Pre-Departure Orientation!

This is my second night staying in a BEAUTIFUL hotel in DC. Life could not get any better. Honestly I would love to spend 6 weeks here- it's amazing!! NSLI-Y and American Councils have been treating us so well, the food, the hotel, everything is just so unbelievable!

Most of the NSLI-Y students had to fly into DC from their hometown. Many had a long flight and were exhausted by the time they walked through the hotel doors! I'm glad that I live close because I was able to drive here with my family. We met the NSLI-Y program implementer, the Resident Director, and the Assistant Resident Director. The RD and the ARD will be coming to Hangzhou with us and staying there during the program. They will provide my much needed support during the program. I've sat in endless hours of meetings in the past day and half, going over our expectations and many tips to help us have the best experience this summer.

We met people who work for the Department of State and I learned about more study abroad programs! In addition to the NSLI-Y summer program, there is also an academic year program. Also, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS), is much like the NSLI-Y scholarship, but for college students. The Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Program and the Gilman Scholarship for Study Abroad provide awards to study and intern abroad. Other programs include the Language Flagship Program, Boren scholarships, National Language Service Corps, FLAS, StarTalk, Thomas Pickering, and the Charles Rangel Program. 

We talked in-depth about our daily schedule in China. We will have 120 hours of intensive language immersion in 6 weeks, which is about equivalent to a year in college! We will have 4 academic hours daily, and about 4 hours of cultural learning in the classroom. We will also have regular testing (not sure how I feel about this yet) and we are required to keep our grades up. But outside of the classroom is where we will really have to implement what we learn in our conversations. Almost everyday we will have a few hours of "free time" to explore the city and the culture of Hangzhou. During this time we will have interactions with others and really stretch our language proficiency skills. Additionally, in the host family's home, I will be required to speak Chinese.

I know this will be an amazing experience and I can't wait! Our plane leaves in 7 hours and I'll be in China before I know it!!!