Intense, but Rewarding; Some Fun, but no Party Past Review
By A student (Linguistics, Philosophy, Brandeis University) - abroad from 02/13/2013 to 06/03/2013 with
Middlebury Schools Abroad: Middlebury in Hangzhou
I feel like a learned a lot about Chinese culture, and different kinds of Chinese people, which was something I had less exposure to on my homestay program in HS. I also became more independent, and felt like I grew as a person from both good and bad experiences.
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. |
There was a strict language pledge at all times; both oral and written Chinese improved significantly. The lessons were intense. The only thing I'd say was lacking was more class options, but we were allowed to choose a topic of a choice to study one-on-one with a professor, so that kind of made up for it a bit. The main drawback was that there was too much work, to the point that I was very stressed and had little time for much else other than work. It's the sort of program you'd take only if you were looking to significantly improve your Chinese, as opposed to having a great time. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Academic Admins: Had a hard time understanding how great the workload was, and was very inflexible in a lot of ways, which made it impossible for teachers to change things even when they personally wanted to. Extracurricular/Logistics: Fun, pretty organized, felt like I could connect. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Double with a bed, desk, and bathroom. Comfortable enough, and better than expected, given that China is not known for the highest standard of living. Admittedly, there was a bug problem, but if you keep your room clean, it's fine. |
| * Food: |
I basically went out everyday for food, because despite what it says on the program fees, there's no real food included on the bill, aside from two cafeteria lunches per week that you are obligated to have with some of your program mates and teachers. The food was good, but I felt cheated. Fortunately, though, food is very cheap in China, so it was not the biggest issue. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I had to go out a couple of times a week to ask locals questions/conduct interviews/surveys, so that kind of forced me into integrating into the local culture. It made me little uncomfortable, though, and I'd have preferred doing that less often. The main way in which I feel like I really got a sense of the culture was by living with Chinese people. We all had Chinese roommates, and mine was a big part of my life there. I got to befriend some of her friends, and got to better understand Chinese culture through them. I also met a lot of other people in passing, and I socialized quite a bit on my spring break in Guilin and Xingping, but most of the time, I was more focused on academics. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't have any serious medical issues while I was there, though you do pretty much have constant diarrhea (sorry to be graphic). But a note about the healthcare system there: There's not much of notion of doctors' practices in China. Hospitals function much like a doctor's office would, that is, you go to them for anything that needs to be treated, whether it's food poisoning, to a mild fever, to something more serious. Thus, as you can imagine, the environment there is hectic and the service is slow. The administration was very adamant about us calling them if we needed anything, so that was reassuring. |
| * Safety: |
I thought Hangzhou was very safe and never felt like I had to be too worried, even at night (though I never strayed far when alone). Of course, do be careful of pick-pockets. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Because most things are so cheap in China, it's easy to over-spend without realizing it! Try keeping a ledger while you're there to keep tracks of your expenses. |
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 |
Strict language pledge; if anyone (admins, teachers, etc.) heard a student speaking English, they'd warn them pretty harshly. It's a 3-strikes-and-you're-out sort of deal, so if that happens 3 times, they are allowed to send you home. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Chinese 120B |
| 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? | Study a lot, but also make sure you use it casually a lot as well. Be sociable when you can, and don't be afraid to make mistakes, and don't take being corrected as an insult. The teachers and roommates on this program are there to help you when they can, and they really just want you to improve. Watch Chinese movies/TV shows, or listen to Chinese music (if though it is usually painfully pop-ish). When you go to sing at K-TV (which you will very likely do), make sure to sing some Chinese songs! Also, it's okay to pause and think about how to say something. I noticed that a lot of students felt like it was good to talk as quickly as they could, but what I noticed was that their grammar assimilated to English grammar, and they essentially drilled in incorrect material. I sometimes felt like people thought my Chinese wasn't as good as that of the other students, simply because I spoke more meticulously (and thus a lot slower at times). But if you know you know how to say something correctly, don't try to find a more convenient way of saying it unless you have to. Speaking simply to be understood isn't good enough after a certain point. |
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? | If you think your standards are high, trust your work ethic and don't worry too much about how teachers might view you, or how they might think of your work. |
