Seriously considering continuing studying in Chengdu in February

[oulaian]

The cram school I work at in Taiwan is closing down at the end of this month so the idea to move to China sooner has presented itself. Just got an email from Sichuan University 'inviting' me to study in February. Actually sounds quite good.

Anyone know of any other options in Chengdu to consider?? Any advice on Chengdu? Info is limited on this site...

P.S. Lived in China for 2 years and have been in taiwan for 1 year. I imagine I have a vocab around 1000 words. That's just listening and speaking. I'm at the sub-100 level for reading and writing for those curious.

Thanks,

Ryan

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At Home Abroad

[Xiao Kui]

i lived in Chengdu 2 yrs. 2002-2004. It's a great city socially and culturally, but the weather is horrible- grey skies most of the time and bad pollution. however it's surrounded by beautiful mtns, some of which are just a little over an hour away, so it's easy to get some fresh air on the weekends. Food is great, too, though spicy.

Most of the people I knew who were studying were at Sichuan University or at the minorities university, and most foreigners seem to live in ZongBei or ZongNan Xiao Qu (closer to Sichuan University) or Yu Lin Xiao Qu (closer to the Minorities University) Minorities university is maybe $200 per semester cheaper. I don't know how it is now- it was $700 a semester then, but some friends complained about their teachers or the pace of their classes. (usually too slow or too fast: classmates at different levels of proficiency?) On the other hand my friends who went to Sichuan U were all satisfied with their classes. Some of them had 1 on 1 classes with their professors. they do have this option there for a little more money.

Chengdu is also a good city to work. Lots of jobs with good pay, yet the cost of living is low compared to an eastern city like Beijing, etc. When I was there I worked at the Golden Apple kindergarten in Zong Bei Xiao Qu which I enjoyed. You should talk to other foreigners before accepting a position anywhere though because there are tons of schools and some of them are awful. There are lots of foreigners' hang outs there where you can probably get some good information, like the Shamrock or Peter's Tex-Mex Grill There is a Mandarin school called 4 Tones and another called 1 To 1 Mandarin that have flexible hours, small class sizes, and decent prices for people who work and want to study on the side. Hope this helps.