Life as a BLCU student is pretty hectic at first because you don’t know what you’re doing, where you’re going and who to go to. This post has been slightly edited because in hindsight, there wasn’t enough detail in this post. For more posts on BLCU student life stlye, go to the category: Travelling in China.
My first worry is my blocked website, I can’t believe China blocked my website!! My brother helped edit out some stuff and now for some odd reason I can’t access the site again?! It might be that the Chinabots picked up some “bad” keywords in my last post. I’m thinking/hoping that it was just a once off that I couldn’t access it but if it does happen again, I supposed I can always update twitter on the side just so you all know I’m still alive.
I know it’s been a while since the last update, but I’ve just been worn out with all this study and homework they give us! I’m doing about 24hrs per week of classes and every day after class I seem to need a nap for about an hour (I’ve adopted the Chinese custom to nap!).
It’s not just me, It seems like a lot of people I talk to over here, do the same thing! And then homework will take at least 1hr (there is homework everyday) and finally eating, (grocery) shopping, and walking/travelling will fill in the rest of the time >_<
Orientation
So anyway, we had the BLCU orientation the day before classes began (5th Sept) for all English speaking students (apparently, because there’s so many Koreans, the Korean students get an orientation of their own). There was an introduction to the Principal and staff, a welcome talk, an award ceremony for scholarship students and all that boring stuff which I don’t remember well because it was all done in Mandarin.
The interesting bit was when the immigration/police guy talked to us (in English!!) about the laws in China.
Here are the key points I remember:
- Always get a receipt from the taxi driver: This is so that if you leave anything in the car or you lose something, the police have something to follow up on
- Don’t fight: Physical violence is avoided because they can take you to jail for 24hrs or more
- Prostitution is illegal: Everyone seemed to laugh at this since we all know that it isn’t hard to pay for a bit of attention…
- Don’t drink too much: I now know that this is because bartenders don’t stop serving you alcohol until you can’t pay for it! It can seriously damage braincells and other vital organs…
- Motorbikes are illegal: There is only a handful of legal motorbike plates. If you get a motorbike, you do it at the risk of having your bike impounded.
- Drugs are bad: The police guy repeated this one a few times, just think that Drugs = Death!
- ….
There was a lot more but I can’t remember.
Classes and Classmates
My classmates are mainly Koreans, not too suprising because the whole 五道口 Wudaokou area seem to have a large Korean population. There’s a bunch of girls from the UK which we’ve been trying to avoid because we don’t want to get stuck into speaking English all the time, some Japanese students and others we’re all just slowly getting to know.
These classmates of mine are REALLY GOOD with their Chinese, so that’s why I’ve been studying so much to catch up. Another reason for my actually studying (yess I’m actually studying!) is because of the China Teaching Style! I’ve already been called up TWICE to do dictation on the blackboard in front of the class! Luckily I haven’t been called up to do dictation with sentences yet! The teacher likes to randomly pick on people, quiz us and make us participate in exercises so you have to know it all or else you’ll just look stupid =(
The teachers that we have are all female and they all seem to be really really nice, although a little strict. The only trouble we have in classes is the 听力 teacher…. She speaks VERY fast (too fast), has messy handwriting, uses a lot of words we don’t know (our vocabulary is still simple!) and kinda scares us all. Even though we’ve told her to slow down, she forgets and goes on speaking at full speed (Beijing normal speed).
An incentive for us to attend classes is that if we miss a percentage of hours, usually 14hrs of classes, we automatically give up our right to sit the exam (one of the classes is only 7hrs!) And that sucks because China doesn’t have holidays so that means I’m not going to have much time to go site seeing outside of Beijing =(
Excursions
TJ and I have signed up for the one of maybe two activities that BLCU actually organises for the long term students. We pay 20RMB for a ticket to Badaling 长城 (Great Wall)! I’m hoping they’ll go drop by the Ming Tombs but I don’t think that’ll be happening. I’ll blog about that when it happens in a few weeks!
I’m going to go head to 天安门 (Tiananmen) on Friday and then maybe visit 颐和园 (Summer Palace) on Saturday with my roommate and her friends. It kinda sucks because you have to walk EVERYWHERE over here. I’m thinking a bike would be quite handy but biking is kinda scary on the road =S A red light means you can still turn right!!! I almost get hit by a car/bike at least 10 times a day around 五道口 Wudaokou (depending where I walk around).
Beijing Lifestyle
Last weekend, I went to eat dinner with my cousin near Sunlitun at this really nice traditional Chinese Courtyard restaurant. The menu had English and pictures (which I’ll put up on facebook when I remember to d/l it off my camera!).
That day was also the first time we went into Beijing central via public transport, we encountered old pervy men, a crazy man with a cane which made even the local Chinese stay away, and everyone kept hitting on or staring at TJ (but she can’t help that she’s a beautiful eurasian~). I swear, if she wasn’t with me, I’ld get a lot less unwanted attention LoL! The locals think that I’m her Chinese translator so they always approach me to ask me where she’s from!
Something that I wish I had from the start so we could avoid getting lost or walking more than necessary is a Map of Beijing!!
**Note to all non-Asian looking people (including the hybrid Eurasians!)
If you’re going to go to China, EXPECT people to stare. Chinese people have no shame and WILL stare at you (especially the older aunties). Even when going to the big cities like Beijing and Shanghai who are used to having foreigners around, there will still be people who can’t help but stare.
Anyways, that’s all for now. I’ll update again and let’s pray that my blog won’t be blocked again =S
Related posts:
Hi Alice,
I just came across your website and it is so very interesting and informative! I’m planning on doing the 12-weeks regular course (20 hrs/week) in end March – end June. I’m very excited as this will be my first time in Beijing!
I do have a quick question. You mentioned that they are quite strict about class attendance. Do you know how much classes we can miss and still be eligible to do the exam? The reason I’m asking is because I’ve confirmed a travel package way back last year and I will need to miss 4 days of class. Do you think the teachers will have a problem with this? Do you suggest I speak with them at the beginning of the course to let them know ahead of time?
Thanks!
Jen
Hi, Alice. I happen to come across your website. The blog you wrote attract me. My company basicly serves the internatinal students in China as well as oversea students who want to study in China. My office is at Wudaokou very close to BLCU, and I wonder if you could be our guest to my office. I believe you will provide us very good advices. Also, I wonder if we could collaborate in some way,such as post your blog on our website to better promote you. Our website currently has visitors from 94 countries and more than 12,000 members. Please contact me by drop me a line in my email. Allen Peng
Hi Jennie,
I think there might be a bit of confusion, my name is Selina Lai (hence the web address)
Anyway, the 12 week course is the short term course right? From what I heard from the short term students I met, there’s a pretty rare chance of you failing so I really don’t think you have much to worry about =)
BUT it’s always good to clarify everything with your teacher or the staff there (all the ones I met were really really nice). For me, my classes were with the long term students so we had to attend roughly 70% of our classes and it’s pretty difficult to pull a sicky (apparently no one in china gets sick… EVER)
Thanks Selina! Sorry about the name…Dont know why I wrote Alice instead!!
Hello Selina,
Thx for the material on website, I really enjoyed it. I concurred with everything you diclosed here even though I didn’t attend the orientation. I was there for a 1 month course last year and will be back very shortly for more classroom experience. My question to you is..was there a club call “English/Chinese Corner” @ BLCU where local students pair up with non-local students and practice speaking? I wasn’t successful in finding one. Thanks again in advance.
Alan
Los Angeles – California
Hi Alan,
Is the club you’re referring to made up of locals or internationals? I remember a cafe near Tsinghua which encouraged English/Chinese speaking students to practice. But as for a club called “English/Chinese Corner” I can’t be too sure.
I’ll send out an email to a fellow reader who is currently at BLCU to see if they know anything. Will keep you posted =)
Hi Selina,
Thanks for the great blog! This is the best source I’ve found for figuring out what student life in Beijing is like. I was curious, the dates for the short term course are better for my schedule, but is it better to take the year-long course than two short-term semesters in terms of how much Chinese you learn during the year? I took a language class in Qingdao and it was really easy to slack off when the other int’l kids weren’t there for as long and didn’t take it too seriously. I’d like to use my time well, but also prefer the starting date of the short-term course.
Also… for finding apartments off campus, is it generally advisable to visit them first rather than try to arrange it online? I’ll be in Beijing for the whole year starting in the fall so wanted to find a nice home rather than use the dorms. Do you think getting hooked up with a well-off Chinese family and living in as a part-time tutor for their kids while studying might be a good way to go, or would that be awkward? Thank you so much for your help!
Hello Selina,
Happy Belated Mother’s Day. I apologized I just tuned back in and read your comments. I just landed in Beijing and fortunately I wasn’t on the plane that was quarantined even though I was very nervous as to who sat on my flight in the rows behind me.
I’m going to go out and go-about the Tsinghua Univ. area and see if I can find this cafe you mentioned in regards to “encouraging foreign/local students” to practice Putonghua.
The weather here is sunny and see if I can tolerate my 1st summer in Beijing and stay away from the mosquitos, hehe. Thanks and keep in touch Selina.
Stay safe down under,
Alan
Beijing
@Tayler I’ve just posted about blcu’s short term vs long term courses here: http://www.selinalai.com/2009/05/blcu-short-term-vs-long-term-course/
Regarding accommodation, ALWAYS check the room before you pay… this is China, the motherland to rip-offs! ^^; Personally, I wouldn’t want to stay with someone because I like my own space and I’ld feel like I was intruding… but that’s personal preference.
@Alan If you get yourself a local language partner, ask them if they know of the club you mentioned, they might be able to help.
I didn’t realise there was a plane that was quarantined =S Take care of yourself!