Day 2 – Friday, June 19, 2009
Placement exam: written and oral
Lunch – Ma lan noodles – first real meal outside of the campus
Orientation – Liu laoshi’s stories, folders, t-shirts
Dinner – The Buffalo Restaurant à Went to Hou hai [a place that has a mixture of the West meets the East. Both sides are separated by a body of water (a river, possibly). A couple of us drank and smoked hookah, came back at like 2:00am and passed out!
Day 3 – Saturday, June 20, 2009
Campus tour at 9am
lunch at Thai place – delicious pineapple rice
pick up books
Got lost trying to find public pool with Mike and Bryan
Dinner at Uyghur place – super spicy and could not eat most of it
Went clubbing at the Cocobanana – went to the wrong club and had to meet at Banana Babyface
Day 4 – Monday, June 21, 2009
First day of class – extremely intensive course. Doing a lot of homework ever since. 40-55 new vocab. words a day. 8-12pm – normal class, 2-3 hours of language practicing and speaking. Barely anytime to rest!
So I haven’t been able to blog for a while because I haven’t really had the time. I hate to use that as an excuse, but Columbia was not playing when they said “intensive course.” I have a lot of homework every day, but I’m getting more adjusted while I’m here. I decided that I’m going to blog every weekend instead of everyday because there is simply not enough time! Similar to the New York Times, I will entitle this “Week-in Review”. For these past two weeks, I’ve been getting adjusted to the climate, the food and the amount of work that I have. Now that I am more adjusted, I also have a “yu-ban”, which is a language partner. I met her once, but since I’ve been too cheap to buy a cell phone, I literally have no way of contacting her. My plan is to definitely get a cell phone ASAP! In addition, I’ve signed up for a calligraphy class which consists of writing characters and painting. I’m really excited for it! Classes take place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (5:00pm-6:00pm). It’s quite informal and I do not need to be there every session. In terms of reading (for pleasure), shopping, doing research for my honors thesis paper, I would have to say that I am quite disappointed with myself. I really have not been able to do any work outside of reading, writing, speaking and listening to Chinese. The program’s expectations and standards are much higher than I expected. Despite this, I would have to say that I love being challenged and this program is pushing me every day in one way or another. I know that by the end of this program that I will be satisfied with my results in regards to my Chinese abilities. In addition to our busy schedules during the weekdays, our Saturdays are typically filled with tourist adventures. Even though attendance is not mandatory, a lot of the places on the list are attractions that I want to see. For example, these past two weekends, I’ve already travelled to Si Ma Tai Great Wall (one of the best preserved areas of the Great Wall), the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube (Olympics Facilities) and Tiananmen Square (See facebook for pictures!) It’s funny how different I feel when I’m actually at these places (especially the historical sites). I read about these places all the time in my history books and journal articles, but when I was actually standing in the Square, the experience is completely overwhelming. I almost cried thinking about the June 4th incident because I remembered that the ground that I was standing in was once covered with the bodies of protesters, mere students that were fighting for freedom and democracy. These students were approximately my age and fought for a cause that they truly believed in. As I stand in the Square, I feel proud to be an American and grateful for my parents who sacrificed their already established lives to give my siblings and me, the opportunities and privileges that America has to offer. Even today, these freedoms are denied from the Chinese and people are too afraid to stand up for what they truly want. It has been 20 years since the event and perhaps that was what made the experience more difficult. Moreover, it was hard to watch other tourists smile in their pictures. Though I’m certain many people in the Square that day did not know about the massacre, I still felt a pang of sadness as people lounged around as if it were merely another tourist attraction. Perhaps it is because I have so much passion for what I study that I, in some way, feel a sense of attachment to this place that I’ve never seen. Yet somehow through my reading, my presentations and my projects about China, I have gained some knowledge and basic understanding that made me feel the way that I did when I walked onto the Square. I feel really blessed to be in Beijing. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to see so many beautiful and meaningful places. While I am here, I am constantly reminded of why I study Chinese history and why I fell in love with this country and its culture. In these weeks to come, I hope that this feeling stays with me as I will need the inspiration to write my honors thesis paper.
On a lighter note, I miss America for a few reasons. I don’t really have time to blog about each one, but to name a few:
- Sitting toilets (squatting toilets are no fun, but they remind me of my experience in Tanzania).
- My mother’s cooking. Beijing’s food is really spicy and way too heavy, but I’ve managed to find a few places that have awesome food. I’ve also managed to eat a lot of Chinese minority food which include Dai, Uyghurs, Thai, Korean, etc. (more to come!) Bubble tea here is also SUPER cheap. I don’t think I’m going to want to pay $3 to $4 when they charge 4-5 kuai here. It’s ridiculous.
- Family, Malcolm, and friends. – Thank you for your love and support in these past two and half weeks. I’ve definitely needed it! You are all constantly in my thoughts and prayers. I can’t wait to see you! J
- American drivers? I’m not exactly sure if I miss American drivers, but let’s just say Beijing drivers are crazy and they WILL HIT YOU. I kid you not.
There are many other things, but I’ll be sure to blog again! Sorry for taking sooo long!
