CSA Beijing: An Excellent Overall Experience

I went to China primarily to learn Chinese, starting as an absolute beginner, and chose to go with CSA after reading through their website and following a personal recommendation. It turned out to be an excellent decision. CSA Beijing make it very easy to have fun and experience China, so you can concentrate on learning Chinese. In short, the general quality of the service provided was fantastic, with 24/7 availability, a nice office to hang out in, and a team of staff to take care of all the administration issues (accommodation, utilities, schooling, visa, etc.). Regarding learning Chinese, they arranged a great personal tutor which allowed me to improve my language skills very quickly. And finally, they organised a large number of regular social and cultural activities, making my time in Beijing highly enjoyable as well as productive.

The rest of my review goes into detail, and as it turned out to be quite long, I have split it into the following sections:
1. CSA Administration and Accommodation
2. Learning Chinese at Tsinghua
3. Social and Cultural Activities
4. Daily Life (Food, Health and Safety)
5. Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

1. CSA Administration and Accommodation

CSA Beijing administered the program exceptionally well. This began with a welcome pick-up at the airport and orientation week (like Freshers' Week) with the other CSA Beijing students (around 40-50 in total when I was there), allowing me to settle in and feel comfortable in China very quickly. The CSA Beijing office is always open during business hours, where you can stop by for a drink or a chat with other students and the friendly staff (both local and Western). Their team was available by phone 24/7 for any problems (for example, extending my visa and fixing the Internet connection in my apartment), which they dealt with quickly and effectively, allowing me to concentrate on enjoying my time in China and learning the language.

For accommodation, I chose CSA's 'Standard Single Apartment', and it was ready on my arrival. The apartment was of a good size comprising of an open-plan bedroom - living area, and separate kitchen and bathroom. It was fully furnished including a fridge and a washing machine. Most of the essentials were provided, though I did buy some additional cooking equipment because I like to cook my own meals. The location was ideal - a short cycle ride from classes and the local nightlife area. Importantly, CSA dealt with all the utilities (water, gas, electricity, Internet) so I didn't have to worry about topping up cards or meters.

2. Learning Chinese at Tsinghua

The overall educational experience was great - on arriving on China I couldn't speak a word of Mandarin, but by the end of the semester I was having whole conversations with locals who couldn't speak any English. This was due to a combination of the language course at Tsinghua and my excellent tutor (arranged by CSA Beijing and Snap Tutoring) who was a local native Mandarin speaker but was also highly proficient in English.

Regarding the course at Tsinghua University, the workload is really quite heavy, but necessary for making significant progress in learning Chinese. In the first week around 100 Hanzi (Chinese characters) are introduced, and in the following weeks around 50 a week on average. This is backed up by regular dictation tests which are graded. Also, there are specialised classes for speaking and listening as well as the comprehensive (reading and writing) classes, which allows more practical application of the language. Your final grade is comprised mainly of the midterm and final exams.

While the Chinese language course was challenging, especially at first, it was also quite rewarding as you could notice your progress in daily life. The teachers were all of very high quality and were proficient in English so communication was not an issue. With relatively small classes (15 or so in a class), there was a lot of class participation and good group morale as a result. Moreover, Tsinghua University has some quite nice grounds and scenery that varies by the season.

However, I cannot overemphasise the importance of my personal tutoring sessions. As already mentioned, CSA Beijing arranged an excellent tutor who I had lessons with every weekday. She was friendly and reliable, helping me to prepare for and consolidate the material learnt at my Tsinghua classes. After a while, we were having full conversations in Chinese, giving me a great opportunity to practice my speaking and listening, as well as covering some of the more practical day-to-day activities not covered in the textbooks. From knowing no Mandarin at all at the start, by the end of the semester I could handle everyday interactions in Chinese and get the main meaning from most written Chinese I encountered.

3. Social and Cultural Activities

Social and Cultural Activities is where CSA Beijing really shines. If you opt to include CSA Activities (and I would highly recommend you do), your program then includes a comprehensive range of weekly activities on the weekends, both the standard tourist attractions (i.e. Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, Silk Market, Wangfujing Night Market, Summer Palace, etc.) and some more special cultural attractions (i.e. tour of traditional Hutong housing, dinner at the house of a real Kung Fu master, Beijing opera, Chinese cooking, etc.). Particularly memorable was the Great Wall camping trip, where we hiked along an unrenovated section of the wall, slept under the stars and watched the sun rise over the beautiful natural landscape. There were also optional trips to places like Xian and Harbin - I chose to go on the Harbin trip over New Year to see the Ice and Snow Festival, which is unlike anything else I have seen anywhere in the world. In terms of the social aspect, you will quickly become friends with your fellow CSA students, starting with a welcome dinner and KTV (Karaoke), followed by weekly meetups on Friday at the CSA office (in addition to the aforementioned weekend trips), and further parties for Halloween, Christmas and a Farewell dinner.

4. Daily Life (Food, Health and Safety)

There is a wide range of food available, from local street food to Western fast food restaurants. There is even a similar range of supermarkets for cooking at home (from the local chains to international supermarkets with many imported goods). In addition, Tsinghua itself has many cafeterias which offer great value for money, which I often went to with my classmates. Personally I found it was possible to live on around 50 RMB a day, though if you like to go to more expensive Western restaurants you might want to budget closer to 100 RMB.

While I have heard claims that China is dangerous, Beijing is actually a very safe city, and I had no issues regarding safety. In actual fact, I found the local community welcoming - even when I couldn't speak much Chinese they tried to be helpful. Similarly, I didn't need any vaccines or medicines to go to China. In terms of healthcare, CSA offers optional insurance if you don't already have travel insurance to cover this, and will accompany you to hospitals if required.

5. Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

As the title of this review suggests, I was very impressed with CSA Beijing and as a result I have signed on for a second semester. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone who wants to learn Chinese and experience China without having to worry about administration issues or language barriers. You'll not only have the opportunity to learn the language and the culture in China, but really enjoy yourself while doing so and also make new friends from all over the world.