I'm an American student studying International Politics and Diplomacy at Texas A&M University. My studies led me to learning Chinese, and learning Chinese led me to spending summer 2011 in Beijing working at the Communication University of China Press. I spent seven weeks working as an intern at CUCP, editing the English language publications, and it definitely wasn't enough time. Every day I had something interesting to read through and learned something new from my colleagues. I learned a lot during my time here, not just about editing and book publishing, but also about life in China, things I probably wouldn't have learned if I had done a traditional study abroad trip instead of interning.
The people who work at CUCP are some of the nicest people I've met in my entire life. There were very welcoming when I arrived in Beijing and so helpful every time I had a question about anything. They were so excited to teach me about their culture and what life in China is really like. They were very patient with my imperfect Chinese language skills and were so eager to show me around Beijing. They encouraged me to eat the local cuisine, recommended fun places to go in Beijing and even took me to some, and invited me to join their yoga class. They really opened their lives to me. These seven weeks were a wonderful experience and I will miss everyone so much now that I'm leaving. Hopefully I will return to Beijing and we will all meet again someday!
