There are a lot of things I wish I had known before going to China, and there are a lot of questions I can finally give answers to now that I am official NSLI-Y alum. For information dealing with acceptance emails and finalist status click HERE. For information regarding the application, click HERE. And for information regarding CLS, click HERE.
CULTURE SHOCK AND HOW TO DEAL
Sometimes it feels like you're not learning anything, and that's okay! Sometimes it can feel like your language skills are regressing as you adjust to the host country, and that's okay. It's okay if you're doubting yourself, and it's perfectly normal. What you need to do is address how you're feeling. You need to be upfront with yourself. If your stressed it's okay to tell someone and even talk about it.
I didn't realize how home sick or culture shocked I was until several weeks after my return to the United States. It wasn't until I went back and reread some of my post that I realized how much of a wall I put up between myself and the country in an attempt to fight off the insecurity.
NSLI-Y is an intense language program and sometimes it feels like everything is coming at you all at once. Take a moment to breath and remember that you are improving and learning despite how you feel. Remember that the state department selected you for a reason. You wouldn't have been award the scholarship if they didn't think you could handle the work load or the environment.
WHAT WAS A TYPICAL DAY LIKE?
8:00-8:50: listening and speaking
8:50-9:00: break (during this time, we could run up to the store and buy snacks.)
9:00-9:50: reading and writing
9:50-10:00: break
10:00-10:50: comprehensive
10:50-11:00: break
11:00-11:50: language practicum
11:50-1:00: lunch (the amount of time we had for lunch would vary depending on the cultural activity for the day)
1:00: cultural activity
On Thursdays after lunch, we would have our RD meeting, and that's when we would present our IOPPs.
WHAT WERE YOUR CULTURAL ACTIVITIES?
Tai chi (every Monday)
Field trips (museums)
Chinese folk songs
Calligraphy
Handy crafts
Acrobatics
Drama rehearsal
WHERE DOES PDO TAKE PLACE?
It depends on your implementing organization. The three places I know PDO takes place in are DC, New York, and Seattle. My PDO was in DC at the Marriott Hotel since that's where we were staying.
WILL I HAVE TIME TO EXPLORE MY PDO CITY?
Probably not. Once an NSLI-Y person picked me up from the airport, I was restricted to the grounds of the hotel. Arrival day you will want to spend time with your friends, and PDO day has you stuck in meetings until 6:00, so there's really no time to explore in the first place.
WHAT ARE SOME MUST HAVES FOR CHINA?
Umbrella and raincoat: It may seem obsessive to bring both, however, the winds during rainstorms can be pretty intense, and an inside out umbrella does no one good. If worst comes to worst, the rain coat can at least keep your clothes dry.
Bug spray: While I personally did use any bug spray on the trip, I know some friends who could have desperately used it. If you know you are prone to mosquito bites, then you better have at least 25% DEET insect spray, or you will be eaten alive. Some people went to the hospital because of how much their mosquito bites swelled up.
Tissues: Buying tissues in China isn't a big deal, but going over, make sure you have a pack in your bag, because 95% of public restrooms will not have toilet paper in the stalls.
Wet whips or hand sanitizer: I personally used the wet whips more than the hand sanitizer, but it was nice to have both on hand. China is dirty, and you will encounter extremely oily food. I personally think having wet whips on hand made some situations much more tolerable.
Oil blotting sheets: China is hot and humid as all get out, and if you have oily skin, then you should considering buying a pack. This made my face feel some much cleaner, and made me feel a little less like crap for the hour my face wasn't basking in it's own oil.
Portable phone charger: You will probably be on your phone more than you realize, whether it be because you're taking photos , or wechatting people. Also, because China is hot, you'll probably notice your phone batter draining quicker as it gets warmer.
Laptop: Having my laptop made IOPPs much easier, and I think, improved the over-all quality of my work since I made visuals. It also made it easier to do research and to study since quizlet does not require a VPN. Having my laptop also meant I got to write a blog post every day.
VPN: VPN stands for virtual private network, and it's job is to hide your IP address. It's typically used to secure your browsing network by hiding your location. This basically means you could be browsing the web in China, but your IP address says your in California, getting you past China's Great Firewall. The only websites I could access without a VPN (that I use on the daily) were Yahoo, Bing, and Quizlet. For a more "authentic" Chinese experience regarding internet culture, forgo the VPN.
Tiny bottle of painkillers: This saved me and my friends so much.
WHERE ARE SOME MUST GOES IN NANJING?
To see a metro map referencing directions, click HERE.
Zifeng Tower: This is the tallest building in Nanjing and the 6th tallest building in China. If you get lucky, you might get to look out the window from the 78th floor. Also, be sure to check out the bathrooms.
Directions from 南大: Get on metro line four (purple line) and go one stop towards 仙林湖. Your stop will be 鼓楼 (gulou) and your exit will be exit 4A.
老门东: You might end up going here for a cultural excursion, but it's worth going back multiple times. The must go place is the panda store.
Directions from 南大: Get on metro line four (purple line) and go two stops to 鸡鸣寺 (towards 仙林湖). You will need to transfer to line 3 (green line). From there, you will go five stops. You will get off at 武定门. I forgot which exit you go out, but there will be signs. Once you exit the subway, you have a 10 minute walk to 老门东, but there will be signs.
KTV: Best in smaller groups, but still fun with a large group of friends
Directions from 南大: There are a bunch of KTVs around Nanjing, but the closest on to the school is probably a 15 minute walk. You can also take bus 83 for one stop if you're feeling especially lazy. If you do walk, walk towards the direction of Zifeng Tower. The building will be on the left side of the street.
新街口: This is a metro stop on line 1 (blue line), but its got a lot of stores that you can access directly from the metro. It's absolutely insane.
Directions from 南大: Take line 4 (purple line) one stop towards 仙林湖. Your stop will be Gulou. Transfer to line 1 (blue line) and head towards CPU. You will take the line one 2 stops.
鸡鸣汤包: This is a 汤包 restaurant that's about a ten minute walk from Nanjing University. It's literally the best thing ever.
Directions from 南大: You're going to walk down the street three blocks in the direction of 龙江. At the light, cross the street facing north. The restaurant will be on your right.
Stationary store: There's a stationary store right across from 鸡鸣汤包 and it's literally the cutest place ever. Warning: the stuff is pricy.
Directions from 南大: See above
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
I was nervous as heck when I realized I might have to use public transportation to get to and from school, but it was actually a lot more fun than I anticipated. Every morning, I had a ten minute walk from my house to the subway station and then a minute ride to school. My host family drove me to school the first day, showed me the rout to school via public transportation days 2-4, and then made me lead the way on day 5. They wouldn't let me go to school by myself until they were confident that I was confident that I knew how to get to school.
Traveling the metro by myself gave me independence and allowed me to explore the city at my own pace. Plus, the metro system in Nanjing is super nice (at least the purple line was.) It's because of the metro that I had a truly in-depth understand of the city's layout. It didn't matter where I was in the city; as long as I could get to a subway station, I knew exactly how to get home. Public transportation is not as scary as it seems!
WHEN DO I GET MY OPI RESULTS?
Everyone who has prior knowledge of the target language is required to take a pre-program OPI. You will typically take your OPI in the months of May and June and will get your results when you arrive in the host country.
Our teachers were walking around with our results, so I just so happen to see my results, but they don't flat out tell you what you got. It's not too hard to guess your score though, because you will be divided up by language level. For example, the beginner class had scores that ranged from novice to intermediate-low, the intermediate class ranged from intermediate-mid to intermediate-high, and the advanced class was advanced-low to advanced-high.
HOW ARE CLASSES DIVIDED?
You will be divided by language level based on your OPI results, however, during the first week of classes, we were free to switch between levels to see which class best suit us. A lot of people ended up moving up to the advanced class, and a few people from the beginner class moved up to the intermediate class.
DO YOU GET GRADED/CAN I GET SCHOOL CREDIT?
We did get grades, but they will not affect your high school grades in any way. We all had to maintain a C- average, or we risked being sent home.
As for high school credit, NSLI-Y cannot technically give you high school credit. They can however write your school a letter explaining the work that you did during the summer. Ultimately, it's up to your high school to decide whether or not they want to give you credit.
(Also, don't be intimidated by grades. The tests and finals are not bad.)
IOPPs
So one of the things you will be required to complete is an "interactive oral presentation project". Basically, you have a list of topics you are given (or you can create your own topic as long as it's approved by the RD), and then you have to do an oral presentation on it. It's divided into two modules. The first one is 3-5 minutes long and requires that you make a vocabulary list, while the second one is 5-8 minutes and requires you to write discussion questions for the class.
My first module was on population studies and government policies. My second module was a continuation of my first and I talked about China's one-child policy and gender inequality.
It wasn't required that we make a power point presentation to go along with our IOPP, but a lot of us did. I did mainly because then the presentation was less of a speech and more of a project. It made me feel more comfortable.
BEDS
Be prepared for the worst sleep of your life as the beds in China are literal planks of wood.
JAY-WALKING
It's safer to jay-walk in China than crossing at the lights since cars can turn left on red. Even if you have the right-of-way, you still run the risk of getting hit by a car. If you jay walk, there's only one direction the car can hit you (bigger streets have a median), so just make sure both sides are clear and run.
FANS
Don't bother bring a batter powered tiny fan because it doesn't actually cool you off; it just propels the warm air into your face at a higher velocity. I recommend buying a hand fan (?) while there because honestly, Ben's sacrifice to my selfish needs was the best thing to ever happen to me. Yes, you will have to fan yourself, but get over it; you will feel so much better.
FOOD
Everything I ate was amazing (and I'm an extremely picky eater.) My best pro-tip is to not ask what you're eating because you can't be disgusted by something if you don't know what it is. I probably ate a plethora of organs that aren't conventional in America, but I have no idea. Honestly, I was chowing down on some jellyfish, but I was instantly turned off by it once I knew what it was. For some people, food is all about mindset, so if it helps you to not know what you're eating, then by all means don't ask.
SQUATTY POTTY
I'm not going to lie: I honestly did realize I was using a squatty potty wrong until after I returned to the US. Please, just look up how to use one before you go. As the name implies, you literally squat over the toilet. If you are standing in any capacity, you are using the toilet wrong. Also, please don't put toilet paper in the toilets. It'll save you some embarrassing encounters. (Not to mention the sewage system isn't adept to handle toilet paper.)