Exciting and a never ending adventure in China Past Review

By A student (Trinity University) - abroad from 01/13/2017 to 05/06/2017 with

Beijing Foreign Studies University: Beijing - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I gained a greater appreciation of the culture and the people. I was born in China and this was my fourth time traveling to China, so I think I was able to appreciate being there more than my past trips.

Review Photos

Beijing Foreign Studies University: Beijing - Direct Enrollment & Exchange Photo

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	Definitely language intensive. The hardest class was my Chinese language class and we always had assignments and homework. My other classes required a midterm presentation or paper and a final paper or presentation.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The program head and tutors were wonderful if I had any concerns, but the program overall often had some misunderstandings with organization and communication. Students often were not aware of events until the last minute.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I lived in a dorm and had a Chinese roommate who was eager to help me. She definitely made my study abroad experience worthwhile as she helped translate for me and took me around the city.
* Food:	Very diverse and cheap food. It was very good, but sometimes I missed American food.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I definitely tried to integrate in the culture but the language barrier was difficult to overcome as I was not fluent and couldn't communicate well with others.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	Thankfully, I did not go to the hospital in China. I did catch a cold more than once and the medicine from the US wasn't that effective. I did need a vaccine that I got at Trinity before I left. When I was sick, my roommate and I went to get Chinese medicine.
* Safety:	Even though Beijing was a large city, I always felt very safe, even when I traveled alone.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I really liked the program and the people and also I believe my Chinese improved tremendously.

Finances

* 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 live in Beijing very easily. Food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all together for one day was around $7 USD.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	$50 USD
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Create a budget or write down your daily expenses.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language	This particular program head a center wide mandatory language pledge.
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?	Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Advanced 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?	Make sure you get out and talk to people and practice using Chinese

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans International Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
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?	People in the program My rooming situation and roommate Field trips
* What could be improved?	Communication Organization Frequency of events
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I knew more Chinese or was more fluent. I am very fortunate that this was not my first time traveling to China.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Contemporary Chinese Society
Course Department:	Sociology
Instructor:	Dr. Sun
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	A lot of field trips and also a lot on the historical foundations of China. Class was taught as a lecture. Had to do a presentation for both the midterm and final.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Business Chinese
Course Department:	Chinese
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	Chinese
Comments:	Very interesting and accurately portrayed China's business culture. We went on one field trip to an Audi Dealership where we were able to ask questions and see how things were operated.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Labor Movement
Course Department:	Sociology/ Government
Instructor:	Dr. Wang
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	I liked this course as it required students to go out and interview individuals who had a stable job in China. We had a lot of speakers and went on a lot of field trips. This helped expose me to the issues in China that civilians face.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Calligraphy
Course Department:	Chinese
Instructor:	Mr. Fang
Instruction Language:	Chinese
Comments:	It was more of a challenge than I first expected. We had two hours to practice our calligraphy in class and had homework due each class.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Chinese 351
Course Department:	Chinese
Instructor:	Mrs. Deng
Instruction Language:	Chinese
Comments:	Very challenging in regards to the amount of homework and class assignments. We completed 17 lessons and then a lesson from a TV show. I really was able to significantly improve my Chinese. Class was held every day except Wednesday.
Credit Transfer Issues: