Up To Speed.

大家好(dajia hao)！Or, in English, hello everyone!  I'm so glad that you're taking the time to read my blog! As Im sure many of you have figured out, I will be using this blog to share my experiences in Beijing, China next semester, where I will be from February 18th to June 1st.

So, why in the world would anyone want to go to China, especially a tall, pale, 19 year old girl (aka, me)? Well, the first answer is...because I'm minoring in Chinese! I know, I know, it's not a particularly usual minor, but I've been taking Chinese for 3 semesters now (the whole time I've been at college) and I absolutely LOVE it. I find the language so fascinating and challenging to learn that it really keeps me on my toes. As for why I decided to study Chinese...as everyone knows, China is an up and coming country that the USA has, and will continue to, have a lot of interaction with. Therefore, I thought it prudent to learn their language, a skill will hopefully make me invaluable when I graduate.

My program is through a provider known as CIEE which stands for Council on International Educational Exchange and the program is called Intensive Chinese Language. The title is pretty self-explanatory. Based on what I've read about the program, I will be taking Chinese language classes everyday from 8-Noon plus a couple other electives and after-school activities (like Kung-Fu!). Not only that, but I will be signing a contract during orientation stating that I will speak only Chinese while I'm over there. And if my teachers catch me speaking anything else, my grade will be docked. Hmmm, we'll have to see how that one goes. I'm hoping I'll be allowed to speak English when I call/skype home.

While in China, I will be studying at Peking University which is Haidian district of Beijing. I've heard that it's kind of like the Harvard of China. It's also built on an old imperial garden so the campus is really pretty and looks something like this:

As for the living situation, I'll be living in what's called the Zhongguanyuan or Global Village which is a 5-minute walk from the South Gate of campus. It's a compound that was built to house foreign students as well as foreign businessmen and other visitors. Considering it's called the "Global Village" I'm hoping that I will run into all sorts of people from all over the world!

I think that's all I have to share with you guys so far! As long as I'm in the states, and I don't leave until February 17, I'll have access to Facebook (apparently it's blocked in China) and will post links to new posts on there. Keep and eye out for some upcoming posts about how to learn Chinese at home! If you all have any questions, feel free to comment or email me at melaniergoebel@yahoo.com.