<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'm a French student in a Top Tier business school. I'm in my second year in this school (but I also had 2 years of preparatory classes in Paris before that, and the Baccalaureate before that). The French system is weird, I know...</p>
<p>With my Business School, I have the opportunity to go to Asia as an exchange student next year for a semester. I registered for Seoul National University, UHK, HKUST, Fudan University, East China National University and Singapore Management University.</p>
<p>I'll know in a few weeks if I'm selected to go there (I like my chances, but you can never be too sure about this sort of things).</p>
<p>I'd just appreciate if you guys could give me some general information about these countries, cities, universities... Of course I looked it up online and everything, but I'd like to have some testimonies of people who really know these countries and/or universities. I've already traveled quite a lot, but almost exclusively in the Western world, so living in Asia for a semester will probably be very confusing).</p>
<p>So, I have a few specific questions I'd like to ask you:
- Are classes taught in a manner relatively similar to Western universities ?
- Do people in the cities speak english (and to what extent), or will I struggle a bit to make myself understand in the everyday life (especially outside the university itself) without knowing Chinese/Korean at all ? I know they speak english in Singapore, so it wouldn't really be a problem there.
- Are foreigners "welcomed" in these countries or will I sometimes be mocked, discriminated against (I heard Seoul and Singapore are quite used to Westerners, but what about China ?) ?
- Is it easy to melt with the local population on campus or do international students usually stay together (I heard in Singapore students were really obsessed about their grades so they don't go out much) ? And about going out, what about the nightlife, is it easy and nice to party, enjoy the city (even during the day, not only during the night^^) ?
- How about the campus ? I would probably be staying (hypothetically speaking) on-campus. They all look gorgeous and well located. Is it really the case ?
- I know nothing of Korean/Chinese. I was thinking about taking classes this summer (in France), and then, trying to use this "knowledge" in the country (I don't plan on becoming fluent of course, just the basics). Could be useful in the city, to buy things, go to a restaurant, or if I'm lost... Is it a realistic idea ?
- Are there many things to do and visit in these cities ? Most are known to be very livable, but are there a lot of things to "do", like visiting museums, going to parks, historic landmarks, sporting events, shops and neighborhoods...or is it "just" nice but nothing really stands out ?
...</p>
<p>Thank You for your answers !</p>