Han Meng

Class of 2015
Majoring in Psychology and Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources

When I told my family and friends that I am going to Shanghai for a summer internship, everyone was excited and supportive. “Wow! What an experience! But which company?” “Shanghai Ocean Aquarium.”, I replied. And there goes the awkward silence. Most of them did not understand why would I give up an internship with a local firm to go all the way to an aquarium in Shanghai. Well, I guess my years spent in SMU has taught me that there is no harm in trying something new, because you can always be a different you (U).

Like all the sophomores, I was frantically looking for internship opportunities on OnTRAC. One day, I saw that Shanghai Ocean Aquarium’s Educational Department needed an English translator, for both verbal and writing purposes. Since young, I always adore the translators for the head of states that I saw on the television. “This is it! I am going to give it a try!”. There goes my application.

Unlike other interns, I spent my formative years in China and I have relatives in Shanghai, so cultural difference, accommodation and Visa application were not much of an issue to me. However, looking back at how lost my peers were before they finally met their career consultant at the end of week 13, I would say it would be great if the school or the Career Services center could provide a Q&A page for the incoming interns to seek answers from.

When I arrived in Shanghai, though it was not my first time, I was still awed by the gigantic size of the metropolitan! There are twenty million people living there, so I was struck dumbfound by the traffic during the rush hours. (Here is another piece of advice: in Shanghai, avoiding the peak hours is a must). Other than that, my experience with Shanghai was a breeze - Shanghainese are warmhearted folks and the city has English translation for almost everything.

Finally, I embarked on my long-waited internship. The Education Department is full of “fresh blood” and they are effectively bilingual. My supervisor is a friendly lady in her early 50s. Hence, she was guiding me like who a mother would do. Throughout the internship, apart from my daily routine job of doing translation, I was privileged to join numerous projects - designing theme for the Christmas season, promoting the importance of marine time conservation at an international science & technology education fair, and most importantly, I was part of the team that prepared for the arrival of foreign officials. As you can see, my internship experience was really fun and exciting!

On the flip side, the biggest challenge I faced was managing interpersonal relationship. Chinese culture preaches the order of hierarchy, so one must know one’s role well. And Chinese are also very sensitive when it comes to “face issue”. Hence, rather than saying whatever that comes to my mind, like what we always do in SMU project meetings, I had to screen my speech before presenting my thoughts. However, I would say SOSS modules, such as Understanding Societies has prepared me well for these cultural differences.

On an ending note, I encourage all SOSS students to explore their interests and career goals before plunging themselves into an internship search, because that will lead you to the right place. I found my place, and so can you!