Phenomenal Staff, Good Program.

First, I participated in this program when it was at Fudan, and was a more general language and culture program, but this seems to be the current incarnation of it. My third day there I was diagnosed with acute appendicitis, and had to have emergency surgery, alone, thousands of miles away from home. I was terrified and overwhelmed. The resident director, despite having a large group of students under his charge, stayed by my side that whole first evening when I was in pain and when I went into surgery. He eased my mother's fears over the phone. He came everyday to keep me company in the hospital while I recovered, and made sure that I was incorporated into the group when I was discharged. I was so touched by the personal attention and care the staff showed toward me and my family. It inspired me.

Otherwise, the program was pretty good. The language class was challenging and always in the target language. My chinese improved significantly. The culture classes were interesting, but sometimes tended toward really long lectures (one on Friday afternoons). Still I learned a great deal. The trips, especially to western China along the Silk Road were transformative. How else would I have had the opportunity to see the Dunhuang caves, or talk to a Kazakh gentleman in Chinese about American politics?

Overall, I have no regrets at all about participating in this program. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it.