Alex in China

From late May until early August I’ll be traveling to China for a study abroad trip with Texas A&M University. For the most part this site is to keep friends and family updated about what’s going on in China and to post pics/videos of my adventures

For anyone stumbling upon this blog that doesn’t know me, I’m Alex McQuade. I’m an International Business major at Texas A&M. Actually that’s a lie. I’m really a finance major concentrating on International. I do speak *some* mandarin, but I’m sure the locals are going to have a good laugh at my accent. I’m hoping to “dive into” the Chinese culture while abroad and come out soaking wet with experience and possibly some language fluency. As far as my dreams and aspirations go, I would love a career with a government agency (possibly CIA, Dept. of State, or Dept of Homeland Security) dealing with international relations. If you happen to have any suggestions or connections I would really like to hear from you, email me at amcquade01@gmail.com

To give everyone a lay down of what I’ll be doing while in China, here’s a condensed version of my trip:

• First three weeks- We’ll be staying at the Ocean University of Qingdao while studying Chinese (Mandarin) langauge and international communication. Qingdao is a city on the coast, known for it’s beauty and beach side.
• Second three weeks- We’ll be traveling to visit Beijing, Xian, Qufu, and Hong Kong. Tibet had previously been on the list but was taken of for obvious reasons
• Third three weeks- I have an internship with a rapidly expanding company called “Hisense”. Hisense is beginning to expand their market into the US, which is where I come in. I’ll be teaching execs and other business men basic English business communication skills. From what I’ve been told, most of the people I’ll be working with already know basic English but need to learn how to apply it to the business environment. A good example would be English idioms like “The ball is in your court now” or “Let’s pull the plug on this project”

Hopefully I’ve covered all the bases and given a pretty good summary about what this trip is all about. Thanks to everyone for your support, I truly appreciate it! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at amcquade01@gmail.com