Anyone at BNU fall '09?

[hanxue]

I'm currently trying to book a dorm for the next semester. Since B1 is currently full, I'm either going for B2 or F1. From what I understand, B2 is an apt with 2 single bedrooms + 1 small living room for 85 RMB/day, while F1 is a single room for 80 RMB/day. From what I've seen in the comparison chart, the only difference between the two is that B2 has a night stand, while F1 doesn't. Ok, and B2 also has a small living room.

Are there any other differences I should be aware of? Which one is closer to the classroom? Which one has nicer rooms? Do you guys have any other info that might help me choose the room easier?

I'd appreciate any help!

Edited December 16, 2009 at 08:15 AM by jon09

[hanxue]

Anyone?

[roddy]

I'm pretty sure if you look back through old BNU topics you'll find descriptions of the rooms. I've never seen any of them, but the campus isn't big enough that you need to worry about being close to classrooms - it's no more than a ten minute walk end to end.

[adrianlondon]

Ah, didn't notice you'd posted this as well as sending me a private message, Jon09. So I'll cut and paste my reply here as well, with typos checked ;)

Hi Jon,

I was there in 2006 so things might have changed. I don't know what these "B1" "F1" etc names are. Are they the names of the room types in dorm No 3? I only know about Dorm 3 as that's where I stayed. If so, then ... the single room consists of a bedroom/study/TV area and a bathroom with shower. The double roomed places, which is what I stayed in, have two bedroom/study areas (for two people), a small living area with sofa and TV and the bathroom is bigger (and has a bath with shower attachment).

I preferred the double room as I knew no-one and it meant there was at least one person who had to interact with me ;) As it happend I shared with an Indonesian guy and it was his second semester, so he knew the ropes, spoke some mandarin, and had many friends. It was a great thing for me. The single rooms are more private, obviously, as there's no one sharing the bathroom with you, but they can be a bit lonely unless you already have friends. And there's no communal area so friends end up sitting on your bed if you invite them over.

[hanxue]

Thanks Adrian. By "B2" and "F1" I referred to the dorms as named in this chart: http://www.bnulxsh.com/20090310_ruxue_zhufang-en.html

So the F dorms would be No. 2 International Dorms... Are you familiar at all with any of those other than B (no. 3)?

[adrianlondon]

I only know about Dorm 3 (第三). The other dorms have shared rooms - two beds in one room. Not sure if they have private rooms as well. In Dorm 3 no one shares a room (apart from the cleaners!).

[hanxue]

Thank you, I appreciate your help!

I would really like to know another thing: how long is spring semester? From March until July? If so, July when?

Thanks!

[adrianlondon]

BNU is notoriously bad at making dates available. Even in Dorm 3, which is only for foreigners, they don't put signs up saying when to register, when to pick electives (stuff like wushu, calligraphy etc.) or when exams are. You just wander around in a daze joining queues of other confused foreigners, hoping they're queueing for something interesting.

Even getting a canteen card proved complex back in 2006. I hope things have improved. If not, it's important to latch onto people who arrived the semester before you and look sorted ;)

At least it's all online now, although it assumes you've learnt Mandarin already - a fact I always found odd. And irritating.

http://www.bnulxsh.com/letters/0902134_ch.htm

You need to register between 11th and 13th Feb. I can't tell which exam marks the end of classes, but it appears term finishes on 12th June.

[hanxue]

Hmm, I guess they still need to update that. Just a couple of days ago I gave them a call and they said the registration period will be from Feb. 24-26.... I forgot to ask about how long the semester will last, though.

It's really annoying how they hardly provide any info about the semester schedule and all that. I'm about to book my plane ticket for returning back from Beijing on July 10, but I'd really like to know if the class will end soon enough to give me additional 2 weeks or so before my departure so that I could go travel around China a bit.

Well, I do hope it ends by the end of June....

[d4rk182]

heyy...

i;m indonesian and i'll go to BNU this february 2010

i'm so excited btw....

i take dorm no.3 B3 room

i hope i'll found a great roomate there who could help me improving my chinese

because i come to bNU without good preparation....