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by Judith Brown
Staff Writer

Challenges face every American in China, and one of those faced by Presbyterian College students during a May trip was this: How do you describe a "Blue Hose" mascot to university students in Shanghai?

"We had nine football players on the trip," Dr. Suzie Smith, Robert M. Vance professor of business administration, said. "They were trying to describe what the Blue Hose mascot was, and finally they just said, 'Sam, you go up and draw one,'" referring to fellow student and football player, Mountville's Sam Wilson, supposedly the best artist among them. He complied by sketching a Scotsman on the green chalkboard. But when the PC students wanted to know what mascot represented Fudan University, they got a dose of cultural differences when a student said, "We don't have a mascot, but we have a school flower."

Obviously, not all of the experiences enjoyed by the students were directly related to the "Doing Business in China" class they were part of. But they were able to get exposure to some of the aspects that make business similar everywhere, and to get an idea of some of the major differences between traditional business in the US and in the country with the fastest-growing economy in the world. Other faculty involved in teaching the class were English professor Dr. Karen Kingsbury, who is fluent in Chinese and taught cultural aspects of China, and Dr. David Liu, a native of China who taught the political economy in China class.

Chinese acrobats in Shanghai

Visits to factories, some American-owned and some Chinese, and a private session between the group and China's CEO of Mozilla Firefox, were among the highlights that contributed to their firsthand look at what Smith describes as "the business engine driving the remarkable trajectory of the Chinese Gross Domestic Product."

"There is no question that China will influence our world during this century," Smith said. "PC students absorbed the history and culture of China and learned more about how to successfully engage in business activities as a Westerner in China."

In addition to the factory visits and business contacts made during the two-week trip, students were able to interact with Chinese students through visits to two different universities, through pickup games of basketball, and even through contacts of their tour guides.

"One of our tour guides was a young man whose English was very good, and he told the students that he envied their ability to go to college, because he wasn't able to go," Smith said.

The Americans learned that test scores are the driving force as to whether or not young people will make it into the public university system, and even then, they may or may not be able to study in their areas of choice, Smith said. One student was ready to finish his English degree, but admitted that that was his fifth choice. He'd wanted to study business.

Ben Carter, a rising senior at PC, reflected on that later, Smith said, especially on the comments of their tour guide. Carter admitted he hadn't really taken his studies that seriously, and is now determined to take better advantage of the opportunities he has here.

"They embraced it with every type of enthusiasm," Smith said of the students. "They tried strange foods; they ate sparrow at the market, went to authentic restaurants with Chinese friends they met at the universities ..."

"Now that I've been to China," Carter said, "I feel like I can go anywhere."

Smith said most of the students said they could see themselves working in China someday if "circumstances lined up, and who knows what future negotiations and business relationships these scholars may have?"

Drs. Kingsbury and Smith at 2010 World Expo Planning Exhibit	Tiger Mouth in Suzhou	PC students lead a classroom at Fudan University in Shanghai
On a bridge in Suzhou	PC students in front of the Bell Tower in Beijing	A Wal-Mart in Shanghai
Matt Orck, Lacy Feigh, and Dr. Kingsbury read a historical marker at the leaning pagoda on Tiger Mountain in Suzhou	At Tian' anmen Square	At the Great Wall of China
Photos courtesy of Dr. Karen Kingsbury and Dr. Suzie Smith Click for larger images.

The group stops for a picture in front of the Beijing National Stadium, or "Birds' Nest," the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics.