Susie in Shanghai

Today is my last day in St. Louis, Missouri! On the one hand it is extremely sad that I will be leaving my best friends I’ve known since high school, but I know there are great things in store. This summer I will be spending 5 weeks in Shanghai, China before I will return to Washington, DC to complete a Masters degree in biotechnology at Georgetown University.

My decision to go to Shanghai for a large part of the summer was not an easy one. I was offered jobs and internships in D.C. and the idea of making some money before going to grad school was indeed enticing. However after speaking to my biology thesis advisor and gaining support from my parents, I realized that having the free time to go to China for an extended period is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I will be living with one of my best friends while I am there, Matt, which will make the transition a little bit easier. He speaks Mandarin and lived in Shanghai last summer, so I’m really happy to be traveling with him.  Furthermore, he is so much fun, I know we are going to have a blast exploring the city, going to markets, and learning some bargaining skills together.

While I hope this trip will be a lot of fun, I am also going there to take Chinese language classes and to write a life science blog.  I will be attending classes five days a week, and although I know I will not leave China knowing how to speak Mandarin, I hope to at least be a lot more familiar with the language and culture.

Anyway, there are a million more things to plan and organize before I leave tomorrow morning (ahh 6am) and on top of that my friends are throwing me a going away dinner tonight. I’ll be writing almost daily and posting the interviews I will be conducting. Hopefully I’ll have some amazing pictures and videos to share as well!

-susie