Beijing- The Challenging City

I want to thank the LTL-Beijing Team for this wonderful stay in Beijing. When I arrived at the Beijing airport I was kind of anxious. It was early Sunday morning. Would the driver and family host be really expecting me? But then I saw the pick-up driver with the LTL sign, I relaxed and knew that I was safe…. Everything was going to happen as arranged. And so it was. Tara, my host, showed me my spacious room with excellent WiFi. She also took me to the school, as it turned out that she was my teacher, too. What is more, she was also my troubleshooter. Any problem I had, she was the one who instantly came up with a solution. As a teacher, she was always punctual, thoroughly prepared, showed endless patience, listened carefully to our questions, and found many examples to explain the use of a word and made Chinese grammar easy to understand.

The school is located very conveniently in a modern section of the city. I always wondered why the atmosphere at the school was so welcoming, warm, and easygoing. The answer I found is that Linda, the director, Ilaria, the student adviser, and Masako, the administrative manager, are very attentive to all the needs of their students. Furthermore, during the breaks we were sitting on a huge sofa or around a long table, chatting, playing Mahjong, drinking tea – or sometimes even coffee. The weekly programme for discovering Chinese culture and Beijing historical places in the afternoon were an appreciated contrast to the morning lessons and a perfect way to foster the contacts among the students.

After only three weeks in Beijing, I am sad to return to my country. I definitely will be back. The combination of learning Chinese in the morning and discovering the city in the afternoon under the guidance of people who are familiar with the culture is perfect. LTL makes this possible. Thank you Linda with your LTL-team. Thank you Tara as my teacher and host.