Immigration to China

I posted this message in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University online forum (English section) and got about a dozen responses in the first week:

TITLE: An American looking for language study partners

Hi,
my name is Andrei and I’m a new student here at SJTU (Xuhui campus).

To complement my language studies, I want to practice conversational Mandarin
Chinese. In exchange, I will teach you how to speak American English.

It’s a win-win deal.

If you’re interested, please call me 137-6443-0514 (or email a*****.g*******@gmail.com) to schedule a meeting on campus.

Thanks,
Andrei

Why are language study partners such a good idea? 

Well, firstly, it’s a great way to practice all of the textbook material that gets poured at us in the classroom. To tell you the truth, the classroom environment itself is really boring and predictable. Instead of having alive face-to-face conversations, we are confined to practicing pre-written monologues and dialogues. Of course, you can always hire a private tutor to help you along, but it is fairly expensive (RMB 100/hour) and too business-like. Language exchange involves direct exchange of value without money being involved, making it more informal.

More importantly though, language exchange is a great way to meet new people and get to know real Chinese people and culture. What I’ve noticed a lot in interactions with my classmates is that they tend to hang around people of their  origins. For example, Russian students here mostly socialize with Russians and other westerners. As a consequence, they do not become immersed in this country’s language and culture. This is not really what I want from my China adventure.

As a result of my language exchange search, I’ve already met several cool people who are likely to become good friends in the future. They pursue various degrees, have different interests and hobbies, and come from all corners of China. I’ve learned a lot about their life and their aspirations. This is the kind of invaluable learning that you can never get with a textbook or a classroom. Staying on course!