I found the quality of the teaching was excellent. The classes were never bigger than 4 students (though I was there over winter in the low season). I attended a standard course that was 3 x 45min classes each weekday morning. I had Magic as a teacher and her style of teaching by telling stories was really great to build vocabulary and learn grammar while also learning about Chinese history and culture.
I was at Omeida Chinese Academy for 6 months from Oct 2013 to Apr 2014. I was with my wife, we both studied Mandarin there. We had a room in the school principal's house which was okay, but could be better. When we arrived we had to ask for new pillow cases because the one's given had mould on them. We experienced more mould issues near the end of our stay when the weather started to warm up again after the cold winter. This was an issue for everyone in town it seems, as most places were not built with good insulation or ventilation. The staff at Omeida were very helpful around any issues we had and I guess the mould is not directly their fault, though I hope they put in place some measures to prevent this issue in the future.
The community around the Omeida school was great. There are many foreigners around that teach at the english school and run businesses about town. This is good and bad. Good for making lots of new friends easily, but bad because you should really be practicing your Chinese instead of speaking english.
The Chinese Academy improved a lot when they brought on board a marketing manager from NZ called Sarah and a student advisor called Wanda. Sarah and Wanda together got some of the student activities running more regularly, such as student dinners, cultural classes, weekend excursions, etc. Previously these activities existed, but were less regular and not so well advertised and organised.
In all, I highly recommend attending Omeida Chinese Academy, even if just for a short time, as the students and teachers you meet will help you with countless tips for exploring both Yangshuo and the rest of China.
Keep in mind also that you can volunteer your time with the school to get food and/or accommodation either free or at a reduced price.
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Amazing experience-from Ruth
2014-06-25 11:39:58 -
Go local——from Niel
2014-06-23 17:50:26When I sent my first e-mail to Omeida fromout the wireless Chinese jungle, 2 weeks before I wanted to start, I was immediately impressed by the elaborated response to all of my questions + a lot of other relevant information and help I had not asked for. Both before I started my studies and during my studies, the people of Omeida put a lot of effort in making my stay in Yangshuo comfortable, which helped me to settle, have fun and focus on my studies.
I believe that there are many good Chinese schools throughout China, but as far as I know Omeida distinguishes itself from these by being located in the far more quiet, rural and natural Yangshuo. What I found in Yangshuo was a village life in an amazing environment (mountains to climb, rivers to swim in within half an hour cycling). Touristy and busy, but also lively. What I found at Omeida was a mixed group of Chinese students learning English and foreign students learning Chinese, intermingling as language partners and friends at both organized and unorganized activites.
In short, Omeida is a lively school in a lively environment. I made lots of great friends and had a great experience learning from and about the Chinese, the Chinese culture and the Chinese language. I would definitely recommend anybody to go!
ps. If you're set on going, please enter in the Pub Quizes at thursday night, beat the climb instructors and English teachers and rub it in their faces.
From Niel in Netherlands
Published by gooverseas
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“Excellent teaching, great community”——from Tom and Liz
2014-06-16 11:26:49
Published on Tripadvisor
I only stayed 1 month in Omeida, but it was one of the most interesting and thrilling experiences of my life.
I chose Yangshuo because I thought that it could be easier to get involve in real chinese life in a small town, and I was right. I felt safe, welcomed and with a whole new world in front of me to be discovered.
And Omeida was the perfect school to complete my adventure. Excellent teachers willing to help you in every aspect of your learning process, competent staff always available, friendly colleagues to practice, and most important, chinese colleagues studying english looking forward to sharing experiences with you.
I met fantastic people for all over the world, learnt some chinese and gather amazing memories for several lifetimes :-)
From Ruth in Spain
Published by gooverseas