Trek to China
by Jonathan Gregg

JG’s preparation plans – a student (with a family) perspective

I’m not sure exactly what’s so funny about fumbling my chopsticks for the millionth time while dropping my sweet and sour chicken all over my new suit, but my wife and son were both laughing hysterically. I could handle my wife laughing at me, but when a 2-year-old gets less of his lunch on him then you do, that gets one thinking. Of course, I was 2/3 of the way through some drink that they set on fire for me, which name I can’t pronounce, so I didn’t think all that much!

Later on it did hit me though, in 5 weeks I’m going to be traveling to China with a wife and a toddler in tow, and I still had a lot to get done!! My illustrious editor here thought it might be helpful for me to share a bit of the preparation I have done, so here it is.

Since I am interested in going to China to learn Mandarin, as well as to get some credits to transfer back to my home university, my first choice was to find a program that could accommodate that. There are a LOT of programs, but since I was initially interested in studying in Beijing I restricted my search to schools in that area. In the end, I had chosen the China Business Program through WorldLink (http://www.worldlinkedu.com), which holds classes at Beijing Chinese Language Academy (BCLA) and Beijing Language and Culture University BLCU). Additionally, the specific program I was looking at also brought in guest speakers from several MNCs operating in China.

However, once I got accepted into Michigan, I started talking to some folks about possible meetings I could set up with industry contacts and alumni, and I soon realized the vast majority of these people were located in Shanghai, not Beijing. Because of that, my priorities shifted a bit, and I started looking for a program that would allow me to spend some time in both cities. I asked around a bit, and a friend recommended the folks at Educasian (http://www.educasian.com) She had heard good things about them, and when I checked they had a summer program that spent 4 weeks in Beijing and 4 weeks in Shanghai, (sweet!) so I gave them a call. I ended up signing up for that program, and I have been extremely happy with Educasian’s service to this point. They have been wonderful in accommodating not only me (which most programs seem to do ok at) but also my need to bring my wife and son along. They were able to arrange for a one-bedroom apartment so we’re not too cramped, as well as arrangements for me to bring my family along on the sightseeing tours they arrange for students. If you’re interested in going, I highly recommend giving Mrs. Arthur at Educasian a call (1 888 ASIA NOW)

Some other important things to keep in mind are:

• Get your passport early! The cost to obtain a passport is usually pretty reasonable, but the turnaround time is 6-8 weeks. We waited to the last minute, and because of that we had to pay an extra $60/passport in addition to overnight fees!

• Get your shots early. Some of the shots (hepatitis A&B) require 6+ months to do the whole sequence, and it can’t be rushed.

• If you’re traveling with children, make sure to talk to your pediatrician well in advance. They have some issues they might needs to cover depending on the age of your child.

• Talk to some parents about tips and tricks for keeping your little one happy on the plane. Food works as a nice bribe, though be careful not to feed them stuff that gets them all wound up. There are several portable DVD players on the market for less than $200, and there’s also a spiffy little kid friendly DVD-like player called the “VideoNow Jr. Player” (available at Target or Amazon).

• Also, if you will be traveling with children, make sure to make one or two shorter plane flights first so you can see how your little one reacts. Some kids take to flying well, and some don’t. You also will want to get used to maneuvering the plane-friendly car seat when you’re not dead tired. (Don’t even think about doing a lap child on that long of a flight!!!)

• Finally, make sure your car seat will fit on the plane you will be taking. Many do, but call the airline to make sure. Additionally, there are several car-seats specifically designed to meet the space requirements on planes, so these might be worth a look.

Click Here to Read Part 2 of Jonathan's journey in China!

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