CET Beijing CS Program: Great for Learning More About China Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I think that the workload depended a fair amount on which classes you were taking as expectations varied from teacher to teacher. I will say that none of them were blow-off classes--attendance was required and noted, not only in your grade but also just because the point of the classes (especially the language classes) was to be there and be participating, so you were missing the point of the class to blow them off. Overall I would say that the academics were every student's main focus and I think we all made sure our homework was managed before going out and hanging out on the town, so to speak, so this is not a program for folks who want to just chill in China. What it did do was provide a good introduction to China Studies (although none of the classes, as far as I could tell, went into huge upper-level caliber depths, so for example if you are Chinese History major at home don't expect to learn much that's too new to you in the Chinese History class in this program) while living in China and strengthening your language skills.

On-site administration of your program

In Beijing, the program was run by two Americans, David Moser covering academic side and Elliot Bernstein covering the living/residential side. I found them both to be very accessible and the program organized a few trips and activities which was nice. Both of them were absolutely familiar with China and Beijing specifically, so no problem there. It was a small-ish program in terms of students, which was nice in terms of keeping things personal--everyone, including the administrators, knew everyone personally. I certainly have no complaints.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Everyone in the program is housed in the International Student dorm (which includes doubles and Western-style facilities, as opposed to the normal Chinese university dorms) and everyone in the program was on the same floor, so essentially living together with the other (mostly American) students with plenty of international students in other programs / direct enrolling also living in the building, but we all lived with Chinese roommates, which was really helpful. It's China, so don't expect Western amenities all the time (eg the beds were perhaps harder than some of us were used to, each room had a bathroom with a Western toilet but the shower takes up the whole room, etc), but the place was comparatively nice and no issues. When I was there the university was a little removed from most of Beijing--had to take a combination of walking and buses and subways to get to most places, though I believe they were building a nearby subway stop which would make things easier. Regardless, though, living anywhere in Beijing you'll be able to get anywhere else in Beijing via cheap public transportation, just that sometimes it takes a long time. As for the neighborhood, it was kind of a quiet university area, so we sometimes fell into the habit of going between the same class buildings and nearby restaurants. You'll get more out of the program if you remember to get out and explore greater Beijing when you have time.

It's China, man. If you have dietary restrictions, be prepared to not know what goes in anything you're eating. We ate at restaurants in groups every day because eating out is ridiculously inexpensive compared to Western meals, but, you know, it's Chinese food. There's a great Old Beijing noodle restaurant and a Sichuan restaurant great for getting a personal lunch just down the street from the dorm, and the street vendors just outside the dorm gate are often friendly and good for a quick cheap snack, but otherwise just explore! Try all the restaurants. Just be prepared to be eating Chinese food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The program definitely organized a few trips, including a long-weekend trip to some more rural towns which was really interesting and a lot of fun, not something that you'd be able to do by yourself. They also took us on the near-obligatory trip to the Great Wall, which was great. There were also some more low-key outings, such as group dinners at certain special restaurants, a night out getting the relatively expensive Peking Duck dinner, etc. In general, though, because we were in Beijing, I think the program more encouraged us to get out and see the sights (thought the residential director was very available to make suggestions or offer advice or help with buying train tickets and such) on our own / with our friends.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Again, it's China. Beijing is a fairly westernized city so I did once need to see a doctor for which I made the trek out to a Western, English-speaking clinic, had no problem, paid up front, and then was reimbursed for costs by the health insurance CET provided. In such cases the program folks are more than willing to help out in translating, directing us to a clinic, or helping out. In terms of safety and such, the biggest thing is, like in any major city, protecting yourself from pick-pocketing. Otherwise I personally felt absolutely no qualms about traveling around the city, being out at night (although of course I wouldn't *recommend* walking around at night alone as a woman just on principle), or interacting with anyone. I was actually surprised at how much safer I felt in Beijing than in, for example, New York City.

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

CET's main focus as a company is language acquisition, so I was almost disappointed that this program didn't have a language pledge component. It's possible to get around Beijing without any or with very little Chinese, but it's a whole lot easier (and a whole lot more fun) to use your Chinese skills there, so everyone used Chinese when interacting with locals as much as possible. We had Chinese roommates which was helpful, but I think that just about everyone talked to their roommates more in English than in Chinese. Everyone takes Chinese classes every day, which are definitely good for getting you speaking Chinese more often, although in my opinion some of the upper levels were teaching us topics that weren't necessarily helpful for getting around China and every day stuff (eg we learned how to talk about the economic climate, which isn't necessarily the most useful vocabulary for normal fluency).

Select all that apply

• Dorm

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• Local Students
• International Students
• Americans

• Being in Beijing!
• The atmosphere with our classmates--small classes, everyone joining up for homework and going out and eating meals together; it was a very tight-knit community

• The quality of classes and classes offered varies widely from semester to semester depending on who they can get to teach, so sometimes the class options are better or worse than normal
• I would have loved to be encouraged to speak more Chinese in the dorms and outside of language classes, though I realize that's hard to do without a language pledge