Alumni Spotlight: Frederic Chy

Frederic is French and lives in Switzerland. He is a project manager in Telecommunications. He enjoys traveling to meet people and discover different cultures, and plays music (Spanish guitar) and can be found playing all types of sports (badminton, snowboard...) He spent one month in ShiJiaZhuang, Hebei in July 2012.

Why did you decide to study abroad with KCE?

Frederic: I was looking for a place to improve my Chinese oral skills since I had only studied Chinese in Europe at University. A friend of mine recommended to me Konall language institute. In ShiJiaZhuang (SJZ, city where Konall is located), people are mostly native Mandarin speakers. Moreover they do not speak "western" languages and there is almost no foreigners or tourists.

Street musicians in China

Describe your day to day activities as a student

Frederic: I went to school, I studied, people at Konall suggested point of interests for each individual, and organized some events with the school. I discovered many parts of the city by bike, I practiced some sports with local people: badminton, roller skating.

What made this study abroad experience unique and special?

Frederic: It was a full immersion in a different place, culture and language. I mingled with local people and spoke mandarin in all kind of daily situations. People in SJZ were really friendly and the city is very safe.

How has this experience impacted your future?

Frederic: I want to continue learning, improving my chinese language skills, I can consider moving there for some time (to work for instance) knowing more about what is "living in China"