CET Greater China

I first attended CET Shanghai program with the simple reason to learn more Chinese and for cultural immersion. However, CET provided me with much more than I had expected, even linking me with some of the best corporate internships in Shanghai. The experience later proved to be invaluable, enabling me to work with Chinese companies after graduating from college as I pursued the path of an entrepreneur. CET's Wide selection of internships not only helped me to think about my future career, but also provided me with professional knowledge in the industry that I was interested in. I can also say that my internship placement at the marketing/PR agency also facilitated an extensive improvement of my Mandarin skills because my supervisors often instructed me in Chinese and I was placed to research, write, and speak in Chinese during working hours. Also, weekly seminar sessions with the director of CET program helped me to organize my internship career and how to quickly solve problems so I could balance both internship and coursework effectively. Even after I completed the program, the director continued to provide students with opportunities for career advancement and developing tight networks among CET students.

Besides from internships, intensive language coursework and my awesome Chinese roommate helped me learn and experience Chinese culture! Due to small class sizes, I could maintain close relationships with Chinese teachers and weekly 1:1 discussion sessions with them were especially helpful in improving my Chinese oratorical skills. It is true that there was not enough time to hang out with my roommate because of homework and internships, but weekend getaway with her was definitely memorable and such intimate gathering helped me learn Chinese slangs that were not in textbooks.

The program director and the staff of the program are family-like and are always ready to listen and help students. When I became sick during the program, all of the staff members not only helped me to receive proper treatments, but also even arranged me with extra study sessions to catch up on the course materials. Also, because of thorough care and instructions of staff members, my worries about safety in Shanghai dissipated as silliness. Due to the warmth and reliability of the director and staff members, I was able to have a great time in Shanghai without concerns.

CET Beijing was a decent experience that could have been made great with better planning,and more consideration for its students. However, the social experiences that I had with actual people from Beijing was fantastic. I made more than one friend, who could only speak Chinese, and it forced me to use my limited knowledge, and knowledge I gained through the course of CET, to actually communicate. To me this was the greatest, and best, part of CET.

To call this program anything other than life changing would not do it justice. In many ways it was the most difficult thing I had ever done, and yet at the same time most rewarding. During the week it was constant Chinese classes, and much homework. However, the weekends in Beijing were what made the trip so memorable. I think this combination of challenge and fun is what made the trip so enjoyable. I definitely improved my Chinese, yet at the same time had the time of my life out on the weekends.

The program is top quality, with very good teachers willing to help at all times. Outside of this, I really did fall in love with Beijing. Everything is really cheap, so your dollars will go a long way, and there are many activities to do.

I would recommend this program to anyone.

Not only was this program very challenging because of its high language requirements and heavy workloads, but it also emphasized the importance of personal experience and growth. Students spent a large amount of time drilling vocabulary and grammar, but were often given opportunities to become familiar with Chinese traditions. Intermediate level students learned the necessary vocabulary to talk about traditional Chinese medicine. In addition, they were required to talk to doctors specializing in this type of medicine, and encouraged to convey utilize the practice if they saw it necessary. As always, this type of program is only as effective as students are willing to participate.

I arrived in Harbin ready to make the most of this opportunity to participate in a semester of CET, funded by my Fulbright fellowship. My Mandarin abilities were minimal so the first month under the language pledge was excruciating. But I persisted through the discomfort of sitting silently at the dinner table because I knew this all-Mandarin environment was rapidly improving my speaking and listening abilities. I was forced to figure out how to express myself in Chinese, even if it meant stumbling through butchered sentences at first. By the half-term Fall break my Mandarin had already improved at an exponential rate. By the end of the program, my Chinese roommate was my best friend and we were regularly staying up late at night giggling in bed over stories from each of our days. The subject of these stories was often boys. My uncle told me there are several truly beautiful things one will experience in life: having a baby, falling in love, and making a friend in another language. Needless to say, my Mandarin has improved dramatically since my first week of “你好吗？”.

This was the thought that ran through my head throughout the first few weeks I was experiencing my time as a student under the dreaded Chinese language pledge. Before arriving I did not realize how serious this pledge would be, and I also did not realize how well it would actually improve my Chinese.

The program was intense, but it does its job. My Chinese has become remarkably better than when I started my semester in Harbin. It is also possible to form deep friendships with Chinese roommates and classmates in the program. I feel like I have been left with friendships that will last a long time. I am also thankful for the unique experiences that CET has left me. For example, visiting the China-North Korean border, Great Wall and other excursions!

I forced my tired eyes open and caught sight of a twelve-year-old boy stepping up to bat in a baseball game. My thoughts quickly returned and I found myself back in my place on first base covered in dirt stains. The young boy before me was named Ye Xiu Wen. His family belonged to our church congregation and I was assigned once a week to visit with his family and provide food, care, and other support. Every time I would greet Ye Xiu Wen with an enthusiastic greeting in Mandarin Chinese, “Hello, my friend, how’s it going?” I would only receive a blank stare and a slow head-nod in response, evidence that my words had once again failed to produce any meaning. I quickly found the language to be a barrier in building up a relationship with this young man, but one day made great strides when I discovered his love for baseball.
I had found an old orange beginning to rot in the bottom of my backpack. I removed the moldy mess and tossed it to Ye XIu Wen in a joking gesture. He caught the orange and pitched it right back at me. I grabbed it and this time wound up in an exaggerated mimic of the pitchers you would usually see on TV. Ye Xiu Wen didn’t miss a beat and grabbed a nearby stick and immediately wound up for a swing. I didn’t think he would actually hit it, so I pitched the orange directly his way. I was wrong. His contact sent exploding remains of my orange in every direction leaving behind a cloud of citrus. Our eyes met and lit up. It was the first time we communicated. We quickly converted the neighboring rice field into a baseball diamond and made a weekly tradition of playing backyard ball, inviting all the local children to join us in our competitions. Today was game day and as Ye Xiu Wen approached the plate my competitive nature took over. I was ready.
Knees bent, back arched, broken pool stick in hand this kid stood poised and ready for action. The pitch was made and yesterday’s edition newspaper - wadded into a ball and, bound in duct tape - went hurling towards the batter. A giant swing followed by contact sent our makeshift baseball high into the air. I took off towards the pile of rice stocks that marked second base, laughing all the while at the comical sight before me. The wind was in our favor and carried Ye Xiu Wen’s hit to the far outskirts of the rice fields. I could now hear his excited footsteps close behind me as I rounded second, my black shoes collecting new stains with every step. It was so refreshing, the humid air running across my face, my perfectly combed hair now rebelliously running free in the wind, and my new friend and I united in our sprint home. After rounding the bases safely I turned back to find my teammate in a struggle for home plate. His skinny legs, crafted from a simple rice-based diet, were in full stride, propelling that little body home. A dramatic final step was made casting up a patch of dirt. Through the cloudy aftermath the call was made: “Safe!”
I looked over to see the stern, determined face melt and give way to laughter. It was the first time I had ever seen him laugh. Such a small, seemingly insignificant image, yet it was one that resonated and burned within me. For the first time since I had arrived, I finally felt like I belonged. Ye Xiu Wen was no longer himself, no longer a young boy with a dream to be the first in his family to graduate high school, no longer a boy with the burden of taking care of a single, disabled, and bed ridden father and two sisters, no longer a boy with the responsibility for providing for his family’s financial needs, no longer the boy laughed at in school for the deformities on his face. No, he had risen above all that and in the moment he was a baseball player.

I loved my study abroad experience with CET. I met some incredible people during my time here, had a lot of fun in the confusion and misunderstandings of the language barrier, and greatly improved my Chinese skills. This program will challenge you, force you way beyond your comfort zone, and will support your endeavors of learning Chinese. I'm so grateful for my time at CET. I will never forget this wonderful experience.