<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Im going to be studying abroad for an academic year in either China or Egypt</p>
<p>I am leaning towards Egypt, Cairo (AUC) and I would be either taking courses in my major and one arabic course, or apply towards the ALI ( Arabic Language Institute) and study Arabic for a whole year, 20 hours a week.</p>
<p>I am currently a business major, but I am starting to gain more interest in International Affairs, and politics, so I figure I learn another language and start studying abroad. </p>
<p>Would you guys suggest I study in China? Or Middle East?</p>
<p>And woud you suggest I study intensive language and forgo possible units of coursework?</p>
<p>Or would you suggest I take classes in my major that will help me with credits. (15 Semester Credits) </p>
<p>Any advice is appreciated. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I would lean towards the Middle East, partially because I’m biased (I’m planning on studying abroad there too), and partially because you’ve described a plan for Egypt but not China, which implies to me that Egypt means more to you and is something you’re more interested in. That might be wrong and go to China if that’s what you want, but to me you seem more interested in Egypt. </p>
<p>As for language vs classes, that’s really up to you, and you need to decide why you’re studying abroad. If it’s primarily for the language, then intensive language study makes the most sense. But if you want to learn the language and get an overall experience then maybe the other option makes the most sense for you. I think you really can’t go wrong here, so I would suggest just looking through both programs and seeing which excites you more, then just pick that one.</p>
<p>Good luck with your choice! :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>The problem is some people are suggesting I go to China because it will be a bigger player in the world when everything dies down in the Middle East, and we wont really need to deal with them as much. </p>
<p>I guess I could eventually go to China someday as well and do best of both worlds.</p>
<p>I think China could make more sense for you as a business major, but Egypt can make sense too; it just depends where you see yourself. If you want to get involved in big corporations, maybe Chinese would suit you more, but if you wanted to do international business, you could do that with a focus in the Middle East if that’s what interests you. I wouldn’t suggest deciding to go to the Middle East based on the situation right now because yes, that eventually will die down. But if you find the region fascinating in itself, then that’s reason enough to go. Also, knowledge of Arabic is very marketable right now, especially if you see yourself getting involved in international affairs. Really both could help you, so you just need to decide which you would get the most out of.</p>
<p>are you going to start the language study at your US college? I would think for either of these difficult languages you would want some advanced prep beofre going abroad.</p>
<p>The AUC is one of the most famous schools worldwide for IR majors, and is situated in a notoriously headline producing zone.</p>
<p>However, you stated that you’re a business major, and if you like the International aspect… ta da! Why not International Business? And who’s leading the business world today… yup. China.</p>
<p>Since you declared business, that answers my point.</p>