Jamie USA

These past 10 months I’ve been in China studying Mandarin with LTL. I started out in Beijing and then for the final leg of my trip I was in Chengde, Hebei.

My homestay in Chengde was the best! They were amazing! They were like my second family. In the mornings I’d wake up at 6am to do some morning exercise with Nainai (奶奶, grandma), we’d go public square dancing (广场舞, guang chang wu) and then after that was done I played air volleyball (打气排球, da qi paiqiu) with the locals. Then I’d come home to find Nainai making breakfast, everyday was something different, but we normally ate hard boiled eggs, xiao mi zhou (小米粥, millet porridge), man tou (馒头, baked bread) and fresh raw vegetables with bean dip.

After breakfast I’d get ready for class. By the time class was over Biaomei (表妹, younger sister cousin) would have already come home from school and Yeye (爷爷, grandpa) would be in the kitchen making lunch. All six of us, Yeye, Nainai, Biaomei, Ayi (阿姨, Auntie), Baobao (宝宝, baby) and I, would watch TV and eat lunch together.

In the afternoons sometimes I’d go grocery shopping with Ayi and Biaomei, go to work with Nainai, or just walk around town by myself. After Shushu (叔叔, Uncle) came home from work, he would cook dinner. I liked it when he cooked; he makes the best food, especially his fish. Sometimes I’d watch him cook and try to pick up a few tips. After dinner Nainai and I would go out dancing again. That was basically my daily life when I was at the homestay and I really enjoyed it.

I was originally supposed to stay in Chengde for a month and then I ended up staying for four. 🙂

Elliot France

I wanted to improve my Chinese beyond studying at home so I knew the best way was to spend some time in China. I was looking for an exchange program, but most offered an exchange for one full year. I wanted something more like a summer camp so I came across LTL.

I’ve been to China quite a few times before but this was my first time living in a Chinese household.

There wasn’t a huge culture shock, but they’re a few things that I learned such as new eating habits.

After arriving in Chengde, the car ride from Beijing airport there were no problems I got all the information I needed.

The Homestay itself I was living with a lady who is retired so it was just me and her. She has a bunch of gifts from students on the shelves.

I had a great time living with her. She’s really good at cooking. She was very nice and didn’t let me help her clean.

The first week was quite difficult, it seemed to pass quite slowly. Not the culture shock, the shock of having to use only Chinese and nothing else. Nothing was wrong. Everything was great. She has so many students come to her house, she knows everything that I was going through.

I had two teachers. Every day of the week. From 1:30 to 3:30, and then 4-6. Zora and Icy.

With Zora we focused on vocabulary and reading the texts in the HSK book and with Icy I studied the grammar exercises in the book. During LTL activities other LTL students would compliment me on my improved Chinese which was a nice boost in confidence to keep talking in public.

The whole experience was really just about being with no one who is not from China. The foreigners I saw I could count on my hand. The only other foreigners I met are other LTL students. There were about 5 – 7 students at any given time.

As for Chengde itself, the city was not hard to get around, the buses work well. It’s a lot cheaper to simply go on a taxi if you don’t know the buses. There are loads of restaurants around, you’re not gonna starve.

This has been a great boost to my Chinese.

It’s quite likely I will do another trip like this. Not sure when or how long. I would love to come back to Chengde, to catch up with my homestay and teachers.

Mark Estonia

I decided to go to Chengde to try new experience. Chengde is a small city with not so many western restaurants, bars, clubs or foreigners. This is perfect if you want to isolate yourself from all possible distractions and just focus on your Chinese learning. The speed of learning is much quicker in Chengde than in Beijing,

My Chinese host family has helped me a lot to speak with the correct tones and grammar.

I would really recommend to learn Chinese with LTL Mandarin School.

Gibson USA

I came to China not knowing what to expect. I had studied Chinese in the classroom a little, but on arriving at my new homestay family in Beijing, my first thought was, “What have I let myself in for?” My host family didn’t speak English, the weather was hot, and the sights and smells were totally unfamiliar.

Fortunately, within the week these problems had righted themselves. My host family were fantastic, not just for my Chinese but in looking after me. The smell turned out to be the smell of dinner, and having tasted it I pretty quickly began to love the smell, following the delicious aromas to the kitchen to enquire what they came from and practice my Chinese. Meeting Chinese people and making friends turned out to be a side-effect of practising my Chinese. Once I realised I could just start conversations with anyone, no matter how basic, I discovered that what I thought was a disapproving glare (seen in old Chinese people wherever you go) turned out to be curiosity, a smile and a greeting makes the most stern looking Chinese person beam radiantly and start talking excitedly.

I went on holiday three times with my host family, to the Buddhist holy mountains of WuTaiShan (for which I temporarily converted to Buddhism as a conversation piece), to Xi’an (where I was unwittingly lured into giving an Elvis impression to over a hundred old Chinese pensioners), to Sichuan (where in two weeks I, probably forever, ruined my digestion).

The biggest lesson I have learnt in China is to just go for it. No-one in China is standing still, everything is always moving, always shifting, and if you want something, just do it! Want to practice Tai Chi? Just find some old ladies in a park and ask if you can join in. Want to find an obscure item? Just ask anyone, from the taxi drivers to the security guards outside the building. Want to try/learn about Chinese tea ceremony? Just go to a tea shop and ask questions. Chinese people are invariably helpful and generous, and speaking Chinese is a sure ticket into any Chinese person’s heart.