Author Archives: Drew Fishman

Well, it’s over. I’m currently writing this on the airplane on the way home, helplessly tired at 30,000 feet high in the sky and stressing about re-arranging my layover flight after a two-hour delay on the runway. But in spite … Continue reading →

Week 8 at HBA, my penultimate week, progressed in much the same manner as many of my other weeks at HBA. Academically, this was my toughest week at HBA thus far. In class, we went over traditional Chinese movie scripts, … Continue reading →

Well, after only 2 weeks we’re halfway through the semester. It’s amazing how quickly this whole experience is flying by. In the first week of the program, each day lasts a week and speaking 12+ hours worth of Chinese leaves … Continue reading →

At HBA, the 6th week is the equivalent of a start of a new semester. We get new textbooks, the structure of the class changes slightly, and, naturally, the workload significantly increases. What I think differentiates 4th year at HBA … Continue reading →

The 社会调查 is definitely HBA’s most distinctive feature. Acting as a buffer between the two “semesters” of the program, the social study trip gives us an opportunity to learn more about Chinese language and culture outside the classroom in a … Continue reading →

I’m only able to post week 4 now as this entire past week I’ve been in Inner Mongolia and have not had a proper chance to sit down and reflect on/write about my experiences. While I’ll use week 5’s post … Continue reading →

Seems that we’ve now finally reached the point of smooth sailing. After what was an extremely turbulent start to the program, I am now fully confident that I’ve found my groove and have settled into an extremely comfortable and rewarding … Continue reading →

This week went significantly better than last week. I finally feel as if I’ve settled into Beijing and have found a healthy routine to which I can keep myself anchored. This week in classes, we won’t over art and commercialization, … Continue reading →

My first week abroad was definitely one of the most tumultuous weeks of my life. After studying in Europe for the year, I thought that I was entirely immune to the usual setbacks that face a student when they’re displaced … Continue reading →