Internship in Suzhou: America or China? China!

By Benedikt Kossl. Internship at Georg Fischer Automotive.

When I had the choice between a traineeship in America or China, the decision was easy for me. I experienced very much during the time in Kunshan. Now, I will tell you a bit about it.

My first experience in China

It was a fault to think my knowledge of English were enough to manage foreign country. Even the taxidriver at the airport didn`t understand me. That was the reason why I thought at the beginning, I had a bad pronunciation.

But the second day, I noticed that hardly anyone spoke English in China. I wasn`t at all prepared for that. I was surprised by the kindness and the patience of the Chinese people. It was difficult to communicate only with signals, but soon, a crowd formed around me. The people tried to help me and never got impatient or impolite. Contacting fells more easily now, however and I got the task superbly.

The traffic in China was crazy. At first, the traffic regulations were incomprehensible for me. Sometimes, it seemed as if the motorcyclists might do what they wanted. They drove all over. The Chinese often took a photo of me as if I were a sight, but that didn`t disturb me. And if I smiled into the camera, they were happy.

My tasks at work in China

I was responsible for two tasks. The first one was establishing English translations of several german documents and secondly, to assist to the electro engineers. Both tasks were very useful to me, as it was my goal to improve my English during the traineeship and as I intended to study electro technique after my return. Apart from some comprehension problems at the beginning regarding technical terms, the cooperation with my colleagues was very good. Receiving even some “own projects”

I had the chance to perform self-reliant that gave me even a practical experience for my future study. I`m sure, in Austria, I wouldn`t have learned solving problems in such a manner. When I asked the shifters to show me a machine, they stepped aside, because they certainly considered me being a specialist.

Other Expats

I got easily to know other foreigner- no matter from which nation. We changed experiences and told stories. I even talked with Generals Managers and bosses and later, we changed visiting cards- And this as a trainee.

My opinion

I can`t tell all my experiences, but in the conversations with the other Expats got clear to me that everybody is aware of the environment differently. Now I can say: Everything is a bit different in China.

GF Automotive AG – Passion for a lighter future:

The Georg Fischer Automotive AG, a division of Georg Fischer AG, with headquarter in Schaffhausen is a recognized development and serial production partner of the automotive industry with 10 production sites in three countries (Germany, Austria, China). The core business is the development and production of highly claimable castings of iron, aluminum and magnesium for the automotive industry and its suppliers. GF Automotive has therefore designed the research& development for years on weight reduction and lightweight and the reduction of CO2 emissions and efficient fuel consumption.

For more information, please visit: www.gfau.com