CET Greater China

This program presents a lot of challenges, academically, socially, personally, and professionally. However, depending on how you work through and look at challenges, this program can either be discouraging or deeply gratifying. Personally, I dealt differently with each category of challenges. In each obstacle there was hidden a lesson, an opportunity, or a chance for growth, and in each gift there was a difficulty, a misunderstanding, or something wholly unexpected. I found this true across my academic, personal, and professional experiences.
No matter how you deal with challenges, your Chinese will greatly improve being abroad. Even if you don't work very hard at it, or go out of your way to use it (though i recommend you do) it will improve consistently and drastically. I was really pushed to improve and constantly practice my language skills. The class met daily and often had a lot of homework. I spent hours everyday working on reading, writing, speaking, and listening solely for my course work. However, the positive side of that was that my Chinese language ability improved drastically throughout my time abroad. I found every day that something I was learning in class was applicable to my daily life in Shanghai. I could immediately put to use what I was learning, which felt deeply gratifying. Additionally, living in China pushed me to use Chinese daily – whether with my roommate, other students, store-clerks, or strangers – and it was often both rewarding and difficult to navigate social situations with my limited linguistic ability. I was frequently frustrated and disappointed in myself for being unable to express ideas or intentions effectively, but this ultimately motivated me to learn and engage with the language even more.
Personally, I had to act more self-sufficiently and independently and really have faith and trust in my abilities. Daily I encountered difficulties adapting to a new culture and environment, even up to my last day. It was difficult to think positively about this. It was great having a Chinese roommate, and the other American students were all very supportive, but really creating a space that felt like home was a definite challenge, and one I never fully solved. That said, I still loved the city and was always excited to explore, but I never fully settled into life in Shanghai.
However, through all my time abroad, the most valuable thing I learned is that anything is possible if I trust myself and take the leap. The hardest and scariest thing about going abroad for me was getting on the plane. That isn't to say I didn't have difficulties, because there is a lot that felt or seemed impossible about being abroad: little things like buying clean supplies or ordering food in a restaurant. For several weeks I felt like everything was just out of reach, and there were times I wanted to come home. There were also amazing moments, great friends, wonderful strangers, and a unique beauty in deeply realizing that every second, across the world, everyone is really just doing their best.
The same can be said of life in general – good days and bad days – and, in a very literal way, being abroad was my life, every day, and with that came all manner of sorrow and satisfaction. But the hardest thing by far was the fear and uncertainty as I was leaving and transitioning from one home to another. In that liminal suspended space, I felt listless and lonelier than ever, my mind thinking over every worst-case scenario. But once I landed, none of those horrible things came true. I was met welcomingly and warmly, and in the end, I realized that all I had to do was get on the plane and after that, I just had to deal with things as they came. Going abroad has made me feel like I can do anything, no matter how difficult, as long as I can find the courage to get on the plane.

I loved my study abroad with CET. First, CET did an amazing job organizing enriching activities for all the students to do. We got to do a broad range of things, from hiking Taroko Gorge to going to a traditional Chinese opera. But my favorite thing was definitely traveling to the Mazu Festival in central Tawian, which is put on every year for one of Taiwan's many deities, Mazu. Andrew and Chunling did all the organizing, and the trips were all included in the program fee. Additionally, I liked my classes at ICLP, especially the 1-on-1 class that met for an hour every day. If there were a few things I could change, they would probably be my internship experience and adding a language pledge, but both of these were more applicable to me because my Chinese was at a slightly higher level than most.

The program definitely focused on language immersion and getting your level of Chinese up; even though I came in with only studying one year of Chinese before the program, by the end I felt more confident in my speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing skills. The program is set up to raise all aspects of your Chinese and it definitely delivered. I would just warn that it may be more work than you're used to, and than you might think it will be; that was the case for me. Besides the academic portion they offer weekend activities and places to go which gives you opportunities to see a lot of sides of Beijing. The city has a ton to offer and I think everyone would find something they like; exploring on my own with friends was exciting too, it's just that there wasn't as much time as I would like to have to explore Beijing without having to sacrifice academics. Pairing every person in the program with a Chinese roommate was also beneficial because it was like having a companion and guide at the same time. The teachers and staff are all very caring, hardworking, and deliver well too. My experience with this program was overall very positive and I am glad I was a part of it. Two months pass by faster than you might think but packed with unforgettable memories and stories.

Harbin was so different than what I ever would have expected going into this program. I was so surprised about the overlaps of different cultures and how much I would learn, not only about Chinese history, but also of Russian and North Korean history! My roommate, professors, and food made the experience so enjoyable. My favorite foods were 手抓饼 (Shou zhuabing) and 馄饨 (huntun); I ate them almost everyday! Even though it was very cold the first month I was there, the weather got warmer and warmer and turned into spring. The flowers bloomed and the pollution cleared up a bit because all the heaters got turned off! The atmosphere was amazing and because my Chinese language ability improved so much while I was there, I can say that I made lifelong friends from my time abroad.

I spent the summer of 2019 participating in the CET: Shanghai program and it has been one of my best decisions. It was an incredible experience, allowing me to further my personal and professional goals.

As a Chinese heritage student I wanted to learn more about my own culture and language and CET’s Chinese course delivered. Having the language placement exam at the very beginning allows for students of every level in Chinese to be placed in their appropriate level class. This allows for students to be challenged in their language study but not be too overwhelmed. Having language class everyday may be more than what you’re used to in your home university but everyone leaves the program with significantly better Mandarin skills. Something I’d recommend is that if you don’t think your placement results were accurate to speak with the teachers and the director of the department. I switched my Chinese class two times before finding the right fit.
To build cultural understanding, CET also reimburses up to 70 yuan/day for students to explore Shanghai and participate in different cultural activities. This allowed for my friends and I to watch a lot of Chinese movies and visit museums throughout the program.

In terms of professional development, the internship component of the program is great for gaining international work experience. You can learn a lot about how different industries operate in China and what kind of opportunity exists there. The internship search process is hectic but eventually everyone finds their internship. Speaking from my own experience, I think the quality of the internship placement of the program is its largest weakness. I did not have a great experience working at my first placement because of the lack of professionalism and respect from my supervisor. My second internship placement was better in comparison but I wasn’t given very meaningful work. I would recommend future students to really think about what kind of internships they want and to remain firm. It’s okay to say no to companies that offer you a position.

Despite some challenges, I had an incredible summer in Shanghai. It's such a fun city to live in and there is always something to do! The connections I made with other U.S. and local students continue to carry on and made participating in the program so meaningful.

Although the program's academic standards were high, the program provided all the materials necessary to succeed and even included multiple fun activities for stress relief. I found that the staff was not only responsive to any issues the students encountered, but also went out of their way to help the students if they felt anything was wrong. My experience was amazing; I could see significant improvement in my Chinese and gained more confidence when speaking. The class structure is diverse which allows students to be exposed to multiple methods in order to learn the material. Additionally, the program provided for many excursion trips and recommended local restaurants/shops to visit; we were able to experience various aspects of the local culture. My favorite was being able to visit DaLi because we saw so many gorgeous natural landscapes. Overall, I was very happy with the program and would love to visit the friends I made in the future.

When I was searching for a program to study Chinese, these were the features about CET Taiwan that grabbed my interest: language classes with ICLP, an internship within my areas of interests, and housing with Taiwanese students.

CET partners with ICLP, which is one of the world's premier Chinese language centers located at National Taiwan University. The classes focus intensively on speaking and listening. Normal ICLP students would have four classes, but CET students only have three because of the internship. Don't think the classes are easier because CET students have one less. The workload/preparation is as intense; it may be more challenging because CET students also have their internships. One class is one-on-one; you can ask for help on anything during the 1-1 class. The other two classes have up to four students so there are more opportunities to practice speaking and listening. The students are expected to practice and prepare for the next lesson the night before, and during class time, the teachers will ask questions regarding the lessons. While Traditional Chinese is the preferred writing/reading method, ICLP classes still offer materials in Simplified Chinese; students who know either form will be a great fit in the program.

CET Taiwan internship is tailored to the students' interests. t Since I liked science and medicine, our lovely internship director Chunling connected me with a research internship at Taipei Veterans General Hospital; I had classmates who worked for NGOs, cloud-service company, patient-law firms - just to list a few. The internship is a great way to experience the feeling of working in Taiwan and meeting new people.

Balancing school and internship while finding time to enjoy Taiwan was challenging, but I had the unwavering support from the dynamic duo Andrew and Chunling. This is NOT an exaggeration when I say they are fantastic people. They were more like friends, and students could come and talk to them about anything. They were very understanding and showed unwavering support for us. Every week, they would bring snacks for everyone to share, and a different student would bring fruits every Friday. In addition, we had "Lunch Box Tuesday" where all the CET Taiwan students would come and have lunch with Andrew and Chunling; we would discuss our internships and classes. Doing so strengthened the supportive environment.

As for housing, during my summer semester, we had two apartments - one in the SongShan district and the other in the GongGuan district. In each apartment, there was at least one Taiwanese student and other American students. It was very nice of Andrew and Chunling to find these apartments because I did not want to go through the hassles of finding my own living place. Before CET Taiwan had consolidated living spaces, students from earlier semesters had to find their own apartments; some were close to ICLP while others lived far away and had to ride the MRT for a long time to get to school (e.g. 1-hr). Furthermore, living together was a great way to make new friends.

Overall, the program exceeded my expectations. Taiwan is culturally and historically rich with beautiful sceneries. I was sad that the program had to come to an end; I wished the summer program could have been a week or two longer. While the program is expensive, the friends that I have made and the memories that I have created were worth it.

While I thought participating in a study abroad program that enforced a language pledge would be rather difficult, I am more than happy to say that I am extremely pleased with what I gained. I was placed into 500 level Chinese, and while I believe once you are at a higher language level, language progress becomes more slow and gradual; however, the language pledge positively enhanced all students' outcomes. I had so much fun in and out of class, whether it be prepping for my oral test topic or going to see historical attractions like the Temple of Heaven with my roommate. I met amazing people and the staff was truly amazing, especially our director, Zuo Cui, who was also my director for the CET Beijing: Internship program that I participated in during the summer of 2018. CET really goes above and beyond to ensure that students feel comfortable with their lives abroad and I am truly thankful for that.