MBA China

Hey everyone, it's Drew writing tonight.

For the past two years I was an English teacher.

Now I'm a student, as I started a MBA at Central South University in Changsha.  

• Class is Monday through Friday 8:30 to 5:30.  Each day of the week is a different course.  Each course lasts about six weeks.  
• I am fortunate to have a scholarship that covers tuition and apartment rent for three years.
• There are 25 students in my class; 8 are foreigners (3 Americans). 
• All the lectures, discussion and course materials are in Chinese.

Some interesting differences and observations so far.

1) Paying attention: during classes, we don't have to pay very close attention to what the teacher is talking about.  Our class tech guy brings his wireless router to class everyday so we can all chat on qq (Chinese IM), buy things online and play online games during class.  Other common behaviors include sleeping, talking quietly on the phone and zoning out.

2) Testing: I think that all tests are going to be open book, take home essay tests.

3) The foreign disadvantage: Out of the 8 foreign students in our class, only myself and one other foreign guy understand the lectures and are able to participate in class discussions (So what do the others do for grades? who knows.)

4) After the last lecture of each course, our class treats the professor to a nice dinner as a way of showing our appreciation for his instruction and getting a little extra help for our grades.  For this semester, one dinner down and eleven to go.

5) Degree of difficulty: As with most higher education degrees in China, it is difficult to enter the program (admittance is based on a standardized test and work experience), but easy to complete the degree if you are present in classes and pay your tuition.

6) Classmate relationships:  All my classes are with the same group of 25 students for the next two years -- relationships are very close.

7) Advisor: Another American student and I have the privilege of being advised by the semi-famous dean of our school Chen Xiaohong.  She is extremely busy so I don't expect to spend a lot of time under her tutelage but the connection could be advantageous. 

8) Teacher's curiosity: As one of the two foreigners who can speak understandable Chinese and because I pay close attention during lectures, my professors are curious and frequently ask me what I think about a range of topics.

9) Family: Going a little bit against the norm of Chinese professional culture, Rach and the kids are participating in class activities and outings like dinners.  Everybody loves having them around.  

10) Integration=Influence: I am so happy to be where I am.  I love the people.  I love the language.  I love the culture.  What vantage point could be be better?

-- Drew

p.s. Here are those pictures of classmates and the classroom.