i visited the chinese and taiwanese cultural centres today to inquire about their language study programs, and i was SHOCKED to find out that china had nothing to offer through the centre (which was bigger and nicer than the taiwanese one, btw). they have this 3-week tour in the summer where i can travel and learn mandarin on the side, but that's it... the most they could do for me was give me the contact info of the university that the centre is affiliated with so i can coordinate with the school on my own. oh yah, they couldn't even give me that on the spot cuz the lady couldn't find the brochure. on the other hand, taiwan's got a program that's the cheapest i've come across so far since it's half subsidized by the government, plus it fits perfectly well with my schedule. they've got the summer tour going as well ('love boat' i believe) but like i said before, i'm going there TO LEARN, and anyway, i dun wanna wait til the summer before i can do so.
the reason i'm so shocked is cuz the majority of the mandarin language study programs that i found online were based in china... to find the ones based in taiwan, i had to actually include 'taiwan' in the search. as far as tours ago, i think it woulda been cooler to go to china to visit places like the great wall, tiananmen square, etc. i'm not really sure what famous places there are in taiwan. anyway, i found a coupla good programs in china that were all-inclusive and stuff, but they were waaay too pricey for me... a semester (12 weeks) could easily cost me $5000 US. the program that the taiwanese centre is hooking me up with only costs (considering how well the canadian dollar is doing right now) under $900 per term (which is 7 weeks). that's already with the subsidization and includes everything but the airfare, ie. food, lodging, tuition, materials, extracurricular activities, trips, etc. i think 2 terms will do me good, and the ticket should be cheap if i'm flying in from the philippines. of course, there's always a catch to these things... the program is meant for youth ages 14-24 and they have some pretty crazy rules for me to follow. i'm gonna be with children! i feel like i'm going off to boarding school... the kind where i'll find myself severely disciplined if i talk out of turn in class or they find me awake past bedtime. and i'm not being forced to go, i'm choosing to go... *shudder* now if i had other motives (social or otherwise), then this would definitely not be the program for me. but guess what, i'm gonna do it... for the sake of learning, and nothing else. anyway, it can't possibly compete with my first month in the army :P
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you know, i tried a coupla times to comment on this post.. i forget what i want to say now, but the gist of it was that i don't know how you do it... able to just say take 14 weeks off.. but then again, this is coming from me, a guy who took like 3 months off for nothing :D anyways, i seriously forgot my point for writing... oh, i was gonna comment that you're actually looking to study, hehehe.. and working with kids, by kids you mean, how old? and what are you gonna be working with them with? as in take the same course as them or actually like teach them?
btw, i recall you saying before i'm not asking the 'right' questions... more clarity would be appreciated on that :D unless you just mean that i stay away from the infamous 'why' ones... will do... :D unless i really go braindead and forget...
14 weeks ideally... of course, life is never ideal. just figured it'd be a waste to come back and not be somewhat fluent. i said i'd be with kids since the program is for ppl between the ages of 14-24... i suppose 'teenagers' woulda been more accurate.
as for not asking the 'right' questions... forget i said that! it's a free world, ask whatever u wanna ask... just dun expect me to give u an answer every single time, hehe.
nono, i really want to know what you want me to ask... or more accurately, i really want to know what answers you *want* to give :D hehe, does that make sense to you?
no sense whatsoever. basically, the answers i wanna give are all the things i say to begin with. so if u're gonna base ur questions on what i want to be asked, then u would have no questions to ask at all.
jeff, listen to urself... u're losing it!
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