My Time at That's Mandarin

Before coming to That's Mandarin, I was a little skeptical about how the camp would be. I had only been away from home once before. I thought that I would have a challenging time making new friends and doing well in the classes as I am not outgoing towards people I am not familiar with and therefore, I would not be able to fit in. But these two weeks have shown me exactly the opposite. Within the first night after my arrival at That's Mandarin, I felt that I was fitting in and making new friends. In the morning and afternoon, we would have classes and go on field trips. But I really enjoyed the evening when all the boarders and our Lao Shi would go out somewhere, such as Tian'anmen Square, and then we would have dinner at a mall and our Lao Shi would let us roam around in the mall for an hour. The evening really let us bond as friends. I loved some of the field trips, such as Tian'anmen Square and The Great Wall. I also learned a lot of Mandarin. But my learning was impaired by the fact that I was only here for two weeks; had I stayed for four weeks, I would have really learned a lot more. On the other hand, some of the field trips were less enjoyable such as the Confucius Temple or the Beijing Zoo, either because it was raining, it was repetitive, or depressing. But overall, I loved That's Mandarin and I do not regret going to the camp at all because of all the fun experiences I had, the Mandarin that I learned, and all the friends I have made.