I am entering my third year at º£½ÇÉçÇø with a double major in English Literature and Economics and a minor in Mandarin Chinese. I chose to apply to the LKS Program because I strongly believe in the power of immersion for language acquisition, and I thought this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’m happy to say that both beliefs were proven true!
During my month at Shantou, I got to deeply explore southern Chinese culture alongside an amazing group, meet and form long-lasting friendships with the kindest Chinese students who graciously worked as our TAs, and practice my Chinese on a daily basis like I never have before. The experiences I had were unforgettable. Getting to go to Gu Lang Yu, Xiamen, Meizhou, and more with this group of people made the cultural immersion less daunting and all the more exciting. And despite all the homesickness and jetlag, I always knew that I could rely on the people in the LKS group to support me.
I would say that some key highlights of this program were the weekly excursions that I mentioned above. It was so exciting to get to see how even in just southern China, there is such a variety of cuisines, traditions, and dialects. I particularly loved visiting a tea plantation in Meizhou, where we got to really connect with nature and see a completely different side of China, separate from the bustling cities we were used to. Jumping off of that, all the tea we got to drink throughout our time in China was an unexpected highlight for me. This program has made me a new tea lover, as we learned the history of Gongfu tea and indulged in it several times.
Although the extracurricular sides of the program were so exciting, I was also very pleased with the nature of our classes. The classes are designed to be engaging and highly educative. I feel that the design of the first half of the day as a lecture with a professor and the second half as a more laid-back session with TAs kept this program from being overly stressful, while also teaching us many keywords that are very useful in daily life. We got to learn so much lingo that I don’t think I would’ve been able to learn normally! The professors and TAs were incredibly hardworking and giving with their time. Their generosity and kindness were a huge motivator in my studies.
For anybody interested in participating in the future, I would say the best thing you can do is enter this program with an open mind. Flexibility is key – although everything is very exciting, there are many things up in the air. Be able to pivot at a moment’s notice! But don’t worry, there’s an amazing team from the advisors, teachers, and TAs, to your new close-knit group of friends. As long as you remember that you’re not alone in this experience, you’ll be alright. You might not talk about it together at first, but you’ll soon be able to commiserate with your peers in the LKS group about homesickness, culture shock, and more. But even more than that, you’ll be able to share some extraordinary experiences together. I hope you’ll enjoy it every bit as much as I did.