Student name: Mr. Adam Ingamells
Nationality: Australia
Time in Global Exchange Center: 8 weeks from 3rd. Mar. 2014

I knew that learning Chinese would be difficult but I also discovered that it
was a lot of fun. Since coming to Beijing, I have greatly enjoyed studying
Hanyu and I'm putting a lot of work in to try and get the most out of it.
I practice in real world situations every day and, even when I don't feel
especially up to it, if a person can't speak English, I'll be practicing my
Chinese. Learning to read characters has been very rewarding. It is something
I can study easily outside of class and practice everywhere by reading 
signs, menus, labels, and advertising. My teacher also tells me about 
the etymology of characters, words, and phrases which I have found exciting. 
He has been an excellent teacher and has helped me understand Chinese 
life by introducing me to new things and answering my questions. I could easily
spend every lesson asking questions about the transport system, history, education,
or recreation, for example, but then I wouldn't learn much of the language. Beijing
is more modern, has better food and more blue skies than I expected. The traffic
and the pollution are scary and there's more advertising than I've seen anywhere
else. The people are friendly and the dogs are pure joy. I can't begin to comprehend
the size or logic of the city but it feels normal to me now.