LTL Chengdu Review Prt 2

I’ve now been in Chengdu for over 2 months. I wrote my first review after the first two weeks but now that I’m wrapping up my final week, here’s my final review!

My programme at LTL was curated to fit my needs. 7 weeks of study spread across 10 weeks (2 weeks of study followed by one week off x3 and then one final week of study). I’ve also had a mix of 2 hour 1-1 sessions and 4 hour 1-1 sessions. My first two weeks were 4 hours of 1-1 sessions everyday but then I switched to 2 hours a day a few weeks. I did this because I wanted more time in the day to wander around Chengdu and practice the skills I’d learnt during the day. In my opinion 4 hours a day works for a short period but over a long period it starts to take its toll. Massive thanks to the LTL team for being really flexible and letting me re-arrange my programme.

In terms of the actual programme content I’ve had the best teachers. My current teacher - Laura is excellent. TRULY EXCELLENT. We’ve worked together for the past few weeks and I only wish we had more time! She has been brilliant at teaching me new grammar and new words. One of the things I really appreciate is her in-depth teaching - deep explanations and breakdown of words (it helps to know this because it allows you to grasp other words and form new phrases. It’s been such a wonderful learning experience, my vocabulary has expanded exponentially since I started working with Laura.

Not only is she an excellent teacher, she is also a fun, warm-hearted and social individual. She has been a wonderful friend - from treating me to Michelin star “干拌面” to taking me cycling round the Chengdu Tianfu Greenway （天府绿道), taking me to a great massage spot and even gifting me a cake for birthday! Laura has truly helped me have a richer experience of Chengdu. Even though I’m not a local, I feel more like a local than a traveller just passing through. She’s also taught me a few local words and ways of saying things - this aligns with my goal because I really wanted to learn the colloquial way of communicating and not just the text book way. I’ve used some of the local words she taught me and the locals have been impressed!

All in all - massive thanks to Laura 老师！Also shout out to Ying 老师and Wu 老师for being great teachers and friends. My Chengdu experience would not have been the same without you.

Finally, my home stay experience was brilliant. Philomena and Ming were my hosts and they really took care of me. We did lots of social activities together and they also helped me feel very at home in Chengdu! and did I mention Kai Xin and Fudai?!?!?!? ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE kitties!!!!! 😻😻😻

I’ll truly miss Chengdu!