Modern China

It was pure chance that led Birgit Herrmann to study “Modern China” in Würzburg. “I wanted to do something with languages and have always been fascinated by Asian scripts and characters. That’s how I came across this subject at the University of Würzburg on the internet”, she tells us. And once she had read the details of the course, she realised, “This is the one for me.”

Nice teachers, a friendly atmosphere, and a good sense of community. This is how Birgit describes her experience in Modern China. It is not an overcrowded subject. Every year there are only about 30 or 40 new students. “That means we all know each other quite well,” says Birgit.

Intensive language classes

One reason why a group of complete strangers quickly become friends is the fact that there are four weeks of intensive language classes before the actual course begins. These four weeks are pretty hard going, Birgit remembers, but they give you a good indication of whether the language suits you. And the test at the end? “Not so bad, as long as you do a bit of work for it.”

Unfamiliar Chinese characters, strange grammar and a language in which the syllable “ma” can mean mother, horse, hemp or scold, depending on how it is stressed – is that not really complicated? “It takes a while to be able to distinguish the sounds, but once you have heard them a few times, you get attuned,” Birgit thinks.

Ready to go off to China

Anyway, the language teaching in Würzburg is so good that you know enough to make yourself understood in everyday situations fairly quickly. After six semesters, Birgit is ready to go off to China for a year. She will be working in a Middle School as a language assistant for German and will be able to improve her Chinese.

And when she has finished? Probably go on to do a Master’s specialising in Chinese for business and after that, definitely go back to China.

Nina Teneva grew up and went to school in Bulgaria. In Würzburg she did her Bachelor in Modern China, spending six months in Beijing. It is not surprising to hear that travel is one of her main hobbies. Later on, when the China expert is working for her living, she does not necessarily want to “spend year after year in the same place.”

Everyone who registers for Modern China in Würzburg knows that he or she will be spending their fourth semester at Beijing University – in particular, in order to improve the language skills they have acquired so far.

Impressions from the first days in Beijing

“It was amazing. Such a big city, so chaotic, so stressful,” Nina remembers her impressions from her first few days in Beijing. She changed her mind, though. It was not long before she was thinking: “It’s so cool to be living in such a dynamic city.”

Classes in the mornings, exploring in the afternoons and going out in the evenings (and doing preparation for classes in-between times). That is how she spent her time in Beijing. Beautiful parks, so much to see from the Forbidden City to the Olympic stadium, and Chinese people who proved to be extremely patient with foreigners, these are the things which are ingrained in her memory. And the huge clothes markets where the student could put her language and bargaining skills to the test.

“In Beijing there is always something to see and something to do,” the student says and she wants to go back as soon as she can. And her course in Würzburg? How does she see things now, just before she finishes her degree? “If I had to choose again, I would do exactly the same thing.”