Who's going to BLCU in 2006?

[DaTou]

Ni hao all !

I will start 1 year chinese program at BLCU starting from 27th of february, and I'm wondering if I'll be alone in the campus, or if there are other guys/girls on this forum who happened to have the same idea as me!

A little introduction :

My name is Olivier, I'm from Belgium.

I'm just 30.

I'm working in IT consulting (In fact I created my consulting company (Yeah, call me Mr.CEO (Showing off time )))

My mother tongue is french, I speak english (with french accent, of course!!!) and some chinese.

Why going 1 year in China ? Well I went to China several times, and I enjoyed it a lot. (I had a chinese gf also, that helps. Chinese propaganda have some very effective means )

My objectives are to learn chinese (of course), but also discover the country, culture and see what it is to live in Beijing. Since I'm not a studying machine, the most important for me is to find the right mix between study and fun !

Have a nice day all, and see you maybe at the BlaBla bar!

[puja]

Hi Olivier,

welcome on the forums. I don't know if there's anybody here like you starting in feb 06 (though maybe there are some), but there are definitely some ppl here who already studied at BLCU one term and are continuing for at least another term.

See also the Introduction Thread

Btw, I'm studying Information Systems and worked a little in IT Consulting, too

See you around,

Puja

[LFCLOUDS]

Hey,

I too will be starting in BLCU in FEB 06. High fives! ... huzzah!!

Im Irish, 25 and I'll be doing a 2 year course.

I wont be staying on campus though, I'm in the process of getting an apt sorted as we speak.

Been in China for 2 years and I finally decided I'd better learn the language proper and not just the savage mud-speak of the sticks.

Feel free to drop me a line old boy, do ya!

[DaTou]

Hi Puja,

Thanks, I will post in introduction thread too. I don't know what is best, close this thread and continue in introduction thread or keep this one for new people in BLCU.

Well, we'll see.

Nice to see a fellow geek! I did a lot of Java, now I'm a .NET evangelist. If you are GPL geek you will now throw 21" screens at me

Nice to meet you, LFCLOUDS !

Hope when you said "Old boy" you're talking about that movie I like a lot. If it is about my age, be prepared to feel my martial arts technique ! (I'll show you on St Patrick's day how fast I can drink thanks to WuDang meditation! )

I'll be staying off campus too. I have some business to run and I prefer a single appartment!

You were working in China for these 2 years ?

[puja]

DaTou, no worries, I won't throw any screens at you, I need my laptop here

I did some Java in University, .NET they used for Backend where I used to work about a year ago. I myself had to do more of the frontend and database (statistcs) stuff with PHP (or later Perl).

I'm not that much a programmer though. More into Business/IT Consulting - Last thing I did was writing a Businessplan for a new PBX-Company.

Cheers,

Puja

[earendil31]

Hey all, I'll be at BLCU in Feb 2006 as well! Although I've no cool acronymic computer background to speak of....

I'm American (don't hold it against me! ^_^), from Chicago, and 24 years old. I'll only be there for 4 weeks though, I'm sort of testing the waters before I take the deep dive in September for a year!

Maybe I will run into some of you over there, we mid-westerners are well known for our drinking prowess, too. heh heh

[LFCLOUDS]

DaTou ,

Yup, working in Guizhou.

"Although I've no cool acronymic computer background to speak of.... "

I have an MCP....does that count?.....its been a few years since I worked in I.T, though

[El Buceador]

Hi all!

A lot of IT folks. So to add to the list... I guess I should mention I've been working in IT as a programmer and sys admin but I'm looking for a change in direction, maybe tech writing if it can get me the right visa.

I'm Daniel, 26, 'Merican, and I'm about to send off the application to study at BCLU for 12 weeks from March to June 2006. I'm hoping to go find work some where in East Asia afterwards, or if I have a good experience, seeing about going to school longer term in China.

I've taken a very basic Mandarin class here in Denver, Colorado, which I enjoyed, and I have only traveled to Central America before, so I'm excited to get to live in Asia.

Well, till then I'm playing my language tapes on a loop, although I know I will probably only be able to understand "Hello" for the first week.

Hope to meet you all soon!

[jrsam]

...

[rmdavis82]

Hey all. I'll be going to BLCU at the end of March (twelve week, regular-not intensive-program).

My name is Rosie and I'm 23. I'm from America but am currently teaching in Chengde, China (which is about 250 km northeast of Beijing). I'll be moving to Beijing in March and I can't wait! I have visited Beijing many times and I love it. I think it should be a great city to live in and go to school. Hope to meet some of you!

PS If anyone is arriving early in Beijing and wants to grab a drink or food let me know:)

[amandagmu]

Reading this makes me want to go back sooner! Unfortunately, I have classes in the U.S. (oh yeah, and my job) until May. I think I am coming back next summer again. If anyone is looking for (or knows of) a good place for a single person to stay for a few months (June through August?) then let me know. I might be willing to share a place, if it has internet and is close to the university or wudaokou areas. Otherwise I'm going back to the International Student Center or living on campus by myself.

Either way, I'm also a geek. But I'm changing my life around too (I'm "pulling a 180" is what I tell my other American friends). I have an IT degree, have done IT consulting, and am currently pulling my hair out doing server admin (linux/apache, ugh), PHP, MySQL, et al, on a daily basis. My new career? Chinese history. Or, so I hope (if a school takes me to start next fall). I'll be back in Beijing quite often for language study and research in the future.

If you guys are around in June I may drop a line. But don't worry, you'll meet so many people at BLCU you'll never be bored and will always be able to find someone to eat/drink with, go shopping with, split a taxi with, go sight-seeing with, etc etc...

Amanda

[Jenni]

Hey Guys!!

Im so happy to find this forum!! Im finding so much info on everything!!

i was really nervouse untill i found this website!!

Anyways Im coming to BLCU for the Jan 27th year- long program as well

My name is Jenni, I'm 21 yrs old i come from Canada but I have been living in China for 2 years. China is my home and im so excited to move to Beijing i have been there a few times and its and amazing city!!

So i look forward to meeting you all!!

[sabena]

Hi all, my name is Sabena. 26 yrs old just like Daniel, so don't feel bad for you have a friend I'm an Indonesian Chinese who (hopefully only currently) does not know quite enough of both the Chinese language and the Chinese culture.... thus the pilgrimage. Just like Rosie, I'll be doing the BLCU 12-wk study beginning the end of March. Hey, maybe we'll be in the same class! I was a financial auditor in Dallas, Texas (USA). Notice the word "was" so please don't exclude me from the fun

Looking forward to meeting everyone in school! Oh and I'm still looking into accomodations, so any morsel of information would be so very very appreciated!

[El Buceador]

Hi Sabena!

I lived in Dallas for five years (went to UTD), but about the only part of being Texan that rubbed off is that I find myself saying "y'all" and "tomaytuh" far too often.

Amanda posted info about accomodations that was pretty good:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/63-taiwanese-writer-san-mao26

http://www.iscbeijing.com/accommodation_fees.htm

Myself, I'm coming in on the 24th of March, so I'm going to check this place out, and see about one or two other options before class starts. From what other people have said I gather you can't depend on reservations, and BCLU might not be the best place to stay.

[croyd]

Hi all,

I just called up BCLU and looks like I'm in. So I should be there for the 12 week program beginning at the end of March. My real name is Jeff and I'm a Canadian-born Chinese. I took some Mandarin classes a LONG time ago when I was a kid so I don't remember much. I'll be in the beginner class. I'm a software developer but I need a break from it all. I should be arriving there on March 25 so I can look for a place and get settled.

Hope to see you guys there! Oh, I want to also say thanks to the folks in the forum for helping me out with all my questions.

-Jeff

[shadopup]

Wow, already two other canadians. It's about time.

I already posted in the introduce yourself thread but I guess I'll say hello again here. I'm Davie, been here since last september on a one year scholarship. So I will be here until mid to end July.

At BLCU or in Beijing in general there seems to be very few Canadians. At BLCU I know of only 5, two of whom I met last year who are really young. One whom i've never seen but is apparently also from Quebec. I just met a couple in my new class this semester.

There is a Canadian expat group here one of their little gatherings which I have gone to, though they are a bit older and mostly working rather than studying.

if you'd like any help and/or would like my cell no. feel free to email davie dot chin @ gmail dot com [replace the dots with actually periods and delete the spaces obviously, I do this to avoid spam]

enjoy yourselves,

Davie

(pour sandrine, oui c'est moi, je pense...mais il y en a plusieurs, non?)

[SandTing]

Hey David,

Is that you? It's Sandrine

[lizbitz]

I have also introduced myself somewhere but I'll do it again...

My name is Lauren. I am another 26 year old so it seems there will be quite a few of us. I'll arrive March 28th (cutting it close) with no background in mandarin. I'm doing the 12 week program but am already planning on an extension. Perhaps I'll head south to Yunnan province and continue for another semester. I think I will stay at a hostel for a few days until I am able to get an apartment.

I am really looking forward to the new sights and adventures and of course meeting many of you...

Lauren

[dougdu]

Da jia hao,

My name is Douglas (杜dù 道dào). I am a 19 year old American student located in the eastern hemisphere of America. I plan to study at BLCU starting this Sept. 06 to July. 07 for one year. My reasons on why I like China is because I want to pursue teaching in China because I think I am an adventurous guy and like to make the good of all; accomplishing something great with my life.

Regarding BLCU and its unique life, theoretically speaking, if I study in China for 4 years (BA Degree), it is possible to study the first year and come back the second year? I mean, if my money is sorta' depleting, can I go back to America, earn some money and return back to China, or is that just a big ?

Best regards,

Doug

[fengchen83]

-Name: Feng Chen

-Age: 23

-From: the Netherlands, Amsterdam

-Course: I'm going for the 6 weeks summercourse starting in July. (I would like to go for

a much longer period, but unfortunately I'm not able to because of my college education.

I will take this upcoming journey as a quick taste of the chinese culture, which hopefully

will make me long for more.)

-Why: My parents are from the province Zheijang and they have only taught me

the dialect which is spoken over there. This means that I'm mainly able to

communicate with my relatives. I would like to make a change in this situation.

(and I love food!)

Are there any other summercourse students?