You want to ensure that you are extra careful when communicating with your hands and your body so you don’t send the wrong message.  There are specific gestures that should be avoided while abroad to show respect to Chinese people and to best connect with them during your time in China.

When you pick up your chopsticks, you join in a cultural custom and you’re responsible for understanding the etiquette behind them.

The Chinese zodiac cycles every 12 years with 12 animals, and every year, a new animal starts the Chinese New Year.

When you hear the phrase “language learning”, how many of you think about your past language classes? Have you ever judged your own ability to speak or learn another language based on your grades in those classes?  

It’s little stressful for just about anyone to take off to a new place and be away from all that’s familiar, but this is especially true for women. But walk right into that discomfort, because there’s a whole new world on the other side.

Once you are in China and adventure out into the public, there are certain cultural differences that you should keep in mind.  As you go out to restaurants, for example, there are tricky nuances that can be a little different from the states. However, the truth is that everything that you experience will  be new to you in one way or another and it’s important to your time abroad as a learning experience.