Nĭmen hăo! My name is Sandra. I am a 21 years old student from Germany. I am studying economics and business administration in Konstanz but grew up in and out of Stuttgart. Since I am studying for two years now I am very excited to have the chance to trade my German study-life for working experience in Qingdao.

When I moved to Konstanz I secretly thought that it would be the start of a whole new exciting era in a city with the proportion of students that high that it might not sleep a lot. But instead of students I got thousands of retired people everywhere I looked. Hence I think you might see why my desire to escape out of that sleepy town and into a big city strengthened from day to day. And finally I arrived…. Qingdao, 8 million people, shops, restaurants and stores at every corner, night markets, busy streets, everything I was looking for!

But of course that is not the only reason why I wanted to come to China. This incredibly huge country with a culture and language different to the bones fascinated me for quite some time. After finishing school I decided to go to Asia to see the other side of the world. But instead of China I travelled through Thailand and Singapore. I experienced country and people and got hungry for more. Unfortunately my studies started immediately after my journey and I needed to spend some time in good old Germany. At the beginning of my third semester I decided that it was time to implement a new culture to my daily life and signed up for a Chinese language course. Starting to learn Chinese was a lot of fun. Everybody in the room almost broke their tongues with the new pronunciation of the letters and the unusual tones. But trying to learn the language wasn’t enough. I wanted to go to China. So I started looking for internships on the Internet and somehow found InternChina. The vacancy, the company, the city, the country, everything seemed to be the perfect fit for me. So I revised my CV and applied. By then everything went really fast and easy. I was invited for the first Skype interview in my life. But even though I had some worries, none of them became true. Jack, our Qingdao Office Manager easily guided me through the interview. After I was accepted they helped me with everything I needed. They provided advice for the flights, credit cards the visa, what to bring and what to leave at home. With their help everything worked out fine and suddenly I found myself at the airport of Qingdao looking into the smiling faces of Rita and Stephan that welcomed me and brought me to the lovely apartment. From the second I arrived I knew that it was the right decision and that Qingdao could offer me everything I was hoping for when I finished school and dreamed of getting in touch with a new world.

With the help of my roommates Stephan and Marina I survived my first days in Qingdao without getting lost.

By now I am having my first days in the office. I am still in the beginnings but I already feel more comfortable and home than I could have imagined. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues and new interns and maybe also with you. 🙂

Would you like to gain work experience in China? Apply now or send us an email for more information.