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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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 Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:16 am Post subject: Dalian, China |
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Hi,
Has anyone here lived or lives in Dalian?
I'm thinking about going there to learn Mandarin.
Has anyone done anything similar there?
What did you think of the city, e.g. food, lifestyle, nightlife; how did it compare to Korea?
Thanks |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:06 am Post subject: |
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| My friend lives there and likes it a lot. People there are very friendly. It is very cold there for about 5 months a year. Beautiful place. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:51 am Post subject: |
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| Dalian is OK. Small city by the coast... not a lot to do. |
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DCJames
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:33 pm Post subject: Re: Dalian, China |
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| hugekebab wrote: |
What did you think of the city, e.g. food, lifestyle, nightlife; how did it compare to Korea?
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I've heard there are ALOT of desperate hookers available if that's what you're looking for. |
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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:35 pm Post subject: Re: Dalian, China |
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| DCJames wrote: |
| hugekebab wrote: |
What did you think of the city, e.g. food, lifestyle, nightlife; how did it compare to Korea?
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I've heard there are ALOT of desperate hookers available if that's what you're looking for. |
Lol no mate, I mean pubs and legitimate nightclubs. |
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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:38 pm Post subject: Re: Dalian, China |
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| DCJames wrote: |
| hugekebab wrote: |
What did you think of the city, e.g. food, lifestyle, nightlife; how did it compare to Korea?
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I've heard there are ALOT of desperate hookers available if that's what you're looking for. |
The reason im thinking about it is because I want to learn Mandarin and have heard that the tuition fees would be a lot cheaper there than the larger cities; I've also seen pictures of it on the web and it looks refreshingly unlike a Chinese city. |
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pugwall
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Dalian is a good a city as any to study Chinese. Its a pleasant place, nice and clean. It gets really cold for a lot of the year if that concerns you. Their Mandarin should be pretty good as is you are moving towards Heilongjiang. There are a few bars there, I remember a good nepalese bar with nice pizzas and a decent club called JD's that is frequented by expats, students etc but it is a very quiet city and you dont even see many people on the streets. Also think how much time and effort it takes to study Chinese, you need to be really devoted to your studies as the first year is very hard if you want progress. Also be ready for being placed with Koreans who can pick things up with much more ease than you because of similarities of language and study style. Beijing is too expensive these days IMO and too many people there speak English. Look to get a university student to tutor you a few times a week for a couple of hours. This will make a good difference on top of your uni studies. Kunming is a city which is popular for Chinese study because of the nice weather and Xian Jiaotong has really respected courses. |
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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:42 am Post subject: |
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| pugwall wrote: |
| Dalian is a good a city as any to study Chinese. Its a pleasant place, nice and clean. It gets really cold for a lot of the year if that concerns you. Their Mandarin should be pretty good as is you are moving towards Heilongjiang. There are a few bars there, I remember a good nepalese bar with nice pizzas and a decent club called JD's that is frequented by expats, students etc but it is a very quiet city and you dont even see many people on the streets. Also think how much time and effort it takes to study Chinese, you need to be really devoted to your studies as the first year is very hard if you want progress. Also be ready for being placed with Koreans who can pick things up with much more ease than you because of similarities of language and study style. Beijing is too expensive these days IMO and too many people there speak English. Look to get a university student to tutor you a few times a week for a couple of hours. This will make a good difference on top of your uni studies. Kunming is a city which is popular for Chinese study because of the nice weather and Xian Jiaotong has really respected courses. |
Thanks for the more detailed post.
The cold is no problem. I realise I'm really going to have to dig in and work hard the first year (although I'm sure I won't realise quite how frustrating it is until I'm in that position, as it always goes.)
Studying with Koreans worries me if the students at my uni are anything to go by. Is it the usual nonsense of them being too embarrassed to speak in class and the red faces and giggles, because I really don't want to study in that environment.
Do you think private schools with small classes might be better (hagwons basically)?
I was also considering Nanjing university; do you think that the latter may have less Korean students?
Am I going to be looking at 40+ class sizes on individual desks in the unis?
Thanks for the input, I need a reality check before I jump into this, although I'm very much up for it. |
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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:48 am Post subject: |
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Kunming...aah yeh my girlfriend was on about that place last year; it's the place that always has springtime weather, no?
Hmmm this sounds like a nice option; have you ever lived, or visited there?
Are there any language schools you can recommend in Kunming? |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 6:36 am Post subject: |
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Best way to learn Chinese is to take a University teaching job in a small city.
You will only have to work 12 classes a week and lots of people will help you out.
You get a free apartment and more than enough to live on.
When I wanted free Chinese lessons I would just walk outside with my book and so many people would teach me.
There was also many pretty girls who would teach in exchange for a nice dinner. A nice dinner in out town cost about 25rmb for two people. Thats about 3.50 U.S. |
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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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| D.D. wrote: |
Best way to learn Chinese is to take a University teaching job in a small city.
You will only have to work 12 classes a week and lots of people will help you out.
You get a free apartment and more than enough to live on.
When I wanted free Chinese lessons I would just walk outside with my book and so many people would teach me.
There was also many pretty girls who would teach in exchange for a nice dinner. A nice dinner in out town cost about 25rmb for two people. Thats about 3.50 U.S. |
This is worth considering. however my experience in korea for my university job is that they always want you to do extra 'special classes' meaning that more time is taken up; do the uni jobs in china tend to be like this? |
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pugwall
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| hugekebab wrote: |
| pugwall wrote: |
| Dalian is a good a city as any to study Chinese. Its a pleasant place, nice and clean. It gets really cold for a lot of the year if that concerns you. Their Mandarin should be pretty good as is you are moving towards Heilongjiang. There are a few bars there, I remember a good nepalese bar with nice pizzas and a decent club called JD's that is frequented by expats, students etc but it is a very quiet city and you dont even see many people on the streets. Also think how much time and effort it takes to study Chinese, you need to be really devoted to your studies as the first year is very hard if you want progress. Also be ready for being placed with Koreans who can pick things up with much more ease than you because of similarities of language and study style. Beijing is too expensive these days IMO and too many people there speak English. Look to get a university student to tutor you a few times a week for a couple of hours. This will make a good difference on top of your uni studies. Kunming is a city which is popular for Chinese study because of the nice weather and Xian Jiaotong has really respected courses. |
Thanks for the more detailed post.
The cold is no problem. I realise I'm really going to have to dig in and work hard the first year (although I'm sure I won't realise quite how frustrating it is until I'm in that position, as it always goes.)
Studying with Koreans worries me if the students at my uni are anything to go by. Is it the usual nonsense of them being too embarrassed to speak in class and the red faces and giggles, because I really don't want to study in that environment.
Do you think private schools with small classes might be better (hagwons basically)?
I was also considering Nanjing university; do you think that the latter may have less Korean students?
Am I going to be looking at 40+ class sizes on individual desks in the unis?
Thanks for the input, I need a reality check before I jump into this, although I'm very much up for it. |
I study at a uni with a LOT of Koreans. They really are a pain to study with, never speaking, laughing at people making mistakes, insular, rude to chinese people etc etc. Some are great students but most are around 19-21. They will progress faster than you though which is annoying. Their study habits are suitable for Chinese and they already know lots of characters. They are exam machines as well and will get much higher score on exams than you no matter how hard you try. Avoiding places with a lot of Koreans is not a bad idea.
Private schools are better I think than unis . You are looking at around 20 students in a class and most of them Asian so not much speaking.
http://en.elcec.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/moban1.html
this place is suitable I think. |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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| hugekebab wrote: |
| D.D. wrote: |
Best way to learn Chinese is to take a University teaching job in a small city.
You will only have to work 12 classes a week and lots of people will help you out.
You get a free apartment and more than enough to live on.
When I wanted free Chinese lessons I would just walk outside with my book and so many people would teach me.
There was also many pretty girls who would teach in exchange for a nice dinner. A nice dinner in out town cost about 25rmb for two people. Thats about 3.50 U.S. |
This is worth considering. however my experience in korea for my university job is that they always want you to do extra 'special classes' meaning that more time is taken up; do the uni jobs in china tend to be like this? |
Most I ever did extra was an English corner about once every two months.
Why pay to learn Chinese when you can get a free place and a salary with endless time to study. |
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hugekebab
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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I sort of agree. But I wanted to go seriously hardcore and do fulltime. It's kind of been something I've wanted to do. If I teach I know myself and I know I won't do anywhere near as much studying i'm ashamed to say.
Great advice lots of things to think about any other advice is much appreciated. B |
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superdave
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Location: over there ----->
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| Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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www.dalianxpat.com
this is a lively board with lots of expats and discussion about local life.
would probably be very useful
(ugly arse site ... but lots of info) |
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