Many Purdue students who go on study abroad expect to learn about a new country, to improve language skills and to have interesting travel experiences.  Most do these things, but many also return to West Lafayette with stronger bonds to the American friends and classmates who were abroad with them.   

A study abroad program where this definitely happened is the one that I did, the Jinling Hotel Internship program, which sends six students from the Purdue Hospitality and Tourism Management major to a five-star business hotel in the Jiangsu Province of China, where they live, work, and study together for five months.  The students share hotel rooms for the duration of the program and develop a strong sense of comraderie, as roommates become coworkers, friends, and classmates.   

Participants are selected by Dr. Liping Cai, coordinator of the program, not only for their professional and academic qualifications but also for their expectations about studying abroad in China.  Though the group is small each year, it includes a wide cross-section of experience and outlook.  It is made up of both men and women, ranging in age from sophomores to seniors, who are studying a variety of Consumer & Family Science subjects from tourism to retail management.  Some students know each other very well before going, and others are complete strangers; some are experienced international travelers and others have almost never left their home towns. 

Spending five months with such a small group of other students encourages closeness.  Working together, living together, traveling together, and enjoying the city of Nanjing 24 hours a day means that the program participants get to know each other very deeply. 

After the end of the program, students go back to Purdue and resume many aspects of the life they had before going abroad, but not everything is the same.  Besides having learned a lot about the world and having gained important career experience, the students also return with a new group of close friends.  It is not uncommon for former Jinling participants to have classes together. 

A number of us feel that the experiences we have gained from the hotel internship have provided us with new things to share in our classes.  I feel that the program was especially valuable in helping me to understand discussions on the international operations of hospitality corporations.  Our professors support the program, and some have said that one of the reasons they do is that the Jinling internship produces students who have something to say in class discussions on globalization. 

As it turns out, a high percentage of the students who are volunteering as Study Abroad Ambassadors this semester are former participants in the Jinling program.  But even students who are not official Ambassadors act as strong advocates of the program.  Anyone who overhears us fondly saying “Remember the time…” over and over whenever we meet must get the message that our semester in China was one of the greatest times of our lives.

For more information please contact: Thomas Johnstone tejphnst@purdue.edu

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