Study Abroad Experiences in China

Are you looking for information about study abroad programs going to China? Then hopefully my insight can help. I recently returned from my study abroad program in China. I chose to go through a company called CET, which operates a wide variety of study abroad curriculums in China and Italy. After glancing over their choices, I decided to spend a semester in the immersion program at the C.V. Starr-Middleburg School in China based in the city of Hangzhou. I chose this program because I didn't have to be an advanced Chinese speaker, even though they recommend it, and it would allow me to go through the semester. The study abroad program had only been around for a few years too, so everything felt fresh.

The hardest part about CET's study abroad programs in China is that they make advanced students pledge to only speak Chinese while abroad. I was able to take general education courses and CET also encouraged me to enroll at the local university or apply for an internship - which helped me to accelerate my learning while abroad.

It was kind of intimidating not to be able to speak English while in China and I definitely felt the expected study abroad culture shock, but I wouldn't change my experience for the world. CET was great and very personalized - I recommend them very highly. They also have a whole bunch of different programs to choose from, so they seem to really know China and what study abroad students might need well.

A friend of mine went to China for a study abroad program through an organization called SIT. They stayed in the Yunnan Province, which is to the south-west of China bordering Vietnam in a city called Kunming. The cool thing about staying in Yunnan as opposed to China was that they really great is that the Yunnan Province still keeps many old minority cultures alive. During her study abroad to China, she was able to learn a lot of Mandarin, which is becoming harder to find, and really delve deep into her study of the Bai and Naxi cultures. They also took field trips to nearby towns, such as Dali, where they were invited to interact with the locals on a very close level.

SIT was a wonderful program for my friend. They had scholarships you can apply for and really seem to communicate their mission to the students well. My friend also felt like they cared about her getting a great study abroad experience. I wouldn't want to study abroad in China any other way.

Another friend that I met in China said that in order to find her program, she did a simple Internet search to find the best study abroad program for China for her. She enrolled directly with a university there and did not do the CET or SIT program. The university she ended up going with sounded awesome from the start - they had a really cool martial arts curriculum. She also took a course in Mandarin, but basically spent the course learning about the methods of martial arts and basic words to get by so she could order food and greet people.

She also spent her winter break in college in China studying Wushu at the Beijing University of Physical Education with martial arts masters. She even studied under the same teacher that Jet Li studied under. She said hadn't even had a whole bunch of experience with martial arts before she went to China, but it was hands-down the best study abroad experience available.

No matter what method you use to get to China, be sure that you take advantage of all that the country has to offer. You'll love your experiences - and have memories that last a lifetime!