I’ve been wanting to write a blog entry about my actual IFT (Institute for Tourism Studies) experience at school, since I technically came here to study after all. However, I felt I should wait until I settled into the swing of things, had a couple of midterms, and got to know my classmates some more before I did.
Before I came to Macau, I was actually really excited to learn at IFT. I liked the idea of a school for only tourism, since my university offers a wide variety of majors besides my own. All of my classes would be tourism-related, and I’d be surrounded by students that had the same goals as me.
I also like the design of the degree programs offered at IFT. There are different tourism degrees you can get, so you’re not just limited to “Hotel and Restaurant Management” like I am. Rather, you can pick a concentration in Hotel Management, Event Management, Heritage Management, Tourism Business, or Tourism Marketing. I really wish I could take more event management studies at my university, not just the one or two classes offered at NAU (Northern Arizona University). On the one hand, I can understand where a student starting college has trouble picking a major, let alone a concentration, so I can see some advantages to having just the general program as well.
I decided to take the minimum course load, five classes, for a number of reasons. One, they didn’t offer much else that transferred back to my university for credit. But the main reason was that I feared that I would be very busy with the cultural adjustment and whatnot to worry too much about my grades. I’ll just have to make up the easy course load when I get back home (I’m double majoring, doing the NAU Honors Program, and I’m soon adding on a third minor, so I’m used to a heavy workload anyway).
However, I wished that I did take some other classes, because I actually have a lot of free time on my hands. IFT’s classes are less assignment-based and more group project-based. I’m not working on individual assignments and essays for my classes everyday like I do back home, but rather I have a few group meetings a week.
Another reason I am not as busy as I would like to be is because not as much is expected of me as other local students. On top of their regular studies they have “Working Assignments” and practicums that are about applying concepts from the classroom in real-life situations. At IFT, the students work at the Educational Hotel and Restaurant, which are both fully-operational facilities where students work under professional supervision.
One similar thing to this back home is the Inn at NAU, which was torn down the summer before I started NAU. The students from the NAU School of Hotel and Restaurant Management ran the hotel and the lobby restaurant, and many of the professors worked there as well to teach the students hands-on. I’m still really bummed that they closed the Inn, but we got a grant to renovate the building for more classrooms and demonstration kitchens.
Anyhow, I think the main reason why I am not busy with my classes is that I have what I call my “academic advantage.” That is to say, my primary (and only) language is English, which is the medium of instruction at IFT. However, most of the IFT students speak Cantonese, and the exchange students speak their own native languages with English as a second, third, or fourth language. When I have to write a one-page paper, I can crank it out in no time at all, where sometimes it takes other students a bit longer. I can also cut down my study time for exams because I can just read over the PowerPoints and be fine. However, learning in a language that isn’t your own can be quite difficult, especially if you’re not completely fluent.
I’d also like to talk about the way IFT works. To start, the campus itself is absolutely beautiful, and it’s situated on Mong-Ha hill beside a pretty park. Even if hiking up the hill everyday is annoying, the facilities seem practically brand-new and well taken care of. It has a modern feel about it, like I’m getting a really good education that’s on the cutting edge of tourism management.
It’s not like a typical American university, though. In fact, I’ve often said that it has more of a high school feel. The classrooms seat up to 40 people, so you won’t find too many large lecture halls like in the US colleges where classes can be a few hundred people. Actually, IFT only has around 1,000 students, whereas NAU has 20,000, and it is considered a smaller-sized university. In fact, my high school had more students that IFT, so everyone knows each other.
First-year students have to wear the IFT uniform, but everyone else can wear their own clothes. There are a few classes that I have with first years, so sometimes I feel like I stick out when they’re all wearing their uniforms and I’m in jeans. However, there is a strict dress code policy at IFT, and you even get a grade for conduct and grooming.
Students are also grouped interestingly. They’re divided up by their degree (marketing, event management, etc.), and from there are divided up into classes. Once you’re with your class, you attend the same classes together in the same classroom all day, and the teachers switch out during the breaks. It’s a little like how it was in elementary school, where you have one classroom and one set of classmates for the year. However, because exchange students take different classes in different programs and years, we go from class to class as needed, and often have long breaks in between, like at NAU.
Everyone at IFT has been very welcoming to the exchange students. The teachers are very patient with working with us, since we often have problems attending field trips or extra classes with our bizarre schedules. They usually have to schedule our midterms around our individual schedules, but they’ve been very patient about it. The students are also very nice, and even people I don’t know wave to me and say hello when they see me. A few times when I’ve answered questions in class, the other students were so impressed with my English that they applauded me. The other students have been really good about including me in group projects, and they’ve approached me and invited me to be in a group with them. I feel bad, since they normally speak Cantonese and have to translate for me, and the meetings sometimes take a little longer because of it. But I try to make up for it by proofreading the projects and doing more than my share of presenting to the class with my mad English skillz. : )
The only major problem I’ve noticed at IFT is a lack of engagement in the classrooms. In Western culture we have very participative classes with lots of discussion. In Eastern culture it is mostly lecture-style, although there are opportunities at specific points in class to earn participation points for your grade. The teacher asks a series of questions and you can raise your hand to give a usually simple answer.
However, I think this has led to a bit of “restlessness” in class. Students are always talking to one another while the teacher is speaking, and you find a lot of students even sleeping in the back. While I try not to be disruptive, I sometimes find the class itself so dull that I read a book. After all, it’s really easy for me and I can just read over the PowerPoint later to learn the material for the exam.
The only class that I think fits my “style” is my Club Management class. From the first day I hit it off really well with my teacher, Sandy, who actually studied and taught at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She definitely has a Western-style of teaching, and her class is more participative. I’m always raising my hand to answer questions. She also assigns smaller individual assignments, not a large group project like my other classes. She always uses my assignments as examples, and always has me present my work to the class.
However, it has led to a bit of tension between her and the students. Besides, Cindy, who is Chinese, I’m the only exchange student in the class, and definitely the only native English speaker. She’s shown a blatant favoritism for me, and while I love being teacher’s pet, the other students don’t care for it. Cindy told me that in Chinese culture it is really bad for a teacher to show emotion toward their students. Even in Western culture we all get annoyed with the class pet, right?
Also, because the class is focused on country club management, the United States is often the subject of many articles and topics we read and discuss about. Country clubs are a relatively new concept in Asia, so it makes sense to study established clubs in the US. However, Cindy told me that in Chinese culture this is another no-no. It can be easily seen as disrespect for Sandy’s home country of China by favoring another country’s customs, almost like a traitor. So, I’m not sure how the students feel toward me, but I get along well with a few of the students in class, so I don’t think I’m completely in their bad graces…yet.
As for my other classes, I really like Tourism Destinations. It’s a very simple first-year class, but I think it’s the most interesting. I love my teacher, Connie, who’s this young, Chinese fashionista with a bit of an attitude. It’s great; I love it! The class basically is an overview of Asian countries, and each class we study the main tourist attractions of each place. I’ve used some of the information from class for my own trips, like my Beijing trip. I also took good notes about Thailand and Vietnam for when I make my trips there.
I also like Wine Studies, which has actually turned out to be my hardest class, surprisingly. Each week we have a quiz on wine theory and culture, and we have to know the specific grapes grown in specific areas of different countries. I actually haven’t been doing too well on the quizzes. But I’m hoping to make it up when we do our group presentations, which we must present twice throughout the semester. However, because a group is selected randomly each week, we have to prepare a presentation EVERY week. It’s not too bad, actually, but more work than I have to do for my other classes. Plus, we get to taste really good wine. But I also like this class because it’s the only class where I have a Westerner for a professor. She’s British, and her accent is so soothing and beautiful. It’s relaxing to listen too, especially when we’re tasting wines.
As for Tourism Marketing and Principles of Management, those two classes I read the whole time. They’re pretty boring, but it’s not like I’m super-interested in the subject matter, either.
Anyway, I have only five weeks left of school! I can hardly believe it! But beginning June 1 we have finals through June 15, so I still have a bit more time left in Macau. But the Registry has already organized our exchange student farewell luncheon for May 5, and I even have my Club Management final that week too, since the class ends early.
I just realized today how little time I have left here. I’ve made my Macau wish list of places I need to visit and things I need to do before I leave. Macau is small, so I can fit it in easily, but I still feel like I haven’t had enough time in Asia to do all the things I wanted.
Sure, my original intention was to come to study. But over the semester I’ve realized that’s not one of my top priorities. Of course, I’m always concerned about getting good grades, but I don’t think I need to worry too much about that here. Rather, I’ve come to realize that my study abroad semester is more about the overall experience and not so much what I learn from the books. I really doubt I’ll remember the Decision-Making Formula or the Marketing Mix’s Four P’s when I look back on my China experience. I’m never going to get another chance like this in my life, so I need to do all I want to do and see all I want to see before I go, since those are the memories I’ll be taking home with me.
Until next time,
Kati
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