In conclusion

It's a pretty odd feeling to be obsessed with language learning for several months only to return to the reality of graduate school, where unfortunately, Chinese language skills are not all you need for success. Why does it have to be so complicated? Some belated concluding thoughts:

Work hard at IUP, but also take care of yourself. But don't stress out about trying to avoid stomach problems, because it seems to happen to almost everyone no matter how careful you are. Bring Pepto-Bismol? The program is good, but you actually do have to think actively about what you want from it. The teachers will be flexible and make special arrangements according to your needs--especially in your one-on-one class--but you may not always agree with their pedagogy. Sure, you can complain, but you also need to be proactive in telling them what's lacking with the class and trying to work with them to change things. If you think their way of teaching is not helping you learn Chinese, think about reasonable ways in which the structure of your class could be modified to be more helpful for you.

IUP is widely acknowledged as possibly the best Chinese-language program in existence for advanced students of Chinese. However, I would recommend also looking into ICLP (its counterpart in Taiwan). The position of many students I met was quite interesting--many were incredibly invested in digesting all there was to know about mainland China, while it seemed to me that Taiwan, Singapore, and other Chinese-speaking places were at the very edge of their periphery. Obviously my perspective is very much shaped by my family background, but...really? It seems to me that Chinese-language students fall in danger of being pulled along with China's way of flattening the "Chinese experience" to reflect what works best for Beijing.

At the same time, China! If nothing else, huge, with a diversity that I can't begin to imagine. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to travel outside of Beijing at all this summer despite my original plans, but I definitely plan on returning at some point (when my cough is completely gone this time). I lived in Japan for two years but hardly traveled because of the cost--in China, you won't spend half as much in transportation but probably do need a lot of energy and good humor. I'm saying that since even Beijing required a lot more from me of both than previous places where I'd lived (Taipei, Tokyo, Boston, etc.). An exciting place with tons of things happening all at once, but not all of it necessarily fun or positive or easy to deal with.

Finally, I am now taking a graduate seminar in which I will soon begin to read one Chinese novel per week. While I'm a bit unsure of my chances for survival, I am sure that IUP helped improve them. Thank you, Light!