A few questions

[Liebkuchen]

Hi there!

I'm a 29 year old British female who is hoping to escape from her badly paid, no-prospects clerical job to go to China in Autumn 2010 to ride out a bit of the recession. I need some advice and ideas.

I did an evening class in Mandarin back at uni but as I've forgotten most of it, I'm barely above a complete beginner. I'll have about £8000 saved by the time I leave ($12000).

Option 1 is going travelling for a couple of months where I can indulge in sketching, painting, taking reference photos to do my own art project as well as see lots of the country. But my chinese will be nil. Would a couple of weeks intensive lessons be of much help in this situation? Or would I gain so little to be much help that it would be a waste of money?

Option 2 is doing an academic year at a university. How many hours self study a week would I need to put in to get a grasp of the lessons? Can language students join the student clubs (I'm thinking art and sport)? How do employers see this option when you've got a good, but no where near fluent grap of the language? Is it possible to get scholarships from the universities for subsequent years study? Has anyone found using a year this way has led to negative responses from employers?

What would you guys choose to do in my situation?

[Erbse]

Welcome on board Liebkuchen

I'm a 29 year old British female who is hoping to escape from her badly paid' date=' no-prospects clerical job to go to China in Autumn 2010 to ride out a bit of the recession. I need some advice and ideas. (...) [/quote']

What do you mean by "ride out of recession"?

Do you just want to forget about the recession for a while, or do you want to make a step forward in your career?

If you are looking for a way to step forward with your career, please let us know what is your educational background (apart from a short course in Chinese)? What skills do you have?

[taylor04]

Depending on where you live and your lifestyle, $12000 is plenty to live off of for a year. Longer if you want it to last.

Option 1: A few weeks of intensive lessons won't do you much good, you would almost be better off just traveling with a dictionary. Chinese takes quite a long time before everything "snaps" into place and you start understanding, although the foundation built would create the possibility of it "snapping" into place while in China, but in my opinion it's unlikely.

Option 2: You don't have to do any self study lessons before you start a university program. The universities have programs starting from scratch, but the more you put in the more you get out. It's unlikely to find a job based on your Chinese abilities from only a year of study, but anything can happen.

Option 3: If you are a university graduate, you can easily find an English teaching job while traveling and studying on the side. This would allow you to save most of your money while still achieving your goal (I assume it's seeing China).

If you are going in autumn 2010 why can you only take a few weeks of Chinese studies? I'm assuming Britain has autumn around aug/sept. as well? If so you could squeeze a good 7-8 months of Chinese studies in giving you a very good foundation for your trip.

In the end, the decision is yours, we can give you some advice but you have to decide whats most important. Studying Chinese? Traveling? Just being in China?

[Liebkuchen]

Thanks very much for the replies.

In terms of career, I'm not too bothered aiming on a strict trajectory. Been there, done that. My dream is to become an artist (fine art/illustration).I'd seen the work by an artist who won the travel award from the BP portrait prize. He travelled around the north west of chinese and created a brilliant set of portraits of Uighar people. In China, I want to create a body of work, or at least the research for it so I can complete it back home.

The idea of studying the Chinese language comes partly from the course I did, along with friends at uni who were from Taiwan and that I've known tons of bilingual or polyglots- my best friend is German, and its a skill I greatly admire. I lived in London and was down in Chinatown most Saturdays like a moth to a flame.

Any preparatory language learning ahead of a trip would be limited to my "Practical Chinese Reader" and "My Chinese Coach" on my DS as there are no mandarin classes in my town.

My background: non-teaching education degree, a teaching qual for 3-12 years, 1 year as a class teacher, 3 years as an administrator in a uni, changed job and quickly had a bit of a breakdown, studied art for a year and loved it, and am now stuck in a poorly paid office job. The time off and odd career history when I was unwell puts me at the back of the pile when job hunting so I feel I might as well do something I really enjoy and see where it takes me. (Teaching English isn't really an option as I hated it the first time round). But I'm aware that when I get back to the UK, art or no art, I'm going to need to be able to get another job and it'll probably be something in an office unless my language skills are such that I can use them somehow.

[Erbse]

I guess there are many opportunities for art people in China.

Calligraphy comes to my mind. Classes are widely available.

Then there is Chinese painting, which looks very beautiful.

Photography can be tedious in China. The sky in Eastern China is often very gray due to smog. Sometimes you have to wait for weeks to get that landscape with a perfect blue sky. But I guess that doesn't matter for portraits.

Unless you are a gifted natural language learner, you won't get your Chinese to a level that is sufficient to be used in an office in one year.

A one year visit to China will broaden your horizon and if you are really sure about becoming an artist that might be the way to go.

[imron]

...would be limited to my "Practical Chinese Reader" and "My Chinese Coach" on my DS as there are no mandarin classes in my town.

Do you have the Internet in your town? There is a wealth of language learning material available on the Internet for those looking to self-study. Podcasts, language exchange sites, online tutors, the list goes on and on.

Regarding your options, Option 1 sounds good from a travelling/life experience perspective and you can definitely do it without the language, however you won't get nearly as long a visa as you'd be able to get if you were studying, plus it will be a much more worthwhile and enjoyable experience if you do have the language behind you.

For Option 2, foreign students can join whatever clubs they like, however one thing to keep in mind is that many westerners find the style of teaching at many Chinese universities to be uninspiring. You might get far more mileage out of a private language school and this would also give you greater flexibility with timetabling and scheduling. The forums has plenty of reviews of both universities and language schools, as well the personal experiences of people who have attended them. Have a look around and you'll find plenty of useful information

Regarding scholarships, the Chinese government gives out hundreds (thousands?) of language scholarships every year. See this thread for more information.

[HashiriKata]

Photography can be tedious in China. The sky in Eastern China is often very gray due to smog. Sometimes you have to wait for weeks to get that landscape with a perfect blue sky.

Disagree!

[whereishunter]

One of the biggest problems you will face if you want to stay in China for a long time will be a Chinese visa. Up to 3 months will be no problem as you can do that on a tourist visa. But any longer then you need to do something else. The easiest option is to study at place that will give you a visa. All universities should do this but not too sure about private schools. One of my friends had visa problems at a private school.

You have said that you are not interested in teaching English. But you might be able to find a job teaching Art to students in English. There are many different jobs out there its just about finding the right one and/or being in the right place at the right time.

Another option is to buy a visa and this gives you the freedom to do what you want. There is plenty of information on the internet about doing this.

Good luck