By Lukas
The main fall leg of my gap year started in Shanghai, China, where I spent over a month living
with a Chinese family in the form of an exchange. They would provide food and housing, and I
would teach the host family’s son (and occasionally his mom and aunt) tennis and chess.
Sometimes I would also go to random houses to teach English, mostly to students. In terms of a
daily routine, I would wake up at around 7, grab a quick bite, head to my Chinese classes from
8:30 to 12:00, have lunch with my classmates, head back home for a nap and some review
before starting the work from around 5-8. Somewhere in between, we would have dinner
together, and afterwards I would go for a run or just walk nearby with another dinner or snack.
Initially, I planned on staying in Shanghai longer, but because of Shanghai’s large international
community, I felt it was harder for me to progress my Mandarin (which was my main goal)
because English was spoken so much in school and daily life.
So, I decided to go to Chengdu, a city closer to the inland. Although still having a population of
20 million, I had heard it offered a more local and relaxed feel. I continued classes at a Mandarin
school in Chengdu and immediately knew it was the right place. The city and especially the
school had a much more community feel, and my Mandarin progressed faster. Since I didn’t
have any work commitments, I also had more time to hang out with classmates, play a lot of
Chinese chess, make some local friends, and take weekend excursions out to scenic locations
a few hours by train, including a short trip to Vietnam for a Visa Run.
Some of my favorites included Chongqing (the cool 8D city), and Jiuzhaigou, a national park, 3
hours train, and then 3 hours bus from Chengdu. Apart from the stunning scenery, I enjoyed the
challenge of having to use Chinese for travel logistics. I still remember that one time I had to
convince a guy who offered to drive me to the train station that a 20-dollar bill was more than his
initial asking price (Of course, when you need it most, online payment decides to quit on you).
After about 10 weeks in Chengdu, I wrapped up the China trip with visits to other locations,
including Zhangjiajie (Avatar mountains), Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macau, before heading
back to Shanghai late December for my flight back to the US to spend a week with my family.
