Program Reviews

I had an amazing time in Omeida. I spent a month in Yangshuo and my Chinese improved a lot, especially oral Chinese. My teacher Yan is a real professional and very patient with her students. Location is also excellent because Yangshuo is well known for its natural beauty, it is a town surrounded by karst hills with breathtaking sceneries. I would highly recommend Omeida to everyone and I will definitely come back.

To go to Omeida and attend a four week intensive course, was for me the first big adventure I have done by myself in life and I really dont regret it. The staff was so nice and I found a lot new friends at school.

I was a bit worried, since I was going by myself that it would be a bit lonesome, but no I always had someone to talk to or drink coffee with. The staff was also very helpful when I had to renew my visa.

The one thing that could be a tad negative is that it was very cold and no central heating, but I went there in January so I guess I should have expected it and I would guess i'm a bit spoiled with central heating inside,

When it comes to my teachers, I must say that they were the most funny but also best teachers I ever had in students life. Only three days at Omeida, I think I learned more than I did during my chinese studies in Sweden.

Zhuge, the teacher I had the most was so funny and her big personality really made time fly by, I enjoyed every moment and she taught me so much with her mix of strict teaching but also reaching out and showing a warm and gentle side.

I only had Icy for a week, but during that time I think we got a good connection and her ways of using flashcards during classes and making me talk about my very big family, was a nice variation in teaching styles.

Wency, a teacher I had for three weeks was also very good and loved to tell funny stories, which made my listening ability improve a lot, she was also very good in explaining any uncertainties.

I never had the chance to have Phoebe as a teacher, but I did get to know her after school hours and she was really helpful when I got stuck with a problem, because I knew I could always ask her and tell her anything.

Overall, I did enjoy how these teachers taught in different ways, since it made my intensive course easier to cope with and even though I did think it was a bit much homework sometimes, I did really enjoy every second I spent during class, and doing my homework. All teachers helped me improve with my Chinese a lot.

Also special thanks to Anya and Wanda who helped me to renew my Visa and had all the information I needed to travel and explore around Yangshuo.

Twelve also deserves a short summary - he is the funny guy who arranges activities and if there is any questions, he is always available to ask. Also his singing is awesome.

I do miss everyone I got to know at Omeida and I wish I could have stayed for a longer period of time.

Would I recommend Omeida and Yangshuo to a friend? Certainly!
Will I return there? Ofcourse!

Dear All,
 
I am already home safe and sound. For the moment I am going to catch my breath and get some much needed chores at home and work done, but I can still take 5 minutes to write this email.
 
Thank you Wanda for your endless patience, and your efficiency in dealing with all the matters. Your professional replies and your patience in replying my several emails and clarifying my doubts made me choose Omeida.
 
Thank you Anya for the warm welcoming when I first arrived, and for always being willing to help.
 
Thank you Wency for your advices and followup,
 
I had the opportunity to work with two wonderful teachers and it was really enriching.
 
Zhuge is a kind of "Wonder Woman", she really can handle everything. the way she teaches keeps your brain awake all the time, she is full of energy, and imagination. She can be strict and funny, she can use mimic to explain the sentences structure. and games to guess and remember new characters. I also had the opportunity to know her a little bit more during the weekend trip and she turned out to be also brave, reponsible, and an adventure lover. Thank you Zhuge. You rock girl!
 
Jasmin is mix of sweetness and wisdom, it took her only 2 classes to find out my weak points and she worked on them till the end. she made me start thinking in chinese :) and she made me move forward in the gramma. Thank you Jasmin.
 
Twelve is definitely the cherry on top of the cake, funny, resourceful, witty and with a great Outlook. He is indeed the right person for the job.
Still remember the nice dinner and the KTV night. Well done Twelve.
 
Thank you all again,
 
I wish you all continued success in your future endeavors
 
My warm regards to everyone,

Bouchra from Spain
 

I was in Yangshuo for three months. I made some of the most amazing friends and connections there. I was glad to come home when my time was over but I find myself thinking of Yangshuo more and more these days. I miss the teachers, I miss the students, I miss the foreigners, I miss the random explorations into the countryside, I miss the midnight noodles. Three months was far too short. My only complaint really has nothing to do with the quality of the school. Academic-wise... there is no way for them to expect homework to actually get done. If you're a bad student you might not get as much accomplished in the learning of Mandarin... but you will learn, and you will still have amazing experiences. Do yourself a favor and come to this amazing place and be part of it's amazing story.

Like the other reviewers, I only have good things to say about my month at Omeida. I went during the summer, peak time, and things were smooth and well organized. I took morning classes and spent the afternoons studying and the evenings exploring the cute town of Yangshuo.
The teachers and all the staff were nice, and there was lots of activities to keep me busy on my free time. I had a great summer there.

really good teaching at a really good price, I will be going back! They have classes every day which are flexible so you can change the time of the class just by speaking to them. Volunteer programme is good because you get free accommodation. There is really good rock climbing in yangshuo, just make sure you go with someone who knows what they are doing! You wont be disappointed if you go to Yangshuo omeida

My husband, ten year old daughter and I had a wonderful experience at Omeida.
Although it was only a short two weeks, I got my foot wet and can definitely say that it's all positive! I wanted to jump in! I was so envious of all the others who were staying longer....8, 9 months or even a year. I vowed I'd find a way to do the same in the future. Definitely a place I'd feel comfortable recommending if you like both social life and learning. The staff is always more than willing to help with a very warm happy smile. Yangshuo is calling me back!!!!

I just got back from my time at Omeida's and I want to share some specific examples on how well they are organised with their genuinely warm familylike approach of the students.
Only 2 1/2 weeks before arriving at Omeida's I had decided to go to China and because this was my first time, I didn't want to go to a big city where you drown in the crowd, therefore Yangshuo with the surrounding mountains seemed the perfect place. After contacting Omeida the staff understood immediately that there was no time to loose and reacted quickly by informing me what to do to get the visa and by sending me the necessary documents to apply. They even checked with me whether I received the visa in time or not. I was very impressed by their availability and saw this as a good sign. Thank you, Wanda!
I had arranged for a pick-up service from Omeida and upon arrival at the airport the driver was waiting for me with a huge smile that never left his face, by the way. We tried to chat with each other, he spoke a little English, so it was not easy, but I can tell you that we laughed a lot. I had so much fun already just by being in that car, looking around and discovering the beautiful countryside. Anya, thank you and please thank the driver again for me.
For the lessons I had 2 teachers, they were both not only very bright with great teaching skills, they were also very patient and lovable. They put the students needs first and they know exactly what that need is. My brains were really put to work, I needed that because it had gotten lazy! I like to compare it with Chinese massage: on that moment it may hurt a little bit, but afterwards you feel the great benefit.
Anyway, their teachings gave me quite a few aha moments. Thank you so much, Wency and Suzan!
No matter your question, the entire staff, the ladies who take care of lunch and dinner, and Mr. Omeida himself are very friendly and pull you right into the family atmosphere. As a natural reaction the students welcome you also as part of the family and you are immediately well received and invited to something, which is very nice and helpfull, because if there are no issues you can totally focus on your language study. I can truly say that I got the experience I wanted and that coming to Omeida's was my best decision of the year.

This was my second time coming to Omeida. I spent four weeks there last year, which was a great experience, so I decided to come back for another four weeks and I was certainly not disappointed! The teachers are still wonderful, they are doing a great job and really care about your progress. So do all the other members of the staff, and they will help with any problems, organizing weekend trips, airport/station transfers etc. As the classes are really small (I usually was with 2-3 people) teachers can really focus on you and help you with your personal problems. Besides, the cultural classes are very interesting and the weekend outings often take you to places you might not be able to reach on your own.

Yangshuo itself is a beautiful town which offers such a wide range of spare-time activities that there is no chance of getting bored. The mountains just call you to explore them by bike or on foot and for those who like to go out in the evening, there is a big selection of bars to choose from.

In general, the atmosphere at Omeida is just really friendly and relaxed and you will learn a lot of Chinese during your stay!

-- 2014 --

I had a really awesome time at Omeida! The teachers are really great. I was a complete beginner when I came to the school and the only word I could say was ni hao. But after four weeks of intensive course, I was actually able to have small conversations with Chinese people if they made an effort. Besides, I also learned some characters. The size of my class was between 1 and 3 people, which made my progress very fast and I always felt challenged. I really enjoyed that. In addition to that, my teachers kept encouraging me all the time, so I never felt like giving up. They actually made Chinese seem easier to learn than I ever expected.
Besides, the school took really good care of me in every aspect. I could always ask them for help when I wanted to organize a trip, an airport transfer or just a piece of advice for a weekend activity. This way I never needed to feel lonely or lost. Furthermore, they also organize great spare time activities!

Yangshuo is a great place to stay - there is so much to do, so many places in nature to see that you are not going to feel bored. In the evening, there are also a lot of places to go to.

In my opinion, the food in the canteen was ok, though I got bored with it after some time. But then, I suppose that's normal for canteen food, so I think it's ok and if you don't want to eat there, it is no problem to cancel your meals.

I personally was very lucky with my room, it was really nice, and I even had a western-style bathroom, which is, however, not quite common here.

So - you should definitely go to Omeida. It's absolutely worth leaving the big cities to come here, you will have a great experience!

I studied at Omeida for 3 weeks in the summer of 2015 and I was so happy to study there. From day one a large group of students welcomed me to the school and invited me to dinner with them. I was so welcome from day one. Apart from this big group of good friends the school staff is good at arranging weekend-trips which help give the school a really nice environment for learning and at the same time have a fun time while you are in Yangshuo. This great social environment was a great boost to the also really good classes at the school. I had 60 hours of lessons over a period of 3 weeks (2 weeks normal and 1 week intensive). The teachers were very engaged in their job and often spend several hours until late at night preparing. I started from no chinese skills at all and in three weeks I am now able to handle the most basic things while I travel around China. If you have more time I would though strongly recommend that you do more classes than I have done or at least try to squeeze in more intensive classes, since these give really great results. I was really happy to have 2 weeks of free afternoons to see Yangshuo though.
In conclusion Omeida is a really good place to start your Chinese learning and if you go there you can be certain that the staff and the other students will welcome you with open arms, and that you will have a great time.