| 1 |
Where are You? Hello I am writing this from Surabaya (the second largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta). The city is in East Java around 60 minutes flight from Jakarta and 30 minutes flight from Bali Island (which most people known the island) and around 2 hours flight from Singapore to the east. I would be happy to share some relevant information needed by whom who plan to travel to Surabaya in particular or some other cities in Indonesia (including Jakarta the capital city where I was working quite for some years). Population of the city is around 2.5 million. Indonesia itself has more than 200 million people. Below are three paragraphs that I copied from wikipedia about Indonesia: --------Copy from wikipedia ------ Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a nation of islands consisting of 18,110 islands in the South East Asian Archipelago making it the world's largest archipelagic state. Its capital is Jakarta. Indonesia is bordered by the nations of Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. With a population of over 200 million, it is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority nation. The Indonesian Archipelago, home of the Spice Islands, has been an important trade destination since ancient times, when early Chinese sailors began to find profit in the spice trade. Much of Indonesia's history has been influenced by the many foreign powers that have been drawn to the archipelago and by its wealth of natural resources. These have included Classical Hindus and Buddhists from India, Muslim traders in medieval times, and Europeans during the Age of Exploration who fought for monopolization of the spice trade. Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch for over three centuries but declared its independence in 1945, which was internationally recognized four years later. Since then, Indonesia has had a turbulent history, including political instability and corruption, periods of rapid economic growth and decline, environmental catastrophe, and a recent democratization process. Indonesia is a unitary state, consisting of numerous distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups spread across its many islands. The modern-day borders of Indonesia are based upon those of the Dutch East Indies colony, rather than on any preconceived notion of unity; however, a shared history of colonialism and rebellion against it, a national Indonesian language, and a majority religion (Islam) help to define Indonesia as a state. Indonesia's national motto, Bhinneka tunggal ika (derived from Old Javanese for unity in diversity), reflects the coming together of the country's myriad cultures, languages, and ethnic groups. However, sectarian tensions have threatened political stability in some regions, leading to violent confrontations and the secession of East Timor. ------------------End of copy More information about Surabaya: http://www.surabayatourism.com/about_sby.php I have just started visiting this blog for some days when I was looking a Chinese language schools in China. A friend of mine from Surabaya just decided to learn mandarin in Beijing Normal University (It cost him around US$8,000 for a year tuition and accommodation in the university, which I found quite expensive since tuition fee only for one year on average I find on the net is around US$ 2,500). Here are some universities in Beijing that I found which probably useful for others who interested learning Chinese in Beijing. 1. Beijing Normal University http://www.bnulxsh.com/newapplication/Tuition-en.htm 2. Tsinghua University http://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/docsn/wb/lxs/clcffe.htm 3. BLCU http://www.blcu.edu.cn/lzb/lx/english/fees.htm I would be glad if there are some similar schools / university in Shanghai or other cities in China. Is it considerably enough for people learning Chinese in one year with no Chinese background at all (reading newspaper, listening to the radio and communicate with Chinese people). |