Last spring, Senior History Major Keenan Madson became the first student in Gustavus history to receive the opportunity to do an internship in China. The internship was going to allow Madson to work with historians and engineers at Chime-long Paradise, the largest amusement park in China. Located just north of Hong Kong in southern China,  Chime-long Paradise, planned to host 13 American students to work alongside Chinese student interns in their internship program.

The internship program was offered through the South China Internship Program from the Hong Kong America Center. The center received a $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to partner with the United International College in the city of Zhuhai to run the internship program for three years. The grant derived from President Barack Obama’s “100,000 Strong” initiative, a national effort to dramatically increase the number and diversify the composition of American students studying in China.

History, Environmental Studies, and Japanese Studies Professor David Obermiller, who is also Madson’s advisor, predicted in March before Madson left that he would have an experience of a lifetime.

“As a history major, working on a project centering on historical reenactments is such a rare opportunity . . . I have a feeling Keenan will get some experiences that even few Asian specialists have ever experienced,” Obermiller said.

Madson expected the same experience. He hoped to use what he learned to assist in improving the Chinese and East Asian studies at Gustavus.

“My expectations for this internship were that I was going to be placed at the Chime-long Amusement Park working with a group of historians and engineers to create an amusement park ride that recreated China during the 1940s. I had very high expectations,” Madson said.

Upon arriving at Chime-long, Madson was handed a theatrical candy cane-striped costume and told to greet park attendants at the entrance. Another American college student was handed a safari costume and was told he would be working at the park’s zoo.

‘The reason, however, that my expectations were so high was [because of] how the program was described on the website. This, in conjunction with the level of professionalism of the website made it seem like everything was well-established and well-organized. It was also very straight-forward. My expectations were heightened, too, because the man in charge of recruiting participants told me that I would be working at an amusement park with engineers and would be able to help in the design process of future attractions,” Madson said.

The American interns found out that they were misidentified as hospitality students.

In addition to the unexpected outcome of the internship, Madson recalls the poor communication he received from the internship program in China when he asked for assistance.

“I requested to be placed with a new company where the things that the internship promised would be fulfilled. I was told that I would be relocated within a few weeks, and that they were still working on getting a new placement. [After a month,] they stopped all communication,” Madson said.

“The communication at the beginning was not very good. I continuously asked clarification questions to the recruiter to get more information but was told that it will come soon and just be patient, which was unnerving for someone making such a big commitment,” Madson said.

Once in China, the communication was more confusing. I went weeks without hearing back from anyone and when I did receive responses they were vague and never provided a straight answer. It is too early to tell the consequences and effects this will have on the program but sadly I don’t believe anything will be done. Towards the end of the summer I was interviewed by Rob Schmitz of NPR’s Market place. He ran an article about me and another individual that this happened to. I realized that mine was not an isolated experience. Issues with internships here, especially recently, have become very common.”

Madson was then left to figure out the aftermath of his situation. Twelve of the thirteen students he interned with quit. After they left the student dorms, the students couchsurfed around the area.

Madson chose to travel to Zhuhai, where a friend, Melody Monyok ’12, was spending a year teaching English. Instead of immediately returning to the U.S., he chose to take time to re-group.

“Throughout the experience I kept very calm. It was weird you would expect your initial reaction to be like, “Oh shit,” and you call your parents to bail you out of the situation. However, I just shook it off and asked myself what was my next move, and I went to stay with a friend who was living in China,” Madson said.

“After coming to the realization that my internship was finished, I knew that if I got stressed, panicked, or upset in any way, it would do me no good. There were two things that kept me in China. First, in the back of my mind, I had some guilt. I passed up on a once in a lifetime opportunity at home, and [I didn’t want it to be] for nothing. Second, I knew that I was going to be studying abroad in the spring so it made no sense to go home. I think that it was the best decision of my life to stay in China because it gave me time to travel, something that I wouldn’t have been able to do had I left China, and it also allowed me to slow down and enjoy China, ” Madson said.

Despite his experience, Madson encourages students to study abroad.

“My suggestion to students studying abroad is something that was told to me my first day at Gustavus: It’s not always about the destination, but the journey. Things aren’t going to go as planned, hopefully not to the extent that they imploded for me, but you need to just appreciate everything. I also suggest to students not to get your hopes up, this may seem pessimistic, but it is saving you from being disappointed and allowing you to be surprised,” Madson said. Madson also thought and speculated about  how he thought his family and friends back home would respond to his situation.

“To tell you the truth, I initially contacted my professors when I realized that I was stranded in China with very few contacts, but I never really divulged the entire story. I didn’t really get much feedback. However, my Chinese professor offered to contact the program as I was working to try and contact them too. I kind of left my family in the dark, too. I knew that if I told them the full extent of my troubles I would just make them worried so I kept things to myself,” Madson said.

Monyok recommended students travel with an open mind.

“I would definitely recommend studying in China, especially if they’re interested in Asian culture, and after school anyone can go there and teach. Students should expect what they’re promised but they should also be flexible. Especially in China you should expect for things to be different. Expect adventure. Every day is an adventure. Be ready to be put out of your comfort zone. Have an open mind,” Monyok said.

Monyok also encourages research in order to authenticate any internship program that students pursue.

“Keenan was the guinea pig for his program. Try to find one that has been going for five or six years, ask for lots of confirmation, you have to expect them to interpret things differently, research, and talk with people that are already in the program,” Monyok.

Madson took the time to reflect on what he learned from his unique summer experience.

“It made me much more confident. I am in my first week of my study abroad and I can tell that people are very tentative to go out of their comfort zone. I was never given the luxury of being eased into life abroad, rather I was thrown overboard, so I am able to enjoy my time studying abroad,” Madson said.

Madson is currently residing in Shanghai with a home-stay family as he pursues a study abroad experience at Fudan University.

“For a long time I regretted coming to China. As I said I gave up an opportunity back home to do something I really wanted to do, however when I look back at what I was able to overcome, the story I can share with people, the places I went, and the people I met along the way I wouldn’t give up [my experience] for a second,” Madson said.