Connor Fairman decided to spend the summer in Beijing to conduct his first overseas internship.

The 19-year-old student from the United States said that leaving his comfort zone "has made every day an exhilarating experience".

"I've studied Chinese for three years and wanted to have the opportunity to use it in its native country. After all, why learn it if you're not going to use it?" Fairman wrote in an e-mail to China Daily.

Fairman works for Project Pengyou, an online alumni network for US students studying in China, and he plans to spend the summer here.

A sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, he is one of many international students doing internships in China, and their number has increased every year.

luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 07/28/2014 page6)