A Rewarding Experience Abroad in Beijing Past Review

By (East Asian Studies and Economics, Wellesley College) for

Tsinghua University: Beijing - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I loved being in a new environment and felt that even though I had problems with the classroom environment at Tsinghua and with the sense of isolation I felt at times from locals because of the living arrangements, I still got to know a lot of locals and got to explore the university and Beijing. I got to see how the Chinese university system worked and was able to improve my Chinese skills. Before this study abroad experience, I thought writing a 12,000 word Chinese paper seemed like an extremely difficult task, but after writing my final papers for my Tsinghua classes, I have a lot more confidence in my Chinese writing abilities. This experience abroad helped me see how much I still don't know about China and it has only emphasized my already-strong interest in China.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload's pretty light. Usually a class has just a final paper to turn in at the end, or a midterm and final along with a book report and oral presentation. There are two grading systems, either by a 100-point scale or by pass/fail. Classes tend to be mostly lecture-based, though the professor may choose to reserve one or two classes for discussion, but it seems like most students are reluctant to participate during discussion. Professors usually don't post regular office hours, but they do give out their contact info, so you can call or email them and set up a meeting.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The program assistant at Tsinghua handled most of the logistics and support services, with mixed results. She was pretty disorganized and there was a lot that she couldn't really help the students with. The main problem arose during course registration when some students struggled with the 4-credit limit for classes outside of your major (and the Columbia program required us all to sign up as International affairs majors), and students had to try to solve the problem on their own. Ultimately, it turned out that Columbia had a different understanding of Tsinghua's School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Columbia thought this school encompassed a broad range of majors, but actually it counted as a major in and of itself and therefore gave students a much narrower range of classes to pick from. Also, in terms of finding tutors, the program did help with that, but sometimes it was better to just ask a professor directly for tutor recommendations.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

Vegans will have a difficult time in China since most foods in China will use some type of animal product. People with allergies who are unfamiliar with the food should make sure to ask about the ingredients since the labels there may not be as comprehensive. I loved the food at school, it was inexpensive and there were plenty of choices. And of course, it was good, though if you do not like Chinese food, you may not enjoy the cafeteria food as much. They have Western fast food and pasta there, but clearly the quality is different than what you'd find in the States, so I'd suggest that you take advantage of the fact you're in China and try local food. There are plenty of places to go to dine out and depending where you go, the prices may get steeper, but usually it's a lot less expensive than what you would find in the States, so bon appetit! :)

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

On Christmas Eve, the program arranged for us to go see a kunqu performance at the National Theater, and on Thanksgiving, we had a Peking duck dinner in place of the traditional turkey dinner, and also went to KTV afterward with some local Tsinghua students. We also visited the Summer Palace, Fragrant Hill, and an artist's gallery in the 798 Art District. For the national holidays in October, we went to Shanghai to see the World Expo and other attractions for three days.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I would say that Beijing's a relatively safe city. Watch out for the serious air pollution and don't do too many heavy exercises outdoors on days when the smog is particularly bad. Be wary of the "black" cabs, the unlicensed, privately-run taxis. They can come in handy when there are no other modes of transportation around, but avoid going into one alone.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? About $10 on food a week and $20 on other expenses.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? The program said that most of your spending comes at the beginning, when you're putting in deposits for housing, getting your bike and other basic supplies taken care of. I found that at the end, there was another flurry of spending since that's when you're busy trying to get gifts to give to everyone back at home and thinking of giving gifts to your tutors and local friends. One of the problems with the program that we've already addressed to Columbia is that the hourly rate being paid to our tutors was below average, so one of my unanticipated expenses was the bonuses that I wanted to give to my tutors to thank them. I spent about $150 on those bonuses alone.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? Advanced
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

Because you live in an international student dorm, there was less need to use Chinese in everyday interactions, unfortunately. You could definitely get by with only using English if you so chose. But all classes were in Chinese, and you could talk to classmates, to teachers in Chinese and join clubs to meet more people to practice Chinese with.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? A student who has already taken advanced-level Chinese courses and now wants to challenge herself and take classes at a Chinese university alongside local students would benefit a lot from this program. As for the cultural immersion aspect, know that the program has its limitations in terms of how much it can help you with that. You will have to be proactive and really put yourself out there and find opportunities to meet and talk to locals.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Chinese Cinema and theater Appreciation

Course Department: Chinese, 30631154
Instructor: Prof. Juan Zheng
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Overall it was a good course and really gave me a nice introduction on the history of Chinese cinema. I enjoyed the movies we watched and learned about. The main issue was that groups of other students were uncommitted to the class and disrupted it by talking or arriving late. The class was made up of mostly Korean students, but there were some local Chinese as well.
Credit Transfer Issues: No
Course Name/Rating:

Chinese Cinema

Course Department:
Instructor: Prof. Juan Zheng
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Mostly made up of Korean students, though there were local Chinese students there as well. The movies we watched were very interesting and the class gave you a good overall view of Chinese cinematic history. Only complaint was that the students tended to be pretty uncommitted to the class and groups would stroll in late or talk during class, making the environment kind of disruptive.
Credit Transfer Issues: