Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, I’m Nicole Marchesi. I’m a summer intern abroad student with The Beijing Center. I’m a student at Loyola Marymount University with a major in marketing and a minor in Chinese.
Why did you apply to The Beijing Center?
I chose to apply to TBC to further my Chinese skills and also to get experience in a workplace abroad, specifically in China.
Can you tell us about your internship?
The company I intern at is The Blue Ocean Network. The Blue Ocean Network is a production and acquisition company that spreads positive Chinese culture to an international audience through documentary production and acquisition. My tasks at the Blue Ocean Network included creating graphic designs for their Instagram and Facebook pages, translating press releases and scripts from Chinese to English, as well as doing research on international directors and producers that they are able to collaborate with on their documentaries.
What did you learn from your internship experience?
What I really learned from being an intern here is that if opportunities don’t come your way you must create them. I’ve had a lot of time in the office where I wasn’t given any assignments and I was sitting around. And what I learned is that I should create opportunities, ask around from other departments in the company whether they need your assistance regardless of whether it’s a part of your major or your job role. Always keep learning and create opportunities if they don’t come to you right away.
How is living on UIBE’s campus?
The thing about living on UIBE’s campus is that it’s very convenient to a lot of different restaurants. We’ve got west gate there’s a quick 24-hour place, in case you come back at night after an excursion or time away. There’s also east gate where there’s great boba and hot pot that I’ve really enjoyed. The actual living conditions on UIBE’s campus are very nice, modern, and a great place to live.
What TBC excursion was your favorite?
The excursion that I’ve most enjoyed while with TBC was going to the Lama Temple and the Hutongs. We were with tour guides Quark and Angelica, a Chinese pengyou and intern at The Beijing Center. And we got to tour the temple as well as explore some of the traditional food and architecture that you can see and enjoy in the Hutongs.
How did you spend your free time?
There’s a lot of great places to visit in Beijing, not just through TBC but also on your own, so don’t be afraid to go check those out. Go to the business district, go to Qianmen Street. Go to places, even outside of Beijing itself, the Gubei Watertownwas one of the recent ones that I went to. Incredible places to visit if you want to get out of the city.
What advice do you have for a student coming to Beijing?
And advice to a TBC student, definitely make sure you get WeChat it’s used for everything. It’s used for ordering, it’s used for paying, it’s used for communication, transferring money. It’s very convenient, it’s very easy. You’re going to miss it when you go back to your hometowns, so get WeChat it’s the number one thing you gotta do in China. And definitely come on the trip, it’s well worth it and you will have the experience of a lifetime.
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.