Being an adventure seeker, my summer last 2015 was basically
full of dream come true’s. From One Direction concert to my Eurotrip, I had no
idea I'd be packing my bags once again. As
I embark on a one month summer camp in Beijing, I’ve come to realize that I’ve
grown so attached to China and its culture. I have fallen head over heels in
love with my entire stay that I desperately want you guys to feel the same as
well. It was just so hard to feel homesick with everything that I’ve seen and
experienced for one whole month; therefore, I’ve been having this strong urge to
share with all of you the happenings before, during, and after my trip to
China. Hopefully, you like what I came up with.
BEFORE
Last April 21, I arrived at the airport before our said
departure time which was supposedly 8 in the morning; however, our flight was delayed
therefore everything fell behind schedule. Nonetheless, we were able to land
safely around 10pm after our connecting flight to Xiamen.
DURING
Brief Background on the University
We arrived at our university, Beijing Chinese Language and
Culture College (BCLCC, previously known as Beijing Overseas Students Training
School), around midnight. The said university is the one and only institution that
specializes in Chinese education in China. Aside from the university’s outstanding
Chinese teaching and professional service, highly qualified Chinese teachers, and
well-equipped classrooms, there are likewise numerous buildings which they call “dorms”; however, I firmly believe that their description of dorms is similar to that of a hotel. Attached below are pictures of what our rooms looked like. (PS: they also provide housekeeping services, towels, and toothbrush & toothpaste kits daily). The university also offers a wide range of amenities like swimming
pools, playground, basketball court, badminton court, ping pong court, gym,
soccer field, cafeterias, and a small convenience store situated at the back of our "dorm".
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| This is just 1/8 of the university. In fact, the entire place is bigger than Ateneo de Manila University |
As for our classes and study period, we were given breaks in between
20 minutes of lecture. Sadly, I wasn't able to take photos of ALL their facilities :(
Tips:
- The convenience store located at the far end of
the campus sells vanilla mochi ice creams for only three pesos and they are to
die for!!!
- The Brick of Milk Ice sold in the convenience store is yum yum yuuum
- The dorms offer free Wi-Fi although it’s really
slow. Bringing of pocket Wi-Fi is still
highly recommended
Important Events
& Encounters that Happened within One Month
First few days:
- With an end goal to gain new friends, all 50 of
us who participated in the summer camp decided to sneakily gather in the soccer
field at night to play Bang Sack despite our 10pm curfew.
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| Credits to Nicole Cheng for taking a photo of my wet butt! HAHA |
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| Goofing around with the lamp post inside the university |
Middle:
- While my friends and I were at the playground,
we suddenly bumped into two kapwa
Filipina who weren't part of our tour. They told us that the other
buildings / “dorms” in the university were also filled with students from
across the globe and they've all been studying in Beijing for more than a year.
- Aside from them, we also met another Filipina
named Aileen. She toured us around the campus and showed us the way to another
convenient store just across the university. Because BCLCC was located in the
middle of nowhere and there were no malls and other landmarks nearby, Aileen
taught us how to ride a bus to the nearest mall called Aeon. She likewise
introduced us to her Indonesian friends who were also studying in the campus.
- After this incident, my friends and I started
going outside the university even if it wasn’t allowed. We took bus rides to
Aeon most of the time until the moderator caught us and asked the guards to
prohibit young students from leaving the campus.
- I was able to taste the best Pecking Duck when
the parents of our friends from Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA) invited us to join them for dinner outside the campus. Thank you Kate,
Richelle, Sophia, Niccole, and Isabel <3
Last few weeks:
- Since we were forbidden to go outside the campus
without valid reasons, we all decided to sneak out one last time. That day,
there were no available buses bound to Aeon therefore we ended up walking (Imagine
walking from Mall of Asia to Luneta Park). On our way back to the university
(around 9pm), we indisputably had jitters as soon as we noticed the cab drivers
following us, though we were still able to persuade a female cab driver to take
at most four of us back to the university because some of my friends couldn’t
walk any farther.
- It started to rain really hard while the rest of
us were walking back to the university. My feet were filled with blisters and
my body was so weak by the time we got back to our dorms. But despite
everything, it was the kind of adventure I wouldn't mind going on again.
What is a life worth living if it's not on the edge anyway?
Last full day:
- Our supervisor allowed us to sleep outside our
rooms
- In preparation for our last hurrah, we filled up
empty balloons with water in our laundry area. As soon as we were finished
preparing the water balloons, we carried them to the field and played :)
Up to this date, I actually consider myself lucky to have witnessed a little splash of heaven.
AFTER
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