to get my part under two minutes. OrgComm is my other Stern class in London and my second favorite after Management.
 
6:10 pm
Before I know it, it is time to head to see Matilda the Musical! My roommate and I got tickets for only £5 thanks to another 16-25 discount that I found online. For cinema and theatre discounts, google is your friend and you can get amazing deals.
 
10:00 pm
The musical was amazing, and we take the tube back to our dorm. I usually prefer the bus because it is a lot cheaper than the tube but sometimes you can’t pass up the proximity. It has been a long day so I grab a quick snack and go to bed (after lying in bed on my phone for an hour, of course).
 
I hope you enjoyed my Monday! Please reach out if you have any questions about studying abroad in London; my email is jef480@stern.nyu.edu.

by Nisha Honnaya

As I added the finishing touches to my study abroad application early last semester, I couldn’t help but feel excited about the prospects of living and learning in Madrid. It was an opportunity that I was (and even more so, still am) thankful and excited to have at a school as globally networked as NYU. However, to dismiss any semblance of apprehension during the build-up to studying abroad would be remiss. Don’t get me wrong: the idea of daily warm Madrid sunsets, strolls through expansive plazas, and endless tapas was enchanting (and also equally unrealistic, but a girl can dream, right?). Even though I was looking forward to soaking in all that Madrid had to offer, I had a severe case of upcoming FOMO. I was worried that taking a pause from New York would also mean forgoing all the opportunities to continue growing personally and professionally in the city (and school, especially during midterms) that never sleeps. Interning abroad seemed like the perfect gateway to assuage these doubts, while also diving into an entirely new environment. Here’s my take on interning abroad and what it’s meant to me!

About NYU + EUSA:
To offer educational internships to students, NYU Study Abroad partners with EUSA, a “not-for-profit international education organization which works in partnership with colleges and universities to implement study abroad programs in London, Dublin, Madrid, Paris, and Prague.” 

NYU makes the application process and coordination with EUSA very accessible! After deciding to try my hand at interning abroad, my first step in the process was submitting an essay to NYU centered around on what I’d hope to learn and accomplish, if accepted. Here, I shared some of my professional aspirations and personal goals for what I would have liked to have accomplished by the end of the semester. For me specifically, these included gaining a deeper understanding of international business and finance, while also furthering my Spanish interpersonal communication skills. Depending on the site you plan to study abroad in, requirements to intern may vary (for example, intermediate proficiency in a foreign language), and I’d definitely recommend using NYU Global’s site as a resource to research more about your options.
 
Once you’re in, EUSA helps from there! After the school year ended, I was paired with a EUSA representative with whom I shared my internship field interests. In June, I expanded upon these interests within EUSA’s online portal questionnaire and later video-chatted my EUSA representative for a brief follow-up interview. She was not only instrumental in gauging my professional inclinations, but also helpful in pairing me with a provisional offer to a firm here in Madrid.

My Experience:
I received my internship placement in July and found out that this semester I would be interning at Servicios de Prepago Integrales, or SPI - SPARK. A rapidly growing provider of prepaid cards, SPI is emerging as a leader in the Spanish market with its leading SPARK Mastercard and Galp card brands. Over the course of my internship so far, my primary objective has been to uncover Spark Mastercard’s breakeven point in order to deliver insights that better inform SPI’s business decisions. As I had hoped, I’ve definitely gained a better understanding of how SPI’s operations are reflected in their data aggregation and how it informs their distribution strategy. I’ve analyzed various metrics along the way, ranging from average customer life cycle, the distribution of highest grossing card transactions, and customer spending behavior, for example. I’ve loved creatively problem solving my way through complex financial data, while also working to ultimately deliver meaningful information to SPI! 
 
Beyond the technical aspects of my internship, I’ve enjoyed getting a taste for the Spanish workplace culture. It’s been really rewarding to see how my Spanish has improved over the course of the semester, and I’ve loved being able to learn about my coworkers’ lives as young working professionals in Spain.

 Others’ Experiences:
The internship possibilities are endless and expand across a variety of majors/fields. Here are some perspectives from two of my classmates here in Madrid, who are also interning in business-related fields: 
 
Julia Hinckley — ’22 Finance & Accounting Intern @ Socios Inversores:
"My company connects startups and investors to give normal people safe investment opportunities and simultaneously help startups grow through crowdfunding. My job involves doing a lot of market research about the industries the startups are entering and comparing them to the competition. I also do some accounting work where I calculate solvency and profitability ratios to analyze the financial stability of the startup. I really like my internship because the work environment is super relaxed and after lunch we always play pin ball! It’s a really friendly group of people to work around, so I actually look forward to work every day. This internship has really shown me I love accounting and I am super happy to have found my passion within business!"
 
Mariana Fernandez — ’21 Marketing Research Intern @ Nita Suri: 
"This internship has really helped me get to know Spanish business practice, improving my decision-making skills and self-confidence.  I am proud to say that all throughout the internship, I have applied theoretical concepts that I have learned in various classes over the last two years into real world practice, helping me understand them on a deeper level. I have also discovered that I really like the field of fashion, even though I had never considered to actually pursue a career in this field before."
 
Parting Thoughts:
Recently my roommate reminded me of a saying we heard during the first few weeks of our orientation here: “allow yourself to let Madrid in.” It is easier said than done to allow yourself to fully embrace a culture and community, but I’ve found that actively seeking and grasping after any opportunity available to you definitely helps in the process. If there’s anything that studying abroad has taught me, it’s that taking a pause from one environment (aka New York), doesn’t mean fast-forwarding past opportunities to continue developing yourself. Growth manifests in a multitude of ways, and being abroad has helped me redefine what personal and professional growth means to me. Interning has been one of many ways through which I’ve dived into the unknown, dipped my toes outside of my comfort zone, and still stayed afloat while doing so! 
 
I hope that if you are thinking of studying abroad in the future, this post leaves you hopeful, informed, and excited about another amazing opportunity NYU study abroad programs have to offer you to engage with the culture firsthand. If you have any questions about studying abroad/Madrid, or want to share any noteworthy new NYC boba places I’ve missed out on while away this semester, feel free to email me at nisha.honnaya@stern.nyu.edu. And to find more information specific to interning abroad, be sure to check out these links:

• https://www.nyu.edu/academics/studying-abroad/upperclassmen-semester-academic-year-study-away/internships.html
• https://www.eusainternships.org/