<p>I also learn Chinese too. Trying to take HSK this year :)</p>
<p>I am FORCED to learn Chinese by my mother. She insists that it’ll be a benefit in the future, especially I want to purse my study abroad. Here’s what she said, word by word ‘Okay, MonochromeAddict, don’t be such a naive brat. China is emerging as the 2nd most powerful nation, now on the way to outweigh USA. Even now, China’s economy growth is the fastest, and its foreign reserve is the biggest in the world. So get your Mandarin book and STUDY! Or you’ll regret this later!! Don’t sit in front of the TV! It’s useless for you!’…and so on.</p>
<p>When my mum nags, a minute seems like an hour, and an hour seems never ending.</p>
<p>I’m a teenager living in China, but I attend an international school. To me (maybe I’m wrong), there seems to be a misconception as to what an international school really is. The truth of the matter is that in every semi-large city, there is at least one international school with staff from the place who’s curriculum the school teaches. For example, I live in Shanghai. I can tell you as a fact that there are probably at least 15 different international schools here, maybe some worse than others, but all qualified. </p>
<p>I’d also like to point out that there are huge expatriate populations all over China. Some of the applicants to these boarding schools are actually expats who are wanting their children to go back to school in the states but do not see a way to go back themselves as an entire family. Therefore, a reasonable decision would be boarding school.</p>
<p>And at MonochromeAddict:</p>
<p>It’s so true it’s not even funny. Forget about learning any other language, Mandarin is the way to go. I took the AP Chinese test last year, and it was so easy. I got a 5 without a problem. Like seriously, the stuff on it was like stuff you’d learn in kindergarten. The thing is, however, this year, they’ve made it a whole lot harder to make way for more accomplished Chinese speakers and this kind of shows the increased interest in Chinese all over…</p>
<p>Ooh, good luck, Monochrome! I took it in 2008 and the scholarship to the summer camp in Beijing I got was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Those were the awesomest four weeks of my life. Also, don’t sweat it out. It’s terrifically easy.</p>
<p>And really, swamped? I’m taking the AP test in May and am really nervous, cuz I haven’t gone to my AP Chinese class in two months (it’s on weekends)…eep. o_o Always had forensics/volunteering on the same day.</p>
<p>Also, about the international school thing-- swamped is right. I went to an international school in Beijing and it was made up of mostly expats, people who immigrated to foreign countires and then back with children, and really rich Chinese kids. The schools have a mixture of foreign and domestic teachers, and the main language you speak there’s still Chinese, although you can talk away in English with your friends. Not everyone there knows English, though. It’s an international school, so there are people from like…Brazil and France and whatnot.</p>
<p>Good luck for your AP test tuesdays
I am so nervous! </p>
<p>My dad ever wanted to send me to an international school in Shanghai or Beijing.
I declined his kind offer. My written Chinese was so bad I couldn’t imagine writting an essay in that language. What am I supposed to write?!</p>
<p>And, HSK consists of 3 levels (I think). The 3rd one is for international students who want to pursue their graduate studies majoring in Chinese literature etc.
I’m trying to take the 1st and 2nd level. Most of the time I wonder how the hell I can remember those hanzi.</p>
<p>hi, i’m also a chinese. i’m currently living in hong kong and i’m so happy to hear that there are so many other chinese kids applying for bs! by the way, are you all living in china? or your family had immegrated to other foreign countries? i want to know more about chinese applicants to bs. i think i’ll definately following this thread more often in the future.</p>
<p>And, good luck to all the applicants for septemer 2010. Tomorrow’s March 10!!!</p>
<p>Haha thanks monochrome! 8D I have no idea which level I took, it was the one that made so that if you passed you could get a job/go to graduate school in China. Gonnastop, the questions were really easy. But they make you write a random set of characters that I didn’t know for half of them, so I completely bombed that part, haha.</p>
<p>I’ve been to lots of Int’l schools but generally it’s similar to school in whatevr the conutrys curriculum oiur following except your modern language is genneraly the one of the country your living in. Generally you study for IB or A levels depending if its US or UK international school. @mono about china going to overtake the US, I just finished reading a book called ‘the next 100 years’ by george friedman that desputes that. Dunno if it’s right I’m just sayin’</p>
<p>Ooh, Blue, my friend (who’s a genius…srsly he should be applying to bs) read that book last year. And always taunted me with it because I wanted to read it so badly, but he’d never let me borrow it! )8</p>
<p>Also, I’m going to say something really offtopic, but I’d love to go to a LITERALLY international school. Like one of the UWCs-- they’re starting to really interest me.</p>
<p>Really? So many people have said horrible things about IB. Makes me actually want to try it…o_O I actually don’t mind if it’s AP or IB, it’s just the concept of a UWC that sounds so awesome to me :D</p>
Also, don’t sweat it out. It’s terrifically easy.</p>