5th time to CLI

I just returned from Guilin several days ago after spending 5 weeks at CLI. This was my 5th time at CLI! I have been studying Mandarin Chinese for about 4 years. The first time I traveled to Guilin to attend CLI's immersion program was 3 years ago. My first experience was great. Although my language skills were not very good that first time, all of my teachers were very patient with me and also very encouraging. Learning a new language does not come naturally for me. The next 4 times progressively got better and better! As my level of fluency has slowly increased over the past few years, it has literally opened up a new world for me. I can thank my teachers and the helpful interns at CLI for allowing this to happen. The teachers and interns are all native Chinese speakers. They have all been awesome, not only am I learning a language, but in the process of learning they allow me to experience their culture and history, through instruction as well as through participating in weekly organized activities. All of my teachers over these past several years have been awesome! I can tell that becoming a teacher at CLI is not easy as these teachers must be the best of the best. As the classes are all 1 on 1, your teachers can really work with you and find out what your goals are and which teaching methods seem to work best when having class with you. I have looked forward to and enjoyed every single class session that I have had at CLI. The interns who work at CLI are local college students. Each time I travel to Guilin, a car picks me up at the airport and delivers me to CLI. As I am getting out of the car door, no matter what time it is (including the middle of the night), there is always an intern coming out the front door to meet me and escort me to my room. My first couple of times at CLI, I relied heavily on the assistance provided by the interns. They took me to the bank, accompanied me to places to eat, showed me where the grocery store was and if necessary helped me order food and communicate. They were like my protective bubble as well as personal teacher and friend when I was not in class. This is really a well thought out system! Guilin is an ideal place to learn and practice your language skills. One reason is that there are very few foreigners here and most locals don't speak english. This really forces you to be immersed and you have little choice but to practice your speaking, listening, and reading. Over the years, I have not only become friends with the teachers, interns and employees at CLI but also some of the local business owners and their employees (at the restaurants and shops I frequent). Even though I am a from a foreign country, I am always welcomed in Guilin, as if I was part of the family! Two years ago after returning home, I decided to start taking the online (skype/video) classes with one of my teachers at CLI. This way I can study year round and choose the frequency of classes that works best for me. I still look forward to going back to Guilin each year, however setting up weekly online classes with my teacher has kept me moving in a forward direction while I am back home. As you can tell, I highly recommend CLI!