A good program I wished I could do again Past Review
By Nathan Rose (Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/16/2017 to 06/01/2017 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Beijing
I learned Chinese, a lot about Chinese politics and society, and how to live successfully in a foreign city. I gained a lot. It was worthwhile, but I wish I put myself out there more.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I found my classes to be interesting and engaging. At first, it was a lot of work, as classes were taught in all-chinese. We also had a great deal of characters we had to learn daily. This means that the classes were certainly rigorous. This isn't a bad thing, as once I became adjusted to the new routine it became manageable, and when the program ended I felt I my chinese level was stronger than ever. The head of the program Zhang Laoshi also makes a point to balance student schoolwork with free time to allow students to explore, so even if it is too intense the administrators will work with students. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I thought the program was administered well. I already mentioned how Zhang Laoshi values a work-play balance for the program. The assistant director Sun Laoshi/ Christine was also excellent. In fact, her work made the program excellent in my opinion. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Living arrangements were comfortable. Rooms were big and clean. My roommate was nice as well. This is a weird complaint to have, but rooms were almost too nice? It felt like I was living in a hotel rather than a dorm. Granted, normal Chinese dorms can be about 5 people in a room with no air conditioning, so in that sense living arrangements were truly excellent. I was certainly comfortable, but I wonder how what was lost in living in the luxurious foreign exchange student dorm instead of normal housing. |
| * Food: |
Dining halls (where I ate most of my meals) were cheap and convenient. There was enough variety to not get bored. If dining halls aren't your thing, there are a couple of restaurants in the area. And if you don't feel like going outside, you can always order delivery. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Honestly mixed bag. On one hand, our "Experience Beijing" gave us lots of opportunities to experience Beijing （顾名思义). On the other, I did feel distanced from "authentic China". I wasn't really able to reach out to the broader university community during my time, and I felt limited on how well I could connect outside of campus. Maybe I should have tried harder to put myself out there... |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't end up using medical services, but the assistant director was extremely helpful in finding resources should I need them. I didn't take any additional vaccines to go to Beijing. |
| * Safety: |
Beijing is a very safe city in my experience. Just stay sharp and be aware of your surroundings, like you would in any city. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
Yes and no actually. If I could go back in time, I would definitely do this program again. If I had an opportunity to go back now, I would still do a MIddlebury College program, but I would likely chose a different city such as Kunming or Hangzhou instead of Beijing. This is simply because I've been to Beijing already, and would want to see more of China and go to different cities. |
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) |
As a foreign student, cost of living was very cheap. Meals at local restaurants were 20-50 RMB, and dining at the cafeteria was about 10-15RMB. There is also a local grocery store, which I was able to use to buy ingredients and make my own food or buy cheaper meals (ex: instead of buying breakfast at the cafeteria, I bought a pack of yogurts and rice bars). Other expenses vary depending on what you want to do, but otherwise are also fairly manageable. Taxis are (comparatively) cheap, but subways and buses are even cheaper. Entry to certain areas (like monuments) can vary. But in general, I found food and transportation to be very affordable. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you are going to put in the money to rent a fridge (like I did), take advantage of it. Buy yogurt or other cold foods to keep in your room. You can cut down on meal costs as well. Also, try and get familiar with the bus system in Beijing. Subways are nice and fast, but can be expensive. Buses are much cheaper, and also have longer hours. This is especially important if you are going out: subways close at 11, but you might be able to take a bus back. |
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 |
All Chinese, all the time. We weren't allowed to speak English. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Chinese 301 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Keep the language pledge. By speaking english, you're really only cheating yourself of a chance to grow. Lean into the challenge. |
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? | I wish I knew that frugality is nice, but it's better to spend the extra money to have good experiences while abroad than to frugally stay in. |
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: |
Experience Beijing |
| Course Department: | Language |
| Instructor: | Zhang Laoshi and Du Laoshi |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | Experience Beijing was a good class that taught us local culture and allowed us a chance to go out and, well, experience Beijing. We got to go to museums, landmarks, monuments, etc. every week. Teachers were well prepared. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Credit hours were transferred automatically. I don't know if other credits were... |
