A Gustie’s strange internship experience in China

2010 Guangzhou - 05
Have we got a job for you (davecobb via Flickr)

Gustavus Adolphus College's website describes what happened when senior history major Keenan Madson arrived for an internship this summer to work with historians and engineers at Chime-long Paradise, the largest amusement park in China:

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

The misunderstanding never got resolved.

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Madson told Marketplace:

 "I’ve essentially been in China homeless for a month, living day to day not knowing what I am doing. So I’ve definitely learned a lot more about myself and what I can take."

You can read about his whole experience on the Gustavus website here and in the Marketplace piece here.