Sorry for the lack of post these few days. My friend visited me for more than a week and I was busy juggling my class & tour-guide-activity. I ended up sleeping for the whole afternoon today when she's no longer here. XD *lazy blogger*
Right, let's go back to the school business, shall we?
Roughly around one or two weeks before the class starts, you are required to pay for the tuition and finish the registration to get your student ID, health insurance and class schedule.
You can see the registration date on the acceptance letter received from MTC. So what to bring on this day? Well, you must make sure you have these things in your bag when you come to register for the course.
1. Original and copy of passport
2. The acceptance letter from MTC
3. Tuition fees (both cash and credit card payment are accepted)
The registration usually takes place at Level 5 of Po-Ai Building (MTC Building). If you see a lot of flags when you came out of the elevator, you are at the right place.
You are encouraged to come from 9 - 11 AM and 2 - 4 PM. I came just slightly after 11 for my registration and the volunteers have gone for break. I ended up waiting for 3 hours in fast food restaurant. U_U. Oh well, since the helpers are not paid to do the registration, there's nothing I can complain. XD
They will assign you a student ID number and ask you to fill in a form (for the health procedure thingy I think). Once you are done, you can come into the room behind those flags, and follow the procedures stated on the sign (the instruction is in English, no worry!). You will get the receipt and the student card at the end of the procedure inside that room.
In the opposite room, they will have an interview to assess your Mandarin. If you have zero background in studying Mandarin, they will assign you straight to the basic class starting from Chapter 0 of Book 1. (Yes, chapter 0 does exist!). If you prefer to use pinyin instead of bopomofo, this is the time to tell them your preference.
And yep, you are done with the registration + payment procedure. The class schedule is usually available one day before the first day of class. I picked up mine on level 7 of the building.
If this is your first time studying Mandarin in Taiwan, please make sure you attend the orientation day. They will explain everything that you need to know (and do) regardless of which course you take (regular or intensive). There is a difference in the regular and intensive class and it's very important because it's related to your visa. If you cannot come (or decide to go to do some last minute sight-seeing before class starts), I'll try my best to cover that in this blog for your viewing. Stay tune! =)
