Kunming, China: Not Bad Past Review

By Rebecca L (Chinese Language and Literature., Wellesley College) for

CET Kunming

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I made really good (perhaps even lifetime long) friends. I am now looking into grad school programs for Chinese. I would like to go back to China and further my learning of Chinese.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	workload: a LOT in the beginning; felt almost unmanageable; studying around 5-6 hours a day but then as the program went on, and I was picking up more of the language I felt things get easier teaching methods: often times the teachers did not really seem interested in discussing things with students, the book was law differences in educational system: program tailored to americans so there was not much; because the program was so small it was easier to have a closer relationship with teachers
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Accessibility/Support services: didn't run into any problems myself; felt like the staff was concerned and interested in my well being; discussed problems with them and they tried to fix them ability to get things done: very good knowledge of host country and american higher education: very good program size: very small, only 11 students but it seems to get more and more popular expectations were met
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	located in a very safe neighborhood; compared to the other university students we had the best housing; sometimes we didn't have hot water which made it very very cold; didn't need to buy any extra bedding; treated by my roommate very well; no heating and airconditioning; washers are located a little bit away; no clothes dryers; hotel had dim lights; these things were little inconveniences though
* Food:	easier to be a vegetarian than i thought
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	we got to visit Dali, a tourist town about an 8 hr train ride away. it was pretty fun; we went for the weekend and got to bond with the roommates and students
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	during the program had a student who was chronically ill and a student who was threatened by a local student. i felt like the program director did her best to confront the issues; we were warned to be on alert of the local student. the city is pretty safe overall, and i experience nothing out of the ordinary.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	I spent around 50-250 RMB a week on food and fun a week. Or $8-$40 USD. 50 RMB if I was just spending for food at the cafeteria or cheap restaurants. 250 RMB if I went around town a bit, did an activity, etc. i don't really like spending money though so this might not be an accurate picture of most people's expenses.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	no unanticipated expenses

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Chin 202
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?
Language acquisition improvement?	We had a language pledge so we had to use the language everyday, all the time. I think that made my Chinese improve the most.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Hotel
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans Local Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Language Pledge Friendly Atmosphere Roommates
* What could be improved?	Some teacher's methods More light in dorms
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Top priority should be language acquisition, not to tour/be immersed into the culture. Most time will be spent studying. A student who isn't afraid to work hard would benefit most. Also I think 5 semesters of chinese or 4 really good semesters of chinese would be preferable (just so the first couple weeks aren't as difficult)

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Advanced Chinese
Course Department:
Instructor:	Liu
Instruction Language:	Chinese
Comments:	It was challenging but not unmanageable. No field trips. The teacher was very annoying at first. We didn't really see eye to eye personality wise. I felt like the teacher thought only one opinion was correct so expressing myself in class was difficult. She was well prepared though and knew the language aspect (it is a language class after all) of what she was teaching well. Mandatory participation. And the class had one on one sessions so I participated in class A LOT more than I would at my home institution.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Newspaper Reading
Course Department:
Instructor:	Yang
Instruction Language:	Chinese
Comments:	Course material was a little bit boring. Teacher was excellent. Really made the class relaxed and I wasn't afraid of making mistakes.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Individual Research
Course Department:
Instructor:	Mo
Instruction Language:	Chinese
Comments:	Difficult at first but turned out to be one of my most rewarding classes. I got to choose an area of interest and study it. We had to write a research paper at the end in Chinese.
Credit Transfer Issues: