Anyone else going to Fudan Chinese Language Program Fall 2023?

[Brian Lau]

Would love to say hi or talk about upcoming semester!

[Elena_ailei]

Hi I am participating in the same program this year! Where are you from?

[Brian Lau]

Hi Elena, nice to meet you. I'm from Portland, OR, USA. How about you?

[Jellyfish]

I'm not going there (sadly) but I went there in 2017 on a CI scholarship, had the absolute best time and made friends for life. I wish you guys all the best and if you have any general questions which I might be able to answer (even though most of it must have changed now, six years later) let me know!

[Brian Lau]

thanks for sharing Jelly, anything you wish you would have done the first time around? Can you tell me more about the Unijia dormitory vs fudan foreign students dorm?

[Elena_ailei]

I am from Germany, close to Munich. How old are you Brian? I'm kinda nervous because I'm only 18 and don't have much experience with travelling alone. Do you have a Chinese background and do you know a little Chinese already ?

[Brian Lau]

Hi Elena, I'm actually pretty old compared to students. I'm 35. I knew basic cantonese growing up and took 2 years of Chinese in university. 

 

As for 18 year olds, when I went to Tsinghua in 2012, I think most students were around age 22-25. It's definitely a rewarding experience and I definitely recommend it. Traveling alone is fine, but I'm learning getting the VISA and booking the dormitory can be stressful. 

[Elena_ailei]

Yes, my mum helped me with all the paper work so I didn't have to do all of that on my own. Have you found a dormitory yet? Apparently there are almost no rooms available anymore, fortunately I got a room in the Unijia. 

 

Also how many students were there in the Tsinghua language program? I'm wondering how many people will participate in the Fudan program.

[Brian Lau]

Oh that's great. I think you'll be fine. I haven't found a dorm yet. Unijia was my plan B. Hope they still have space. Did you get building 2 or 8? Is your mum of Chinese heritage? And I assume you got the VISA already? Pretty amazing your mum is letting you go at 18 years old. 

 

When I was at Tsinghua, I want to say there were 300 in the program, but it was a while ago. The Tsinghua campus was huge and beautiful, worth a visit once you get to Shanghai.

[Elena_ailei]

Yes my mum is Chinese. She has studied in Fudan before so she is pretty sure that I will manage everything. I have an appointment for my VISA on friday, hopefully everything will work out. Do you have yours already ?

I got a room in building number 3, I think that's the only one for short term stays. How long are you anticipating to stay in Shanghai ?

 

[Brian Lau]

I see that makes sense now. I don't have my VISA yet, looking at options to mail it in to an embassy service. I think I might stay 5 months minimum. Could be longer. So far I booked my flight from Aug 22 and going to HK around 1/18/24.

 

[Elena_ailei]

Sounds great! How did you pay when you were at Tsinghua? Did you open a bank account in China ?

 

[Brian Lau]

A lot has changed sinced 2012. I think I used mostly cash for eating in the dorm. I think I did open a bank account back then, but I don't quite remember the details.

 

For sure I hope to use Wechat and Alipay and open a bank account this time around.

[Jellyfish]

On 7/10/2023 at 7:06 AM, Brian Lau said:

anything you wish you would have done the first time around? Can you tell me more about the Unijia dormitory vs fudan foreign students dorm?

 

Hey, sorry, I just saw your reply!

 

I don't think Unijia even existed back in 2017, or if it did then I wasn't aware of it. I didn't have to worry about securing a place in the Fudan foreign students' dorm as it was included in the CI scholarship. Back then there were two foreign students' dorms: one in a shared "flat" kind of situation with I think up to four students sharing kitchen and bathroom (with a private single room though), that was the north western building (they all had numbers but I forget which one this was). The other one in the north east was single rooms with en suite bathrooms and one or two big shared kitchen areas including washing machines per floor. The north western building was what was included in my scholarship; the north eastern building was a bit more expensive but after a couple of weeks I decided to pay extra out of pocket and switch to the other building just for the comfort of having a private bathroom (I never needed the kitchen anyway). Tbh I'd have been happy staying in my original room to if it were just me but my partner came to stay for a bit and I didn't want to bother my roommates with all this. (If you want tips on how to smuggle a non-student into the foreign student dorm area, DM me lol.)

 

Overall though both buildings were great (in 2017/2018) and if you can get a room there then I'm sure you'll be fine. I find it strange that the foreign student dorms are fully booked now, there were a huge amount of empty rooms in 2017 when I'm sure the number of foreign students was way higher than it is this year.

 

As for what I wish I'd have done the first time around - maybe I wish I'd stuck with the pottery club and the basketball team a bit more. Around my first or second week there, there was a club fair downwhere all the clubs introduced themselves, down at the basketball courts by the south entrance of the north campus. I joined the pottery club and the basketball team but only went once when I realised that foreign students won't be allowed to compete in official matches (not sure if that's still the case). Still, I think I should have kept going to training at least, the girls were lovely and I'm still in touch with one of them.

 

 

[Elena_ailei]

On 7/15/2023 at 6:55 AM, Jellyfish said:

there was a club fair downwhere all the clubs introduced themselves, down at the basketball courts by the south entrance of the north campus.

Thanks for letting us know about that. This sounds really cool. Hopefully I can join some clubs, too.