Your Chinese will improve drastically, but it will be hard sometimes. Past Review
By A student (International Relations, Economics, The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 08/27/2013 to 12/17/2013 with
CET Beijing
How much I love Chinese culture and the language, and a group of friends that I will be in contact I hope forever, definitely worthwhile
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The program is intense, and you will have to spend most of your weekdays reviewing vocabulary and grammar, with not too much time for breaks. I usually spent 4 to 5 hours outside of class itself doing homework, but it varies a lot depending on how much effort you feel like putting in (like learning vocabulary teacher mentions but doesn't require) However, there is usually free time to do other things on weekends. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration staff was small, but always available. Their resources are somewhat limited, but they are very knowledgeable and will be able to help you with almost anything that occurs while in Beijing. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My roommate was amazing, but this will make or break you experience. Out of the 26 kids on my program, only 1 or 2 had any real problems with their roommates. The rooms were similar to the size of a dorm here in the US, so not much difference. The bathroom amenities weren't great, but a lot of that is more about China (plumbing is bad so can never flush toilet paper leaving a horrible smell), and you would still have to deal with it on other programs. If you have never had community bathrooms before, it is set up like that in the dorms. But the dorms are literally 15 seconds from the classrooms, so everywhere you need to go on the school day is right next door. |
| * Food: |
Many people got tired of the cafeteria food, but in terms of quality I didn't think it was too bad. Repetitiveness does get old after a semester though. However there many delicious and cheap restaurants nearby, including American chains if you really need it every now and then. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
This really depends on you. If you go out and about on your own or with friends, there is so much to see and just observe, and almost everyone will love to interact with you, especially when they realize you speak Chinese. Some people just end up going to the expat district all the time, which is a lot of fun. However, just make sure not to miss out on the local stuff. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Aside from being somewhat expensive to take a cab to the western hospital, everything was easily taken care of. Insurance is provided, but it usually takes the form of reimbursing you, so you may have to front the upfront costs and then get paid back after you fill out the forms back at CET. But it doesn't take long, and it's a pretty simple process. The doctors will speak English at all the western hospitals too. |
| * Safety: |
I was generally amazed at how safe Beijing was, especially considering it's a huge city. Scams and pick-pocketing are usually the worst problems, the only experience of anything worse that occurred on our program happened while we were drinking at an American bar. Just be aware of your surroundings and it's certainly no less safe than any American city. Most importantly, if you are drinking do not go alone, as a cab will usually be required. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
I was able to leave comfortably on 500 kuai a week (about $87 at the time). But this really depends on you, because a significant portion went to eating out for dinner (dinner will not be provided), and going out on weekends with friends. Buying food at the grocery store, and holding back on how much you spend on grocery stores there were students who spent about $40 a week. Travelling during breaks is up to you, I did a 3 city tour with friends for a week (Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou) and with everything together including trains, hotels, food, tourist attractions, souvenirs, and drinking, I spent $700 for the week. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $87 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't eat American food, it's costlier and adds up fast. Try and eat at least 3 of your 5 weekday dinners in the dorm with food from the store (more if you can), and this can easily cut down on food costs. Ask students on the program carrying over from the last semester (there are usually a few) to tell you where good bars to pre-game for cheap are if you want to drink. If you don't drink then you're going to save a lot more money. Drinking can easily rack up costs, especially at the foreign bars. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
English wasn't allowed, although off campus it was spoken. This entirely depends on how determined you are to maintain the language pledge. There were people who never spoke English, there were people who spoke as much English as possible when they could, and there were people in between. But there was a noticeable difference by the end of the semester on the people who maintained the pledge and those who didn't, although everyone improved immensely. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | 412L, so 2 years of Chinese |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Follow the language pledge, and have conversations with your roommates. Every conversation I had with my roommate, I walked away knowing a couple new words. Most importantly don't be afraid to speak Chinese. No one will have perfect Chinese, so don't let a friend do all the talking when you go out. The moment you land in China, try to use what you can even if it's the speaking ability of a 2 year old child. There were people who always were nervous to speak, and you could easily tell their Chinese wasn't improving as fast. Go out on your own if necessary and explore, anything that will put you in a situation where you can't just defer to a more confident speaker. It can't be emphasized enough, don't be afraid to speak. We all sound stupid, but they will always be impressed that you know any Chinese at all. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Bring less clothes (leave space in luggage for souvenirs) and be prepared for the pollution. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Level 260 |
| Course Department: | Chinese |
| Instructor: | Xiu Laoshi, Yang Laoshi |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | It was challenging, but the small class size (6 students for 2 teachers) meant a ton of teacher student time. Class size forces you to participate constantly, and any class with more than 5 students will be split into groups with individual teachers, so you will spend most of your time with one teacher and a max of 4 other students. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
