Learned more in 8 weeks than 2 years at home

I studied Mandarin at Fudan University in Shanghai through GAC. My homestay family was incredible — they spoke zero English, so I had to use Chinese every single day. My teacher was patient and made the classes engaging. After 8 weeks, I could hold conversations, order food, and even bargain at markets. If you want real fluency, do the homestay program. it always felt like home and I never felt like I'm away from home in a foreign country with strangers that I knew for almost a few weeks. Thank you from everyone