Everything study abroad for the week of February 19, 2012

Spring semester has started, and I’m sure every other study abroad student is just as busy as me trying to adjust to a new (and very early) school schedule. The warm temperatures are slowly making their way into Beijing, and when both the nice weather arrives and I’m finally adjusted to my schedule, I’m going to be a very happy man. No new blogger introductions this week, but this edition of Study Abroad Sense features a new section, “Study Abroad Student Travel”, in which I’ll hopefully be able to provide some help and advice in most students favorite area of study abroad.
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My first few weeks as a student at Beijing University

Beijing University West Gate

My 2 month vacation is over. In the span of the last 8 days, I went through orientation, registered, enrolled, and started class, and am now officially a student at Beijing University. So far it’s a been a completely different experience than last semester when I was at CET, and while I’m happy with where I am, being an American study abroad student who enrolled directly into a Chinese University definitely makes for a study abroad experience like I’ve never had before.

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A lesson in study abroad finance from yours truly – banking

That's a lot of money...just not when converted to the USD

Some people call me cheap, I like to use the phrase “budget conscious”, but either way, penny pinching happens to be one of my areas of study abroad expertise. Instead of writing a giant post with a ton of one liners about saving money, I’ve decided to create a little series called “50 Ways To Save Money While Studying Abroad”. I’ll cover a different topic area in each post, and by limiting the number of tips per post, I’ll actually be able to give you a real explanation for each one. It made sense to begin the series from the birthplace of money (sort of): trees. Read the rest of this entry

Why we should be glad fireworks are illegal in America

Happy Chinese New Year from Beijing

Happy Chinese New Year （新年快乐）from The Study Abroad Blog. The actual start of the Chinese New Year a.k.a. Spring Festival (春节） was the 23rd of January, but since it lasts for 15 days, I think I can say Happy New Year and still be in the clear for another 3 days. Knowing both that it’s the biggest Chinese holiday and that the Chinese do it bigger than we do any holiday in America, I was looking forward to my first Chinese New Year experience, and what an experience it was… Read the rest of this entry

Everything study abroad for the week of January 29, 2012

It’s amazing how fast time flies, and how much longer it takes to do simple things when you live in another country. Somehow I thought I was going to be doing a lot more traveling and a lot more studying over these past 6 weeks, but in the end, I’m just happy I finished everything I needed to in order to stay/live in China. I’ve got my own place, I’ve learned how to use just about everything in my place, school starts soon, and the firework-fest known as Chinese New Year has ceased. There’s some exciting news from The Study Abroad Blog down below, and on that note here’s everything Study Abroad for the week of January 29, 2012.
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