Chinese Full-immersion Summer Camp in China for 8-18 Years old

When my parents told me that they would send me to China for Chinese summer camp, I thought it was a missed holiday. But in fact, the summer camp I attended, RISH Chinese summer camp was a good combination between the language class and summer vacation. During the summer camp in Shanghai, we have a whole day's classes, but it's not simple grammar classes. RISH focuses on activities that enable us to practice what we have learned. We also carried out some cultural visits, liberated myself from classroom and made me enjoy the happiness of the holiday. These activities are all related to learning Chinese language and culture. Whether it's class, leisure, visit or even daily life, it's all for my Chinese improvement. What I like the most about this camp is that my Chinese level has progressed a lot without my realizing it!

Our family are Chinese immigrants to Italy. Our son Simone is 13 years old. Although both his father and myself can speak Chinese, he has no language environment since childhood so he can understand some but he is always lazy to communicate with us in Chinese. Every summer vacation we send him back to China and live in his grandparents' house. He always complains that he is bored. After being recommended by friends, I learned that there was such an immersive Chinese summer camp. The contents of RISH Chinese summer camp are very attractive, so I immediately registered for mon son. The summer camp gave him a Chinese environment, which made him naturally develop the habit of speaking Chinese every day. At the same time, the summer camp was also a wonderful trip to let him know more about China and made many good friends around the world. During three weeks of summer camp time, he was very happy and I was very relieved. Thank you to RISH instructors and counselors for your teaching and company! Learning Chinese well will benefit children for a lifetime!

My 14-year-old son went to Shanghai to attend RISH Chinese summer camp in July 2019. I was a little worried before he departed for China. Because my son is a vegetarian, I'm worried that he won't eat well during the summer camp, or that he doesn't have anything to eat. Moreover, my son has high requirements for accommodation. Before signing up, I repeatedly confirmed with RISH's customer service staff, who confirmed to me that there would be no problem with vegetarian campers, and told me that the room was very new, very clean, and showed me the photos. Personally I really appreciate RISH's customer service for their smooth communication and quick feed back. Any questions can be answered immediately. Before the summer camp started, I still had some worries. But when my son arrived in Shanghai, he told me that everything was very good. The room was as clean and tidy as shown in the photo. There were many vegetables for each meal. My son especially liked Mapo Tofu and vegetable Ramen made in the school canteen. Counselors were also very careful and helpful. They always cared about my son and asked him what he ate and what he did not like. My son studies Chinese very hard. During this summer camp, he met several friends, all of whom were eager to learn Chinese. He and his friends exchanged their learning experiences every day and had a very happy time. I'm happy to help him choose RISH summer camp.

Translated by Go Overseas:
I only knew a few words of Chinese when I arrived at the camp. Initially, even though I was excited to go to China, I had prepared to do a cross on my vacation as it was a study camp, but I was more than pleasantly surprised! It was a real holiday camp. Classes are done in a very interactive way, with many activities like traditional Chinese games for example. We are far from the monotonous 'basic' course! Instead of finding myself in a classroom with disparate levels like home, I was assigned a class suited to my level. And as if it was not custom-made enough, every night I had an hour of classes with my instructor, where we chatted and told him my day, in Chinese (as much as possible). Bathing in a Chinese environment was a real plus, because everything you learn can be used in everyday life and vice versa! Classes and everyday life complemented each other naturally. At the end of the stay I managed to have simple conversations with locals.

Original version:
Je ne connaissais que quelques mots de chinois quand je suis arrivé au camp. Au départ, même si j’étais excité d’aller en Chine, je m’étais préparé à faire une croix sur mes vacances vues que c’est un camp d’étude, mais j’ai été plus qu’agréablement surpris ! C’était un vrai camp de vacance. Les cours sont faits de manière très interactive, avec de nombreuses activités comme des jeux traditionnels chinois par exemple. On est loin du cours monotone ‘de base’ ! Au lieu de me retrouver dans une classe avec des niveaux disparates comme chez moi, j’ai été assigné à une classe adaptée à mon niveau. Et comme si ça ne faisait pas assez ‘sur mesure’, tous les soirs j’avais une heure de cours part avec mon moniteur, où on bavardait et je lui racontais ma journée, en chinois (autant que possible). Le fait de baigner dans un environnement chinois était un vrai plus, par ce que tout ce qu’on apprend peut servir dans la vie de tous les jours et vice versa ! Les cours et la vie de tous les jours se complétaient naturellement. A la fin du séjour j’arrivais à avoir des conversations simples avec les locaux.

I am a parent from Indonesia. I can speak fluent Chinese myself. I hope my son can learn Chinese well. My son is 13 years old. His first foreign language in school is Chinese. I usually want to speak Chinese with him at home, but he doesn't like to speak Chinese with me. RISH Chinese summer camp is a very good program. My son listened to the teachers very much in the summer camp and learned a lot. And I had been worried that he would not take good care of himself when he was alone. Unexpectedly, he lived alone for two weeks in this summer camp and everything was very good. In the middle, my son was sick one day. I was worried about it. Thanks to the teachers for taking good care of him. He was getting better very quickly the next day. I am very satisfied with everything in RISH summer camp. When my son came home after the summer camp, I felt that when I spoke Chinese to him, he could understand more and would answer me in Chinese. I'm really happy! I plan to send him to RISH Chinese summer camp again next year.

I have a 12 year old and a 14 year old participated in RISH Chinese summer camp in 2019. Both of my kids have learnt Chinese for about 6 years, and are preparing HSK 4. I accompanied them to join the camp in Shanghai, and stayed with them for the first week. They were given a test on their first day, then they were grouped in different classes by their Chinese level proficiency. My kids were placed in a class that suited their level. I was happy that they loved the course and their teacher very much, and the most important thing was that they have learnt a lot during the camp. They had more than 60 hours of classes and 1-on-1 tutoring in two weeks’ time, which was extremely helpful for my kids to improve -- which was the main purpose of sending them to a camp in China, and also could be very expensive in Switzerland. I am happy and satisfied with the organization and the team of RISH. I would admit that sending my kids to participate a camp in China was not an easy decision for our family, but we are so lucky to meet RISH camp and RISH staff. In the end my kids were sad to leave the camp and the friends. We are now planning to send them to RISH again next summer. And I will recommend RISH to my friends, so maybe their children will join together with us to Shanghai!

Translation:
It was a first for me to go all alone so far from home. At the exit of the plane I felt literally catapulted on another planet! At first I admit that it was a little intimidated, but it immediately reassured me to have been directly supported by the camp counselor who had waited for me at the exit of Shanghai airport . She helped me with the formalities that remained to enter the summer camp, and to the door of my room. I really enjoyed the atmosphere with the other students and the everyday life on the university campus. The instructors were all really friendly, and showed us a lot of things during the cultural outing and the end-of-stay trip. It reassured me that we are so well framed by what I was initially super nervous ... It was a truly unforgettable experience. I learned so much about Chinese culture! I will never forget the laughs and all the friends I met there!

Original: C’était une première pour moi de partir toute seule aussi loin de chez moi. A la sortie de l’avion je me suis sentie littéralement comme catapultée sur une autre planète ! Au départ j’avoue que ça m’a un peu intimidé, mais ça m’a tout de suite rassurée d’avoir été directement prise en charge par la monitrice du camp qui m’avait attendu à la sortie de l’aéroport de Shanghai. Elle m’a aidée avec les formalités qui restaient pour entrer au camp de vacance, et jusqu’à la porte de ma chambre. J’ai vraiment apprécié l’ambiance avec les autres éléves et la vie de tous les jours sur le campus universitaire. Les moniteurs étaient tous vraiment sympa, et nous ont montré pas mal de choses lors de la sortie culturelle et le voyage de fin de séjour. Ça m’a rassurée qu’on soit si bien encadré par ce qu’au départ j’étais super nerveuse... C’était une vraiment expérience inoubliable. J’ai appris tellement de choses sur la culture chinoise ! Je n’oublierai jamais les fous rires et tous les amis que j’ai rencontré là-bas !

I wanted to thank RISH counsellor team for making such an amazing experience for my daughter and myself. My daughter is 10 years old and attended RISH Chinese summer camp in July 2018, and I stayed together with her during the whole camp. The school environment was very comfortable and convenient. The counsellor team was so friendly and helpful to accompanying parents like myself. The 1-on-1 tutoring was one of the activities that I liked the most in this camp. My daughter could have close interaction with the tutor 1v1 to practice as much as possible. The excursions were language learning related, very helpful for the kids to know more about Chinese history and culture. At the end of the camp I was happy to see that my daughter was given confidence to speak Chinese herself in daily life. I have decided to bring my daughter and my younger son to RISH Chinese summer camp again next year.

My brother has been to RISH Chinese summer camp two years ago. He liked this camp very much and he said that this camp was very helpful to improve his Chinese grades. So my parents sent me to this camp this year. I have participated in two successive sessions so I stayed here for one month. All campers live and study inside the university campus so there is nothing to worry about the safety. Besides the campus is really convenient. You can find easily convenient stores, cafes, fruit shops, and so on. And sports fields are spacious. We can use all the sports facilities. We live in the campus hotel which is not open to public guests. Our rooms are cleaned everyday by attendants. I would say that if you want a real full-immersion Chinese summer camp experience then RISH is the best choice.

We wanted our children to learn Chinese language during the summer vacation and we found that RISH provides the only real immersion Chinese language summer camp in Shanghai. The arrangement of courses and activities looks great. It finally turned out to be an impressive experience.
The camp is full-boarding, providing accommodation and all meals, as well as 24/7 counselor team support so we did not have anything to worry about during the whole camp.
The accommodation place is inside the campus, 4-star standard twin room, fully furnished and equipped, really clean and comfortable. Our children liked the room very much.
Each student has his/her own counsellor who helps the student to well settle in and solve any problem.
We really want to thank to the counsellor Shirley. She was so nice and helpful and made great effort to take good care of our children.

I really enjoyed the experience, found some new people who were excited about my culture and how we spend time in our school. I even made friends faster than they I interact with people at my school. The food was amazing and it was most of time some new experience that I really enjoy. In school cafeterias we had so many different choices for each meal due to the fact that all people in the camp were from different countries. And the organizers arranged many special meals to let us try Chinese local specialties, like Xiaolongbao, Sichuan hot pot, Pekin duck, dumplings. Those who are vegetarians and those who do not eat pork or sea food are also well looked after. Great opportunity to speak a bit of Chinese, learn their cultures and have a habit to study more often. Thanks to my mom who reserved a place there for me!

Personally, I think I was able to successfully enjoy the RISH Chinese summer camp due to the fact that I was already prepared to make effort to learn Chinese and practice as much as possible. I did a lot of research before going to this camp and this is what I have to advice top other. doing a small research made me learn a bit the basic language and of course know a bit what was waiting for me over there. I was also ready to meet new people and spend time with them. I enjoyed my summer, got a good grade in Chinese exam in the camp and easily made new friends. The counselors are very helpful encouraging each one of us to speak Chinese after class in real life. I'm now no more afraid to see a person speaking Chinese in front of me. I would possibly go back again depending on my future plans.

Every year my father sends me to China to attend Chinese summer camp to improve my Chinese level. I have been to many summer camps in Beijing and in Shanghai. Some of them are very similar to kindergartens, some camps have very bad accommodation, and some camps have classes in commercial building. RISH Chinese summer camp has the best campsite among all the camps in China I have ever been to. We study and live in a university campus. At the beginning I thought we would live in a dorm. But in fact we lived in the university hotel. The hotel is just like the star-rated hotels when I go on trip, very new and clean. Only two students share one room. The students in this summer camp are almost the same age as me, and I can quickly find friends to chat with. I will come again next year.

RISH provides a very fun program, their organizers are excellent and innovator in every things they do . It is a real full immersion program as they said, because I have to speak Mandarin every day with teachers, counselors, classmates and other people I met in the school. That builds up my confidence in speaking Mandarin. In the end I am able to hold longer conversation by using the vocabulary I have learnt before. I also enjoyed the excursions and trips which introduced the Chinese culture and history. Nanjing and Wuzhen are wonderful tourism cities. All the counselors are very supportive and caring which makes it fun for us to spend our camp life with them. I also met some amazing people who I was really sad to leave when the camp was over.

I have been there with RISH for the second session, 18 days in total. I would say that everything is perfect for me. I was impressed by the huge and beautiful campus the moment I arrived. I have really improved a lot my skills in Chinese language in this camp because during the whole session we have had around 60 hours of Chinese learning in total. Apart from that, I also met some friends who were half Chinese and ready to help me each time I was asking something. One of the most fun I had in this camp is to embrace other culture, since all the participants came from so many different countries all around the world. Apart of that, RISH Chinese summer camp was a real opportunity for me to make new friends and of course change the environment while spending my first summer alone