Totally Worth It! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This program did a great job placing us in the appropriate classes for our differing levels. I was challenged, but not overwhelmed by the difficulty of the classes. The teachers were very flexible and customized their curriculum to meet each student's needs. I definitely think this aspect helped my Chinese skills improve much more than they did in Chinese class at Wellesley.

On-site administration of your program

The RA was great, there were office hours during the weekdays, and they provided contact info for us to use in emergencies and non-emergencies.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We stayed in the international student dorm. Conditions were okay, but sometimes there were bathroom issues because you can't flush toilet paper down the toilet. Obviously, don't expect the same dorm conditions you find in the U.S. The bedrooms are very spacious though, larger than the rooms at Wellesley.

Very delicious! But watch out for food poisoning and traveler's diarrhea. Bring Imodium or Pepto-Bismol. Also, don't drink the tap water. The Korean food here is EXCELLENT.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Sometimes I felt like I was studying too much so there was not enough time to go out and interact with local Chinese people. I did like having Chinese roommates because if it weren't for that, I'd probably just isolate my social life among my classmates in the program. Also, because we were in international student centers, I ended up interacting with many Korean, African, and Syrian students.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I ended up getting a mildly serious upper respiratory illness while in China, and my experience in the Chinese hospitals were unpleasant. Since China has so many people, you have to wait a while (like, an hour or so) before a doctor sees you. Also, I hate to say this, but you're just treated like a number, rather than a human, so I wasn't particularly fond of the impersonal interactions I had with the doctors. Nonetheless, I was glad I got an RA to accompany me to the hospital.

China in general is pretty safe. The worst you need to keep an eye out for is scams that rip you off of hundreds of Chinese RMB. There may be pick-pocketing problems, but I didn't encounter any while I was in Harbin. In fact, Chinese people are very helpful; I dropped my food card by accident many times and each time a good samaritan picked it up and returned it to me.

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

Very easy; China is cheap, and Harbin is definitely much cheaper than Beijing or Shanghai. Bus rides are 1 RMB, short taxi rides go up to 10-12 RMB. If you keep in mind 6 RMB is about 1 US Dollar, things in China are very cheap. I can spend 30 RMB on all meals for one day (about $5). That's $35 per week on meals. Of course, that's going by the cheaper options. A fancy meal for four at a decent restaurant can be at least $20 (USD) per person.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Well, there was a language pledge, so we weren't allowed to speak English (or any language other than Mandarin) or else we could have serious consequences. No one was expelled, but there were warnings and teachers were on the lookout for any students speaking not speaking Chinese.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

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• Americans
• International Students

• The great people I met, local and fellow students.
• The teachers!

• Well, if dorm conditions could improve, that'd be great, but nothing else much.