An Experience Worth the Long Trip Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The course was intensive like the name suggested, but it was fun and educational aside from just learning the language. The staff and other students were all nice and inclusive for all the activities. There were people available when needed and were willing to help you not only understand the language and class material, but also the culture and what life in the foreign country was like.

On-site administration of your program

The on-site staff was available at anytime, but like any normal person, they wanted their sleep and preferred not to be disturbed after regular office hours unless it was an extreme emergency.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The living arrangements were good. The "dorms" were actually a hotel, so there were people who came and cleaned the room daily. The hotel was part of the university, so the dorms were nice and there were two building for dorms. One was separate and just dorms, while another was connected to the hotel lobby, but both rooms were similar. Although the rooms were similar, there were some differences between the dorm buildings, but nothing to large where one was extremely better than the other.

The food was good and if you eat at the cafeteria, it was pretty cheap. The location of the university was located very close to public transportation and plenty of restaurants, so getting food was very easy.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I had a local Chinese roommate, so I had a daily interaction with someone from China. I also got accustomed to the daily life in China because I was under a language pledge. The language pledge was a requirement for the program, but it was not too hard to keep and actually turned out to be fun because it helped me to be more immersed in the local culture.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The safety of the program was relatively good. For anyone who goes to China, I recommend wearing or holding any bags and personal belongings in front of your person in any busy area of the city or any place that does not feel comfortable. As Americans, it feels strange, but it is very common in China.

I would choose the same program because the program was enjoyable and I still learned a lot even though there were various levels for students to get into.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

It was fairly easy to stick to a student's budget because of the exchange rate between American and Chinese money, but I feel a part of it is because I have already been to China and I frequently ate with my roommate, so I ate good, but inexpensive food. Most items in China are cheaper than here in America and you can barter on a lot of products, so it is easier to stay on budget in China than here in America

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

They enforced a language pledge, which was helpful in understanding and becoming immersed in the culture of the country. Although the title language pledge sounds hard and imposing, it is not very hard after it has started and once it ends, it is a little bit hard to revert back to a person's native tongue the first day for some people.

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• Dorm
• Hotel

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• Local Students

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• Americans

• The Activities
• The Trips
• The Food

• The Timing of the Program

The Academic or Linguist