Ni Hao Beijing!

I arrived safe and sound in Beijing, China and have completed my first two weeks of class at Peking University! As a Chinese Immersion student through the Chinese Studies Institute (www.china-studies.net) I live in an off campus apartment with a Chinese foreign language teacher from Peking as well as one of my classmates.

As an immersion Chinese student I am only studying Chinese language this semester, whereas non-immersion kids are enrolled in Chinese culture and economic classes. Monday through Thursday I have two 3-hour Chinese language classes, from 9 am-3:30 pm and then a required 1-on-1 tutoring session. On Fridays I have a weekly exam and then break from studying Chinese by ending class at noon.

I also signed a language pledge with my classmates; I only speak Chinese in and outside of class during the week. This cuts into a significant amount of my social time, but I make up for it on the weekends. Not being able to speak English during the week has greatly helped my verbal skills and has also made me more confident in talking to Beijing residents and Peking University students.

See more information about my China study abroad program through William and Mary.