CET Beijing

CET Beijing and CET Beijing Janterm were experiences I did not know I needed until after I experienced them. CET Beijing Intensive Language Program could not be a more appropriate name for this program. From 8:20 a.m. to 3 p.m. I was challenged in the classroom, and the challenges continued beyond class hours as the language pledge really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

As I mention above, CET Beijing has a language pledge which made the first few weeks extremely challenging as we pledged to speak no language other than Chinese throughout our time in Beijing. It was challenging at first, because it was hard to communicate with each other as a lot of us did not have the Chinese speaking skills to have a full conversation. As time went by, it became easier to communicate with teachers, classmates, and even local people as our Chinese improved every single day (I am not being sarcastic here). At first, I thought the language pledge would prohibit me from making new friends, but in reality it brought us all closer together. The struggle that we were all going through, regardless of Chinese speaking level, made the bond even stronger.

I participated in both the semester long program in the Fall and the Janterm program (1 month). In terms of academics, they focused on different things. The Fall semester focused more on improving your reading and writing skills, while the Janterm focused more on your speaking skills. I recommend students interested in studying abroad in Beijing to participate in both the semester program and Janterm.

Overall, CET pushed me to become more independent. It helped me reach a lot of my goals, and I hope in can do the same or even more for others in the future.