STAY ABROAD

China

Sophia Jena

My name is Sophia Jena and I have been doing a dual study programme at Scherdel since 2015. For my internship semester, I took the opportunity to complete it at a plant abroad. With a short holiday at Christmas in Germany, I spent in all 8 months at the new Huzhou location as the first intern. First arrived there, I was cordially welcomed in a flat that Scherdel had rented. I immediately felt well. Then the adventure began. The small team on site is great and puts a lot of effort in making things work and making you feel well in China. The Chinese working life is a bit strange at first. The biggest difficulty of course is the language Sometimes people talk with their hands and feet, even if it takes some time, everyone knows what you mean at the end. The plant is still in development, and it is exciting to see how the plant grows and grows. In the „small town“ with 2 million inhabitants the leisure time is not neglected either. There is so much to discover! You just have to experience it, whether it is Buddhist prayer with monks in a temple; hiking on one of the five sacred mountains of China; boating in the village; drinking tea in a cat house; the big wall in Beijing; the terracotta army in Xian; Lying on the beach on the island of Hainan (Chinese Hawaii).
It is even possible to walk through a park in Huzhou without meeting anybody.

The smart-phone, for example, is a very important aspect in China, as in the meantime almost everything can be paid at the touch of button which is still inconceivable in Germany.

Since I was so enthousiastic and the possibility existed from Scherdel side, I took the opportunity to continue work in Huzhou plant for two more months (August and Septem-ber).

After only 4 months in Germany it was amazing to see how many things changed in such a short period. Suddenly you see new apartment blocks and even new streets. Also the plant grew incredibly fast and many new employees were trained. The enormous speed in which things happen in China is unbelievable. It is difficult to compare China with Germany.
I can only recommend to overcome certain prejudices and to travel to China. Otherwise you miss one of the most beautiful countries!

For me my time in China was an extraordinary experience which I would not like to miss. Thank you very much for the support!