Dalian, China Deciding where to go and pre-application Deciding where to go: Deciding where to go on an exchange is always a tricky one. I think the first thing you really need to decide is what you want to get out of the exchange. For me I decided early on that my biggest priority was to increase my spoken fluency in Mandarin. Being a rather mediocre Chinese student at Otago, I knew that my oral skills were not up to scratch! At Dalian I did find myself speaking a lot of Chinese, and I am very glad that I made the decision to go there. Pre application If you are considering going to DUFL, I would seriously recommend you talk to one of the people who have been there in the last year or two, or get someone in the Chinese department to explain parts of the Chinese language website to you. Application The application process is both a bit frustrating and a very good indication of what you will find when you arrive in China. There is a basic form to fill in to apply to the university. In addition you will be given a physical form to do to apply for your student visa. Do this in New Zealand, and make sure to take originals of all this information with you to China. Having to get it re-done in Dalian is difficult and very costly Accommodation There is a hostel at Dalian, and although it is not the cheapest or nicest option, I think it is a good option especially if you are only there for a semester. You can notify them that you are interested in the hostel before arrival, but don t expect to sort it out or get any confirmation before arriving at Dalian. Don t worry about it! There is plenty of space, and they will simply ask you when you register whether you want a hostel room, and what class of room you want. Pre departure Going to China is both exciting and very scary. If you arrive in a good head-space though, it will be an experience you will love. Packing can be a bit nerve racking. What to take is always a tricky question. I am in two minds about what to say here really. On the one hand I don t think anyone should need to bring more than your twenty kilo baggage allowance. You are not going to some isolated desert town with nothing there. On the other hand, you should not take too little either. China might be viewed as the land of cheap clothes, shoes and consumer products, but I think it is silly to rely on that too much.
Regarding clothes etc, you can buy them in Dalian, and yes they are GENERALLY cheap, however this is not always the case. If you are a tall boy, with big feet, broad shoulders or a slightly fuller figure, you will find it harder to find clothes, and near impossible to find shoes. Well you can find them, but you would generally need to go to the expensive up-market stores. So it always pays to bring all the basic items of clothing you will need. Regarding toiletries etc, you can find most things fairly easily in Dalian, either at the supermarkets or in the general shopping areas. However do be aware that not all brands are available in China, and that there are a lot of fakes of more upmarket western brands, so if you have specific brands that you insist on using, it may pay to bring enough with you to last you your stay. In saying that though everything is available in China, so as long as you are willing to experiment, and occasionally buy a product without being really sure what the label says, then you will be fine! It s actually a bit of an adventure. With your application you will receive a letter asking you to confirm when you will arrive, and asking whether you want the university to send someone to meet you at the airport. My advice is not to get them to come get you. I recommend you just take a taxi yourself, as they will charge you 5-6 times more to pick you up than a taxi would. It is not so scary, although if you are not too confident in telling the driver where to go, I recommend printing out the address of the university and showing it to them. Just saying the name is not enough, as there are two campuses. The Lushun campus is about 50 minutes from the central one where international students are based, so make sure they understand that you want the Yan An Lu campus. Arrival in Dalian Arriving in China can be a bit overwhelming! Just take a breath and enjoy the chaos. When you get your luggage go and find a taxi and get them to take you to the University. There are two gates to the university. The Chinese studies department is at the top gate, so ask the driver to take you to the hill top gate. If they happen to drop you at the bottom gate, just ask one of the students to point you in the right direction. If you can t find someone, just head up the steps and keep going up, it is the block of buildings at the top of the campus. When you arrive you will go through some glass doors into the lobby of the hostel/office area. It will probably be filled with people, many of whom will be smoking and talking loudly in Japanese, Korean or Russian. When you enter there will be a desk on the right, which is where you register and where they will talk to you about the hostel options. They are nice, and someone there usually speaks a bit of English. I would advise though that you ask them to fetch one of the staff who speaks English. This will generally be either a guy who looks a lot like Jackie Chan, or an intimidating woman with a ponytail who most of the student body is afraid of! Both are actually quite helpful, although don t expect them to do it all for you. The status quo is very much that you are left to your own devices. Basically once you have a hostel room sorted, you can dump your gear in your room and then begin the arduous process of registration. There are a number of steps, but there should be a sign and handouts in English to explain to you what to do.
A few points of note. Firstly you will have to pay for your hostel accommodation up front for your entire stay when you register. I strongly recommend you only commit to the hostel for a semester initially, even if you are staying fro a year, as you can simply extend it later on. Extending it is easy, but getting them to refund money once paid is a long and hard battle! They may also ask you to pay fees, but as we are exchange students we do not have to. If they ask just explain that you are an exchange student and it should be ok. I recommend that you bring a reasonable amount of cash with you, either in Yuan or in American Dollars. Most ATMs have transaction limits, and daily withdrawal limits, so even if you have a credit card you may not be able to get enough money out in one transaction. Secondly when you sign up they will ask you your Chinese level. Unless you are a total beginner, you will have to sit a placement test, usually on the Saturday before classes start. This is not so scary, so just go along and have a go. Based on this, they will then stream you into classes. These will be posted on the notice boards in the lobby on the Sunday or Monday. These classes are not fixed at all, and you can switch around. I recommend you try a few different levels in your first couple of days just to get a feel for the levels, and also for the teachers and classmates. The people in your class, and the teachers will greatly effect have you enjoy the rest of your time in Dalian, so take the time to try a few classes! On your first day you will be given a little slip of paper with your class allocation on it. When you go to a different class, just make sure the teacher signs that form, because when you go to change classes, they will want to see signatures from teachers in the class you want to change to. When you have found a class you want to change into, you can simply go to the office and fill in a change of class form. It s actually very easy, although the staff may at times not be particularly helpful. Classes At most levels at Dalian you will have 3-4 classes, normally with different teachers. These are generally basic, which is your fundamental language class, listening, speaking and reading. Class timetables and locations will be posted on notice boards in the lobby. Classes are interesting. Most teachers have a very traditional teaching style that involves them standing in front of the class. It can be a bit intimidating initially, and with classes last 90 minutes, it is thoroughly daunting in your first few weeks. Be prepared to be confused, puzzled, overwhelmed and bored as you find your feet. A bit adjustment for me was that the classes are all taught in Chinese, so one unkown word, phrase or grammar point may be explained with a series of equally incomprehensible terms. Don t worry lots of your class mates will be in the same boat. Ask for help form them, and don t be afraid to ask teachers to repeat/rephrase explanations you don t understand! Some of the classes such as the advanced reading classes will often be very boring. You will learn from it, but be prepared for the fact you may not find the classes very enjoyable. It is important that you talk and contribute in class, and that you ask questions when you don t understand. Unlike at Otago, the teachers will not check whether you got a new concept. It is up to you to make sure you understand, or at least keep questioning
them till you do. In oral classes it is also especially important that you use every opportunity to speak. I was too nervous initially, and it took me half a semester to get more comfortable speaking in front of the class, but once I got there my oral skills increased so rapidly! A note on potential classmates. The Japanese and Koreans will know more characters than you! They study harder, and obviously have some advantages in remembering them. Don t be disheartened by this, it is ALWAYS the case. Use it to your advantage! They are walking dictionaries at times, and are amazing to ask when you forget a character or need to know the stroke order of a character. When it comes to speaking though, we often have the upper-hand. Once we get some confidence, westerners find the spoken classes a lot easier. My advice is not to worry about these differences. They are there, and its useful to be aware of some potential weaknesses. However as long as you play to your strengths and try your best you will be fine. A note on choosing your classes. My first piece of advice is that you should always choose a level where you feel out of your depth at least half the time. It can feel like torture at time, but it forces you to struggle to keep up with your classmates, which means you learn a lot quicker. In addition it means there are always a lot of people in your class to turn to for help if you get stuck. I strongly recommend you do ask your classmates for help, if only because it s a good way to get to know them, given that many of the Asian classmates may be a bit shy to instigate interactions. Money Cash is the order of the day in China, and if you are a card wielding Kiwi like myself, this will take some getting used to. There are ATMs around the city, and most of them can be used to get advances from credit cards. If you find one bank doesn t allow it with your card, just try another bank. If you want to open a local bank account, it is quick and easy to do at the Bank of China in Zhongshan Square. It doesn t take long, and all you need is some money to deposit, and your passport. If you need to change money, the best place is also the Bank of China in Zhongshan Square. Although most banks cannot sell you Yuan, I recommend you go to a money changer in Dunedin before you go. Ask one of your lecturers or Chinese friends where they are. It is really good to at least have some cash with you when you land, as I do not think the airport in Dalian has a currency exchange. Dalian city and surrounds Dalian Dalian is a nice city by Chinese standards. It is home to about 6.5 million people, although it definitely does not seem that big! It is known for its squares and boy there is a lot of them. I think in my time there I visited at least 16, but there was many
I never made it to. It is a nice city to live in, and once you get your head around it its easy to get around. Getting around Getting around is generally by bus, on foot or by taxi. Once you get a good idea of the area surrounding the university, it is easy to walk to most of the places you will need to go. Tesco, Bai Nian Chang, Shenli Guanchang, the main Bank of China office and Xin Hua bookstore are all within about twenty minutes walk of the campus. The bus service is reliable and cheap, at 1 Kuai per trip. It takes a bit of sorting out how the lines work, but once you get your head around it they are quite easy to use. The closest bus stop is at the bottom of the hill, near the 25 Hour KTV (actually its name) The two main bus routes to know are the number 23, which goes via Zhongshan Square (Bank of China, Xinhua bookstore) and Shenli Guanchang (Shopping, Starbucks, MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, 24 hour bowling etc) and the number 27, which goes to San Ba Guanchang (more fast food, shopping, and Carrefour supermarket). By far the most convenient mode of transport are the taxis. There are many of them around, and they are generally easy to find (except during peak hours when its near impossible). A journey up to about 3 km costs only 8 Kuai, and after that its still cheap. Few places, bar the beach and the airport, should cost mare than about 12 Kuai. Its very convenient, and always a good way to practice your oral skills. Things to do Hostel living Facilities The hostel is like a one stop shop. There is a cafeteria and a general store in the basement, where you can get food, snacks and all sorts of essentials like stationary, coat hangers, adapters, toothpaste etc. There are two kitchens, and each floor has a fridge and a laundry. There is a small gym in the basement of the teaching block. It is fairly basic, but is free, and generally empty, so is convenient. Living The hostel provides a great opportunity to meet people. I fully recommend you make the most of it. Seldom will you be faced with so many different cultures in such a close proximity, and you are a fool if you don t use this time to learn and explore all these other cultures. The cafeteria provides a quick and easy place to grab a bite. It is very convenient, especially for breakfast, and is one of the cheaper places to eat. The food is ok, although I think the little eateries around the university provide a much nicer culinary experience. There are two kitchen, on the 3 rd and 5 th floors. They have decent
facilities, and are not bad if you feel like some home cooking. The only drawback is that you need to buy your own kitchenware. In reality few of us really used it. One thing I advise you do is make friends with the girls at the hostel reception. They are a great way to practice your Chinese, and they are a wealth of knowledge about Dalian and the surrounding area. If you need to know where something is, or where you can buy something, they are the first people to ask. If you ask nicely they will even write down directions in Chinese for you to give to the taxi driver Eating For me meal time was one of the greatest things about my time in China. This wasn t really because of the food, although a lot of it was very tasty, but because of the social aspect of it. Since few people cook it is normal to eat out for your lunches and dinners. It is generally cheap, with meals being between 10 and 20 Kuai per person. Generally you will go out with a group of friends, and spend about an hour having a meal. The Chinese way is to order a number of dishes and a bowl of rice each, and then all share. It is a great way to try a lot of different dishes, and it s a nice social time. There is a wide variety of food around the university, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and western options. Some good places to try are Bunker (Korean, just down the hill from the top gate) Café Tratoria (western, across from the top gate) and two nameless Chinese places, one at the top of the hill next to Buddies, and one just down the hill with a Coca Cola sign above the door. The best advice though is to try all the options, and keep trying new places. Ask other students where they go. It s amazing the gems you can find!