Nick Chou ’28 talks about his unique month-long OCS experience on the CET Beijing: Janterm program.
Carleton’s study abroad programs are good. Like, freakishly scary good. In my opinion, it’s the school’s biggest highlight. Almost every department has a program worth class credits, and if not, there’s guaranteed a non-Carleton OCS (Off-Campus Study) previously done by a Carl you can explore. It’s harder to find a student who hasn’t done a study abroad than one who has.
This winter, I was in a peculiar situation. Having the term off, I wanted to do something other than sitting on my ass all day and sleeping. That’s when I came across CET, a language study abroad program, historically affiliated with Carleton and taken by many students in the Chinese department. Before I knew it, I had spent the entire month of January in Beijing, China, studying Chinese at a local university. Let me tell you, it was an experience.
And I say this not in a bad way. I could yap for hours about my time there to anyone who would be willing to listen (said person I have yet to find). With my limited 800 word count, however, I wanted to share a few highlights of the trip to convince you to study abroad.
Learning…
Unfortunately, I did want to further my studies in Chinese and not just dilly-dally all day while stuffing my face with hotpot (I did do a lot of that, though). In this program, classes were everyday. However, every program is different. For example, my economics OCS at the University of Cambridge, England, had classes every other day and excursions littered throughout.
This program is specifically intensive, as it crams a full term of Chinese into just one month. Our classes were long, and homework was no joke. These facts are far from a bad thing, though! You spend a lot of time with your teachers inside and outside the classroom, I even had a homemade dinner with my Teaching Assistant’s family!
My class was small: just me and one other student. This was for the best, as each class had two teachers assigned to them. It basically meant that I got private tutoring lessons. With so much specialized focus tailored to my oddly specific weaknesses, my Chinese improved drastically.
The most interesting aspect of the learning part of the program, however, were the class excursions we got to go on every week. I’ll touch upon this again in the next section, but each weekend the entire program would go sightseeing and touring a historical landmark in Beijing. As a class, we explored the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, National Museum of China, and so much more!
A Notable Excursion
On the weekend before finals, our class took a weekend trip to Harbin! Known for its unique Russian-style architecture, it was a weird experience walking through distinctly European streets and hearing Chinese everywhere.
The mind-boggling-ness of Harbin’s Ice and Snow World is truly something I can’t describe. Giant ice sculptures and castles, mile-long ice slides, and a freaking rave (it was crazy, you should search it up). It’s literally the size of a small city. Absolutely insane.
I Still Dream About the Food, Too
A Nick blog isn’t a Nick blog without the discussion of food.
Beijing cuisine is generally a lot of sweet and sour. The best part, though, is that it’s incredibly cheap. Bowls of noodles are $4, hotpot is $12, boba tea is $3. As a Seattleite, it blew my mind that I could get an entire meal for a single-digit USDs.
And the food was so good. Authentic Peking Duck is a must-try. My mouth still waters when I think back to it. I’m drooling right now, and the person sitting across from me is totally judging.
Funny Business
It’s cheesy to mention, but with any group of people united under the detriment of a language barrier, there’s always drama, romance, and tea. Yes, living China is unforgettable, but it truly was the people who shaped my experience the most.
In this program, you live with a local college student as a roommate. They help you with everything: unknown words, 2:00 AM food delivery (fun fact: food delivery is actually cheaper than home-cooking, it’s pretty crazy), pick-up basketball games, and getting lost together in sketchy alleyways. My roommate is the nicest person I’ve ever met. Seriously. I wish I was half the person he is. I can’t wait to see him again.
A Retrospective
Looking back, my month in Beijing still feels slightly unreal, like a compressed version of a life that could’ve been. I went into CET thinking of it as a productive way to spend a term off: improve my Chinese, stay busy, and maybe sightsee a bit. What I didn’t expect was how quickly the experience would force growth. The program was packed, which meant there was no space to coast. Every day carried noticeable weight and improvement. Even small interactions like ordering food, talking to classmates, and navigating the city became markers of progress. My Chinese improved far more rapidly than I thought possible: immersion stopped being optional and became the default way of existing. If you want to read a bit more detailed blog about my experience, check this out!