2009 Summer Study and Travel Program

Our Program

Want to combine your need to study with your desire to travel? Lotus created Study & Tour programs in which students study and live with a host family for their first month in Beijing and then spend the last one week traveling. While studying, students will live with one of our host families. During the last week of the program students get to put their Mandarin skills to the test as we take them on a tour of Xian, Chengdu and Shanghai. During students' stay in Chengdu, students volunteer teach at a recently rebuilt school in Sichuan.

Course Choices

Students have two study options during our Summer Study and Travel Program: BLCU/BNU or the Small Class Program.

Small Class Program

With a maximum of 5 students per class, our Small Class Program provides students a more intensive study-focused atmosphere for quick and effective learning. Most instructors hold teaching positions at renowned institutions such as at Beijing Language and Culture University, Tsinghua University, Peking University and Beijing Normal University.

BLCU/BNU Intensive Mandarin Program
Each weekday morning for four hours (with breaks between classes), students will join BCLU's or BNU's Intensive Mandarin program. The classes offer lectures on the Chinese language as well as instruction on written and oral communication. Students will be graded based on test results, completion of homework and attendance. University credit transfer is dependent upon the student's home institution.

**Please note if less than 10 students sign up for the BLCU/BNU course, the Chinese course location will be changed to small class course.

Accommodation

Homestay in Beijing
We offer homestays for accommodation for a reason. We understand the importance immersion in developing language skills. During the first four weeks of study our students stay with specially matched Chinese families. As a fully integrated family member, you enjoy meals together, watch TV, bargain shop, and experience the daily ins and outs of Chinese life.

We guarantee warm and open-mined families that welcome students and travelers into their intimate living spaces. Lotus students always walk away from this experience having built lasting friendships with their host family members.

Essentially, you can expect your host family treat you as a member of the family. Get ready to meet their friends and relatives on the weekends because we're sure they'll want to introduce you to everyone.

4 Star Hotels in Xi'an, Chengdu, Shanghai and the Sichuan earthquake disaster relief area
During their travels, we arrange for hotel stays for our students. The hotels feature all the amenities you'd find in a western hotel plus 24-hour staff support.

Excursions and Electives in Beijing

In addition to in-class learning, our Summer Study and Travel Programs also feature a variety of activities, including cultural excursions, and free electives. We offer these options to enlighten students to the customs and history of China.

Traditional Entertainment
Students visit classical performance theatres to view an array of customary spectacles including a Peking Opera performance and Chinese acrobatics.

Martial Arts
Students learn Basic positions and routines of contemporary Chinese wushu (martial arts). For instance, during our Tai Ji Chuan workshop the Masterteaches his students how to hone circular motions, which mirror the shape of the yin yang. Our teachers have been practicing since childhood and deeply enjoy sharing the philosophies and hands on lessons with enthusiastic students.

Panel discussion
Lotus believes deeply grasping another culture's viewpoint requires discussion and debate. During our panel discussions, Chinese and foreign students of similar ages test their understanding of the world, while at the same time enhance their foreign language abilities. Discussion topics range from domestic to global issues.

Cooking Classes
Lotus opens it kitchens to students interested in learning how to make traditional vegetarian Chinese dishes. The variety of vegetables, fruits and soy available in China makes being a vegetarian extremely easy (and delicious) here. As an advocate of environmental awareness the Lotus staff chooses to live a strictly vegetarian lifestlye. In addition to being able to enjoy their cooking efforts after the lesson, many students bring recipes back home to give their friends and family a "taste of China".

Weekend Excursions to Historical Sites
Students tour famous historical sites in and around Beijing. These include the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Wangfujing Street, the Lama Temple, the Confucian Temple and the Hutongs and Badachu Park. Our Beijing staff does more than inform students of the relevance of these sites to Chinese history. We believe in hands-on experience and applied learning to make the most of the trip. For instance, during the Lama Temple Tour we teach our students about the significance of lighting incense and then let them test it out in front of one of the many Buddhas or Bodhisattvas.

Hand Craft-Making Class
During every study session Lotus invites hand-made craft (shou gong) specialists to our offices to give students a demo. In the past we have made everything from zhong guo jie (Chinese decorative knots) to ornamental jiaozi (dumplings). These crafts and calligraphy pieces make perfect souvenirs for friends and relatives.

Calligraphy Class
In the Chinese tradition, calligraphy occupies a distinguished position that is separate from all other art forms. It is not only a means of communication, but also a means of expressing a person's inner world in an aesthetic sense. Learning calligraphy can improve a person's temper and promote well being. We invite beginners to take part in a demo to learn the basics of the trade.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Workshop
Visit a Chinese clinic and watch doctors utilize methods like fire cupping and acupuncture. We encourage students to try it out forthemselves!

Volunteering in Beijing

As a non-profit organization, Lotus sponsors and organizes a number of volunteer activities. By exercising such values as filial piety and compassion, we hope to not only raise our students' awareness of world issues, but to encourage them to become contributing members of society. In Chinese we call it 舍得 (she de), meaning you give and you get. Our ultimate mission is to bridge lasting friendships across ethnic, economical and cultural boundaries. We offer a variety of volunteering options inside and outside Beijing.


He Bei Senior Center, Beijing (suburb)
Each semester we organize a volunteer trip to He Bei Lang Fan Yang Shui Wu Xiang Senior Center in the suburbs of Beijing. Lotus arranges this excursion with two objectives in mind. First, we hope to widen the world perspectives of our students by giving them a glimpse of how others live. Second, we hope to promote the Confucian ideal of 孝道 (xiao dao) or filial piety; that is to be dutiful to one's parents and treat elderly people with a great deal of respect, an ingrained value in traditional China.

Tai Zhou Wu Immigrant Schools, Beijing
The Lotus volunteers at the Tai Wu Zhou Immigrant Schools can be found doing anything from drawing pictures to playing music to teaching English. The kids are receptive to just about anything as seeing a new (especially foreign) face brings them great happiness. The school was established to help immigrant children of poor working families who cannot afford to send their children to government subsidized schools. Teachers and volunteers utilize the limited resources to make the place as stimulating as possible for young learners.

Travel Destinations: Xi'an, Chengdu and Shanghai

Xi'an
Xi'an's cultural and historical significance, as well as its' abundant relics and sites, help it to enjoy the laudatory title of 'Natural History Museum'. The Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses is praised as 'the eighth major miracle of the world', The City Wall of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) is the largest and most intact Ming Dynasty castle in the world. Around Xian, the Famen Temple enjoys the reputation of being the 'forefather of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi,' because it holds the finger bones of Sakyamuni -- the founder of Buddhism. Students will also see the renowned Big Goose Pagoda. Big Goose Pagoda is one of the oldest structures in China, also considered to be the most beautiful building left in Xian today.

Chengdu
Named "The Land of Abundance", Chengdu has a pleasant climate, rich products, peaceful life environment and friendly people. An often quoted Chinese saying is, "Once you come to Chengdu, you will not want to leave". This can be attributed to the enviable, relaxed lifestyle enjoyed by locals and foreigners in this recreational and unhurried tourist city. Chengdu's spicy cuisine is also very famous at home and abroad. There is a statement that "All good foods are found in Chengdu". Delicate local snacks are among the highlights of the tour package.

Sichuan Earthquake Relief Site, Sichuan Province
This volunteer excursion affords students the opportunity to teach English at a rebuilt school. As relatively new sponsor of the orphanage Lotus desires to expose its students to the realities facing many children in Sichuan. We hope to expand their horizons so that in the future they rejoin efforts like this.

Shanghai
As the most Westernized city in China after Hong Kong, Shanghai is on the cutting edge of China's race for modernization. Almost a quarter of the world's construction cranes stand in this city of 15 million. On the other hand, architectural remnants of a strong colonial past survive along the charming, winding, bustling streets that make this city undeniably and intimately Chinese. It isn't an ancient Chinese city with loads of historic temples and ruins to visit. It's a young new city more akin to Hong Kong than Beijing.

Schedule & Fees

The Program fee includes:

• Tuition fee and textbooks for the Chinese courses in Beijing.
• Homestay in a family includes private bedroom, breakfast & dinner, computer and DSL service.
• Welcome dinner and other stuff prepared by the host family.
• Daily breakfast and dinner during weekdays, three meals on Sunday
• Cultural activities and weekend excursions in Beijing.
• All transportation (train, air plane and bus), accommodation, three meals/day and tours during the 1 week of travel to Xi'an, Chengdu, Shanghai.
• Airport pick-up and drop-off upon arrival and departure.
• 24 hours assistance, provided by our Beijing office and staff.
• Orientation Package, which includes: Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary, map of Beijing, phone card of 100RMB and a mobile SIM card, etc.
  

Fee does not include:

• Air plane ticket from the US to Beijing and from Shanghai back to the US.
• Insurance (It's a must for students to buy Overseas Traveling Emergency Assistance Medical Insurance)
• Visa application fee
• Lunch on campus during the week days in Beijing
• Transportation between the campus and the host family