Beijing 2008 Olympic summer camp pre-registration

We are open for pre-registration for year 2008 summer camp, please reserve your spot and proide your feedbacks so we can acommodate you better. Details:

http://www.summercampchina.com/beijing2008olympicsummercampinchina

Homesickness-prevention strategies for parents

It is exciting for your children to attend a summer camp in a different country. However it is 2 or 4 weeks away from home. Our camp staff will help your kids handle this and here are some tips parents can do to prevent/reduce homesickness:

1. Discuss the upcoming separation with your child. Young people should be told, "Almost everyone misses something about home when they are away. Homesickness is normal. And the good news is that there are lots of things you can think and do to help make things better if homesickness bothers you."
   
2. Involve your child in the decision to spend time away from home. Prepare and pack as a family. Taking part in even the smallest decisions will increase perceptions of control. By contrast, feeling forced to leave home often increases the severity of homesickness.
   
3. Discuss coping strategies with your child. Using some of these strategies during practice time away from home will boost your child’s confidence about the separation.
   1. Do something fun, like play with friends, to forget about homesick feelings.
      
   2. Do something (write a letter, look at a family picture) to feel closer to home.
      
   3. Go see someone who can talk with you to help you feel better. Summer camp staff are good person you can share your feelings.
      
   4. Think about the good side of things (activities, friends) to feel better.
      
   5. Think that time away is actually pretty short to make time go by faster.
      
   6. Try not to think about home and loved ones to forget about homesickness.
      
   7. Think about loved ones to figure out what they would say to help.
      
   
   
4. Arrange for practice time away from home, such as a weekend at a friend’s or relative’s house. Ideally, these 2 or 3 days do not include telephone calls but do include opportunities for writing a letter or postcard home. After the practice time away, discuss with your child how things went and which coping strategies worked best.
   
5. Practice correspondence. Ensuring that children know how to write traditional letters increases the likelihood that they will maintain some contact with home. Give children prestamped, preaddressed envelopes and notebook paper.
   
6. Work together with your child to learn about their new environment, be it a hospital, school, new neighborhood, or summer camp. The more young people know about the new place to which they are going, the more at home they will feel when they arrive. Web sites, orientation booklets, and current participants, alumni, or staff members are excellent resources.
7. Encourage your child to make new friends and seek the support of trusted adults. Both kinds of connections ease the transition to a new environment.
   
8. Avoid expressing anxious or ambivalent feelings about time away from home to your child. Instead, express enthusiasm and optimism about the fun your child is going to have in the new environment.
   
9. Use a wall calendar to show your child the time between today and the day of the separation. Highlight which days or weeks they will be away so that he or she can see that it is a discrete period, not an eternity. During the separation, a calendar might be a way for your child to keep perspective on the separation.
   
10. Do not make a "pick-up deal" with your son or daughter. Promising that "if you don’t like it, I’ll come pick you up" decreases your child’s likelihood of success in the new environment; this will give the impression to your child that you have so little confidence in his or her ability to cope with the separation that the only solution is to be rescued. Also, such deals create difficulties for staff members, who after enthusiastic support and coaching may be faced with a child who says, "My parents said that if I didn’t like it here, they would come to get me." It also puts you in the position of either (1) fulfilling your promise to pick up your child, robbing him or her of a wonderful opportunity to grow and develop, or (2) reneging on your promise, causing an erosion of trust in your relationship with your child. Respond to the query, "What if I feel homesick?" with a statement such as, "You probably will feel a little homesick, but your practice time away has taught you what to think or do in case any homesickness bothers you. Plus, staff members will be there to talk with you and help you make it through. You’ll have a great time."
    

Map of one of our camp sites - LianHua Academy

GoldenDream Oversea Summer Camp Site 1: LianHua Academy

The nearest hotel is about 100 meters away from the camp site. Contact us if you need help booking hotels.

Getting a Chinses Visa

Do I need a visa for China?
Americans or Canadians traveling to Mainland China, whether for business or pleasure, require a visa, which should be obtained in advance. You are exempt from this requirement if you travel and stay only in Hong Kong or Macao for less than 30 days. However, if you travel beyond Hong Kong, even for a few hours, you will need a China visa. As a matter of fact, visas are required for visitors from most foreign countries to Mainland China. For attending summer camp, you will need a tourist visa.

What type of visa do I need?
Most people need only to apply for a single-entry. Single-entry China visas are usually valid for 3 months after the issuing date, and will permit you to stay in China for up to 90 days. This visa will allow you to travel as a tourist or conduct general business activities.
When to apply for visa?
You can apply anytime as long as it's within 90 days from entry date. The best time to apply for your visa is 30 days before your departure. The visa is normally good for entry within 90 days of issuance.
How long can I stay in China for each entry? Can I extend my stay in China while I am there?
With regular tourist or business visa, you can normally stay 30 - 90 days for each entry. If you need to stay longer while you are in China, please contact with the visa office of the local Public Security Bureau to file for an extension. Do not overstay.

I am going to mainland China first, then to Hong Kong (or Macao) and back to mainland China again. Will single entry visa suffice?
No! You need to apply for a double entry visa in this case. Because, Hong Kong and Macao are Special Administrative Region. Once you go there from mainland China, you are considered to exit China already. Therefore you need another visa to go back in.

What is the difference between a tourist visa and a business visa?
Visas are issued to permit entry into a country for a specific purpose: to allow travel for leisure, or to conduct business activities. In general, "tourist" visas are issued specifically for the purpose of travel for pleasure, while a "business" visa generally permits a traveler to engage in normal business-related activities. You need a letter of invitation to apply for business visa. However, there is no distinctive line between tourist visa and business visa. In another word, tourist visa will not prevent you from conducting business in China.
Do I need a visa for Hong Kong or Macao?
No, if you are holding US, Canadian or British passport. You do not need a visa if traveling only to Hong Kong or Macao, for up to 30 days stay. Any entry into Mainland China, however, requires a visa.

How to obtain a China visa?
The Chinese Embassy and Consulates do not accept mail-in applications. Applicants for visas are requested to appear at the Consulate in person, or apply through an authorized visa agency. Visit Chinese embassy website: http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/. If needed, GoldenDream summer camp will provide an invitation letter to help you get visa.