Perhaps one of the most difficult things for a newly arrived expatriate in Shanghai is the culture shock, compounded by the difficulties of learning the language.

Living in this famously inscrutable culture and managing its decidedly difficult language will exhaust the most robust and enthusiastic new arrival.

Reputable language courses are often at far-flung universities, and their rigid, full-time schedules are too much for the new expatriate juggling work, family and trying to make friends in a new community.

That is why Brazilian housewife Lourdes M. Machado was thrilled to discover the Cypress Campus of the Shanghai International College of Culture (SICC).

Like many expatriates, Machado is pretty happy with her life. She lives in the cushy Parkson Garden in western Shanghai, and she has a Chinese a-yi (nanny) to do the housework -- her three children are happy in a nearby international school.

But although her 5-year-old daughter speaks fluent Chinese, Machado wasn't able to communicate with her a-yi or bargain with shopkeepers until she attended SICC.

Located at the Cypress Hotel in the heart of the expatriate enclaves of western Shanghai, the SICC "Cypress Campus" is actually no more than a few small classrooms in a leafy English garden setting, but it appeals to Machado so much that she goes there even when she's not taking a class.

She chats with teachers, from whom she receives a great deal of information and guidance about local living.

"I like this campus because it is near my home and the courses here are very flexible. Teachers and staff are warm and friendly," she says.

Much to her delight, she has also learned the art of Chinese massage here, which she practices on the strained muscles of her busy engineer husband.

Fujii Emi, who also studies here, has different aspirations. The native of Japan is already a fluent Chinese speaker and passed HSK (an 11-level standard Chinese proficiency test for foreigners authorized by the Ministry of Education). "I want to pass the level-11 test and become a qualified translator in the future," says Emi, who has passed the 9th level. Emi switched to SICC from Shanghai Jiao Tong University primarily because SICC is much closer to her home and has the advantage of smaller classes.

Sometimes expat families come together. Alexander Jacxsens, manager of a Belgium company's representative office in Shanghai, takes Chinese classes with his wife every week at the school. They also enjoy singing Chinese songs and making jiaozi (dumpling stuffed with meat or vegetables) on campus.

SICC is banking on the hope that there are many more students like Machado, Emi and Jacxsens. Established in 1989, SICC is the only privately run college in the city authorized by Shanghai Educational Commission to teach foreigners Chinese. The school also offers Chinese culture-related courses -- like Chinese massage.

SICC offers a flexible teaching schedule that caters to both long-term and short-term learners. In addition to four campuses (down-town and in western Shanghai), SICC also will organize private tutors upon request. About 1,500 foreign students from 30 countries have enrolled to date. "Actually, our school is a complement to other universities in terms of Chinese language education for foreigners," says Gong Yue'e, deputy president of SICC.

Teachers and administrators of SICC are mainly retired professionals from prestigious universities like Fudan, Jiao Tong and East China Normal universities, and the school takes special pride in its wide network of teachers and their various specializations.

"Many of our Chinese teachers are qualified to teach Chinese to foreigners," says Gong. "And we are very good at hunting down experts on specific topics."

As an example, she cities an expat who wanted to learn more about Chinese movies in the 1930s. The school then located a Ph.D. from Shanghai University who specialized in this field.

"That type of occurrence is commonplace at SICC," says Gong. "Since most of us have worked with foreign students for many years, we understand their needs."

Retired Fudan University professor Zhu Yifei founded the Cypress Campus in February. An experienced Chinese teacher, Zhu had taught Chinese in Egypt in addition to instructing foreign students in local universities for many years. Although his pension assured him a comfortable retirement, Zhu, along with retired administrator Zhu Guanghua from the University of Science and Technology of China, took on the responsibility of managing the Cypress Campus. "In the beginning, we had only three students but we employed two professors to teach them. Our philosophy is that the teacher is the school's most valuable asset," remarks Zhu Yifei.

Now the faculty of the campus consists of professors, young masters and Ph Ds, who speak one or two foreign languages. The school now has 60 students studying Chinese, and another 60 studying cooking, calligraphy, painting and massage. In the future, SICC hopes to become even more convenient for students: They are in discussions with nearby expatriate residential complexes on opening satellite centers.

(eastday.com August 26, 2002)