Greetings from Beijing! My name is Russell Ballard and I am a junior Chinese major in the College. I’ve been studying in Beijing for more than 3 months now, and I absolutely love it here. Life is different in so many ways, but I’ve become so used to the way of life here that I will likely undergo some serious reverse culture shock once I return to America next May. Anyway, I’ve been told that students have expressed interest in a few main areas regarding life in Beijing. Since this is my first post, it’s probably most convenient to break it up question by question. So here goes!
The first question I was asked was what my living situation is like, and how it adds or detracts from my overall experience. To be perfectly honest, the facilities provided by ACC Beijing are beyond exceptional. The program is located at Minzu University (Central University for Ethnic Minorities), which makes for an interesting cultural experience, as it is the only university where all 56 ethnic minority groups are represented. It is common to walk around campus and see groups of people in parks doing traditional dances particular to their culture. Students here speak many different local languages, practice a variety of religions, and come from all over China. Additionally, the west gate of the university leads out to a street with what is allegedly Beijing’s best assortment of “xiao chi” or small snack size foods. I don’t disagree (I will talk more about the food in later posts).
The dorm itself is palatial, and has a pretty good story behind it. The university received a lot of money to renovate its international students dorm, and in an attempt to pull a fast one on the government and turn it party into a hotel to make money, they renovated the dorm to the standards of a 4-star hotel. The government found out and told them they couldn’t rent out hotel rooms and that it only could be a dorm. Because of this, every room is massive (I have one of the smaller rooms, and it’s at least double the size of a new south room), complete with a plasma TV, free wireless, AC, nice carpet, a refrigerator, two safes, and a nice bathroom with a waterfall shower, among other amenities. Complete with two washer and dryers on every floor (the latter of which is rarely found in China), and a ballroom and coffee shop on the first floor, this dorm is edging on ridiculous, and definitely nicer than any I have ever encountered in the US. Needless to say, adjusting to the living situation here has been nothing short of a struggle.
On the other hand, class life here is incredibly challenging most of the time. I did Princeton in Beijing this summer (which is known for its rigor) and though I knew ACC was also challenging, I went in relatively unassuming. I’m currently studying fourth year, and might have more work than I’ve ever had before. Between a minimum 100-200 new vocabulary words to memorize each day (less for lower levels), weekly essays and oral presentations, nightly homework, 4 hours of class a day, and an intense semester-long independent research project…..I’m pretty busy. Class is every Monday -Thursday from 8-11, with an hour-long one-on-one drill session with a teacher in the afternoon. I tend to grab a quick lunch directly after class and start my work right away. If I’m extremely productive I can finish a regular load of homework by about 11, but frequently don’t get to bed until 1:30 or 2, getting up at 7 the following morning to review and go to class. This might sound awful to some people, and there are certainly points where it is 2am and I’m still working despite minimal procrastination and it feels like too much. But the bottom line is that ACC is where you come to learn Chinese. In just two years of Chinese at Georgetown, a summer at PiB, and 3 weeks so far at ACC, I’m reading formal articles written by famous Chinese authors, and having fluent conversations about international relations and economics during my individual sessions. If your goal is to learn is to learn Chinese, I promise you that you aren’t making a mistake by choosing ACC.
I hope I didn’t scare you with that last paragraph, but I did tell you before that I love Beijing, didn’t I? Sure class is tough, but you go through it together with your classmates and immediately bond with everyone because of it. When we aren’t working and have time to enjoy the city, it makes it all worth it. From countless historical and cultural sites, specialized markets, and incredible food, to an extremely lively nightlife, diverse expat community, and the chance to use your Chinese in practical situations ever day, my life is never short of excitement here. Perhaps my favorite weekend activity is KTV (karaoke), which is nothing like karaoke in the US. I never really saw myself as someone who would like singing in front of people like that, but from my first KTV experience I was sold. Rather than standing up awkwardly alone on a stage at a bar, every party has its own private room complete with several flat screens, comfy couches etc. We usually get a room for about 20 of us and take turns sharing the 4 wireless microphones and sing our lungs out before going out for the night. If that’s not enough, they have a free buffet that is actually amazing. It’s hard to know what KTV is like without actually seeing it yourself, but trust me, come to Beijing if only for this one reason.
I hope I didn’t bore you too much, I realize I wrote a lot! I love it here, and have a million and one stories to share. Look for my next post where I will expand more about the food situation here, but if you have any questions about Beijing, Princeton in Beijing, ACC, or anything related to China/Chinese, please don’t hesitate to contact me: rhb25@georgetown.edu.
