I'm finishing my third week back at my American University, and it's like returning to the States all over again. Sure, I've assimilated to living in this country, and I've become three months removed from the China experience, but my friends are asking me about it as if I've just returned, which to them I have.
It's getting harder to talk about the trip the farther I am from it. I find myself using more general adjectives to describe it as "awesome" and "unbelievable" rather than detailing the experience of climbing the Great Wall or seeing the hospitals or wandering through all the parks. I don't think it's going to get any easier to talk about, but I think I'm getting better rehearsed about the way I can talk about it not to dominate but still to share. I do have the "In China..." moments a lot, though, because my friends don't know about the little things that I'll think of as they come up, so I can tell the stories that way.
It's also super weird to see the group I traveled with on campus. This isn't like it's bad or awkward, but we all associate each other with being in Beijing, and now that we're in the states, it's a little more unexpected to see each other. I have a class with one of the guys from the trip, and I see somebody pretty much every day just wandering about. It's interesting that we've all coexisted on campus but never recognized each other until now. I think I like it.
As for school, things are going really well here. I am so used to the educational system at my university and in the US that it's very comforting to be back in that pattern. I get up, go to my classes, hit the gym, see my friends every day, do theater. I am happy to be back, even though the touring doesn't feel as special or exciting here. Beijing was wonderful, and so is the US.
Today is awesome because it fits my pattern of a day at school.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Reassimilating
My reassimilation to the US began on the plane. The first big thing that came back to me was on the flight from Beijing. I got a Diet Coke from the first drink service, and it was a Chinese can. I figured all the sodas were Chinese, so on a later drink service, I got Coke Zero, but it was an American can. I prefer American Diet Coke and Chinese Coke Zero, so I always got the inferior soda, but in China the tab on the can is rectangular or oblong, whereas in America it is very rounded. It's just different; neither good nor bad, but I got used to the other shape.
The next big one was on my descent in my hometown when I looked at the highway and did not see the ridiculous traffic that is always in Beijing. I then almost said "duibuqi" instead of "sorry" when I bumped into someone at baggage claim.
My first day at home was pretty relaxed and easy. I woke up at 6 or 6:30, lounged around til 10, then I walked to the drugstore (I really missed drugstores!!!) to pick up a prescription, retainer cleaner, and replenish my makeup supply which I entirely expired in China. I had lunch, then bought a pair of sneakers, followed by visits to both of my grandmothers. I ended my day with a Tae Kwon Do class, and it was fantastic. I was so happy to see my family and friends, and to be using my American phone again. I did a lot of texting to make plans for my weeks at home. Things feel really normal here, and I like that so far.
Tuesday was an early wake up, relaxing morning, trip to the gym, revisiting the local grocery store, seeing one of my high school BFFs, and going to Tae Kwon Do. I think the big reassimilation thing was the grocery store because I could identify everything and read all the packages. Stores are so much more intimidating in China. I really appreciate the softness, thickness, and plushness of my bed and towels here. My bed at Bei Da was a rock in comparison, and my towel very thin. Not things that were bad and uncomfortable, but here it is significantly more comfortable. I got to break a board and really feel at home in my group at TKD tonight, so it left me feeling very happy. I am getting confused between Korean numbers and Chinese numbers becasue there is crossover in pronunciation, but the numbers with the same pronunciation are different values (yi=1 in Chinese, 2 in Korean).
Wednesday and Thursday were uneventful, but I noticed that I got used to reacting to Chinese traffic patterns, so I'm surprised every time a car stops for me. In the US, traffic is mostly because there are such frequent stop signs and traffic lights, not necessarily the number of cars like it is in China. In China, there are too many cars and too few rules. The cars go whenever and wherever they can, the buses don't stop for anything or anyone, the bikes go where the cars can't, and the people go wherever they please; it's kind of insane, and it's so different to be in such an orderly traffic pattern again.
On Friday I found the apples my mom bought for me (they're my favorite kind, Pink Lady), and they were normal size. There is such rampant use of hormones and growth enhancers in China that no fruit is normal size, and even though it's big it doesn't even taste that good. This apple was delicious.
The overall thing is that I'm finding so many moments when I want to say, "This time in China..." or "In China they..." and I really accumulated a lot of stories and experiences!
Today is awesome because I've been appreciating the comforts of being home.
The next big one was on my descent in my hometown when I looked at the highway and did not see the ridiculous traffic that is always in Beijing. I then almost said "duibuqi" instead of "sorry" when I bumped into someone at baggage claim.
My first day at home was pretty relaxed and easy. I woke up at 6 or 6:30, lounged around til 10, then I walked to the drugstore (I really missed drugstores!!!) to pick up a prescription, retainer cleaner, and replenish my makeup supply which I entirely expired in China. I had lunch, then bought a pair of sneakers, followed by visits to both of my grandmothers. I ended my day with a Tae Kwon Do class, and it was fantastic. I was so happy to see my family and friends, and to be using my American phone again. I did a lot of texting to make plans for my weeks at home. Things feel really normal here, and I like that so far.
Tuesday was an early wake up, relaxing morning, trip to the gym, revisiting the local grocery store, seeing one of my high school BFFs, and going to Tae Kwon Do. I think the big reassimilation thing was the grocery store because I could identify everything and read all the packages. Stores are so much more intimidating in China. I really appreciate the softness, thickness, and plushness of my bed and towels here. My bed at Bei Da was a rock in comparison, and my towel very thin. Not things that were bad and uncomfortable, but here it is significantly more comfortable. I got to break a board and really feel at home in my group at TKD tonight, so it left me feeling very happy. I am getting confused between Korean numbers and Chinese numbers becasue there is crossover in pronunciation, but the numbers with the same pronunciation are different values (yi=1 in Chinese, 2 in Korean).
Wednesday and Thursday were uneventful, but I noticed that I got used to reacting to Chinese traffic patterns, so I'm surprised every time a car stops for me. In the US, traffic is mostly because there are such frequent stop signs and traffic lights, not necessarily the number of cars like it is in China. In China, there are too many cars and too few rules. The cars go whenever and wherever they can, the buses don't stop for anything or anyone, the bikes go where the cars can't, and the people go wherever they please; it's kind of insane, and it's so different to be in such an orderly traffic pattern again.
On Friday I found the apples my mom bought for me (they're my favorite kind, Pink Lady), and they were normal size. There is such rampant use of hormones and growth enhancers in China that no fruit is normal size, and even though it's big it doesn't even taste that good. This apple was delicious.
The overall thing is that I'm finding so many moments when I want to say, "This time in China..." or "In China they..." and I really accumulated a lot of stories and experiences!
Today is awesome because I've been appreciating the comforts of being home.
Monday, August 13, 2012
August 12: My 36-Hour Day
I'm home!! It's really great to be back. I really missed my family, and my bed is so fluffy, and I drove a car today, and I don't feel like traffic is going to kill me. I had a great time, and now I'm very happy to be home.
For me, August 12 was a 36-hour day because it started in China and ended in the US Eastern Time Zone. Using Eastern Time to standardize, my day started at noon on Saturday and ended at midnight on Sunday. Yay time travel?
I got up at 5AM, finished my preparations, skyped home, then went on the bus to the airport. My trip had a few parallels one the homecoming flight as it did on the outgoing flight. I had an overweight bag (this time I just paid the fee; I literally had nowhere to put the things), I got iced coffee, I had some time to sit before my flight. I didn't sleep on my flight from Beijing because I was seated near the bathroom and the traffic kept me up. I journaled about the flight, and I don't have much else to say here. I finished watching LOST, and I liked the ending (controversial, I know, but the writers ended the story).
My connection in San Francisco was terrible. I had less than an hour to get to my flight. Customs was easy, but it took a long time to pick up my bag for re-checking, and then I had to go through security again, and that took a long time. I even asked and was allowed to move past the group of Texas A&M students who were also returning from China; they were kind. It was stressful, but I made it to the plane, and then I slept for 2 or 3 of the 4.5 hours of that flight. The people across the aisle from me were alumni of my university, and one of them even lived in Beijing for a few years in the area where I was, so that was a cool connection to have.
My parents were waiting for me right where I came out from the airport gates. It was wonderful to see them. We picked up my bags and went home, where I unpacked everything, ate dinner (my mom cooked), showered, then went to sleep. It was a fantastic end to an endless day.
Travel day was awesome because it ended up at home!!!!!
For me, August 12 was a 36-hour day because it started in China and ended in the US Eastern Time Zone. Using Eastern Time to standardize, my day started at noon on Saturday and ended at midnight on Sunday. Yay time travel?
I got up at 5AM, finished my preparations, skyped home, then went on the bus to the airport. My trip had a few parallels one the homecoming flight as it did on the outgoing flight. I had an overweight bag (this time I just paid the fee; I literally had nowhere to put the things), I got iced coffee, I had some time to sit before my flight. I didn't sleep on my flight from Beijing because I was seated near the bathroom and the traffic kept me up. I journaled about the flight, and I don't have much else to say here. I finished watching LOST, and I liked the ending (controversial, I know, but the writers ended the story).
My connection in San Francisco was terrible. I had less than an hour to get to my flight. Customs was easy, but it took a long time to pick up my bag for re-checking, and then I had to go through security again, and that took a long time. I even asked and was allowed to move past the group of Texas A&M students who were also returning from China; they were kind. It was stressful, but I made it to the plane, and then I slept for 2 or 3 of the 4.5 hours of that flight. The people across the aisle from me were alumni of my university, and one of them even lived in Beijing for a few years in the area where I was, so that was a cool connection to have.
My parents were waiting for me right where I came out from the airport gates. It was wonderful to see them. We picked up my bags and went home, where I unpacked everything, ate dinner (my mom cooked), showered, then went to sleep. It was a fantastic end to an endless day.
Travel day was awesome because it ended up at home!!!!!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
The Very Last Day
My bags are packed. My roommate has gone. I've said many good-byes and see you in Septembers. My time in China is at an end, and it has been unequivocally fantastic.
Today was a day that I had set aside for packing, sleeping, and travel preparations, but being the insanely obsessively organized person that I am, I actually ended up having nothing to do today. I woke up at 6:45, which was not a great start, and there was a note from Andrea outside my door and a woman inspecting her room. When I couldn't fall back asleep, I watched some videos on YouTube and the one episode of BBC's Sherlock that I own while I rested and reclined.
Around noon, I decided to leave my room. I contacted a friend for whom Andrea left a phone card, and we met up outside for the handoff. I ended up taking the elevator with another girl from my program, Grace, and she was making plans for both lunch and dinner, which I joined. For lunch, we went to a steamed bun shop down the street from our dorm, and I had the tofu strips cold dish. This is my new favorite kind of tofu. It is a lot like a noodle, but it is tofu. My favorite preparations are when it is treated like a noodle or used to wrap vegetables like sushi. Anyway, I ate with Grace, Pooja, Feifei, Brian, Matthew, and Victoria.
After lunch, we stopped at the bakery for some final sampling of Chinese pastry, which I had yet to do. I got an egg tart and something filled with red bean paste, both of which were small tastes, sweet and delicious. At that point, Matthew and I decided to make a trip to the Silk Market for him to do his souvenir shopping and the rest of our lunch group went for manicures.
I really like talking with Matthew because he always has something interesting to say. Amid the talk of bargaining and which items to get, we discussed how to read people, views on souvenirs, seeing our families, and what we look forward to upon our return home. It was a really nice, peaceful time, but I think the fact that it was The End, the last shopping trip, the last chance for an adventure or story, was hanging over us a little and coupled with the rain, it was also a little sad in the nostalgic kind of way.
We got back at 4:45, which was just enough time for a decent rest before meeting up at 6:30 for dinner. My language partner, Helen, joined the group, which was really great because I wanted to see her one more time before going home. She went home herself for a few weeks, so I'm happy she returned to Beijing today because the timing worked out really well to see her again.
The group took the subway two stops to the Haidian Mall shopping area (near Carre-Four). It was later than anticipated, so we changed our plans and ate at a Taiwanese restaurant called Bellagio. My small table ordered a garlic ginger chicken (it was unexpectedly cold rather than hot), Chinese broccoli, and eggplant (my favorite, as always) as our dishes, and we had beef fried rice. Taiwanese desserts are a specialty, and I shared a chocolate ice with Helen.
I really loved being together as a large group for the last time, but I particularly liked getting to spend one more dinner with Helen. She has been the kindest language partner I could have asked for, and I am so grateful that she is my friend. I got to give her my broom, so I'm glad that went to someone who will use it, and as we said good bye in the foyer of my dorm room, there were endless hugs and promises to stay in touch. Really, we will, because there is a lot of geography between us, but I do care about what happens to her. We really did become great friends in the short time that we've known each other, and I appreciate how lucky I am to know her.
On the subway ride home, one of the guys was emphasizing the lastness of it all, and it was making me have a lot of feelings. I think he was trying to get me to react and possibly cry, but since there's such a mix, I just end up flapping my arms and ranting about feelings. It's all okay; I will be coming back to China, so it's not a true good bye, just the end of this particular trip with this particular group of people. I will miss them a lot, but I will see the majority in six weeks, and the others have e-mail as well.
I made my final run to the C-Store to get some food for tomorrow's breakfast and plane rides, then I finished my e-mails and went to bed before my early start to a long day of travel. I actually live the day twice because of the way I cross the international date line, so that's extra fun. I'm looking forward to the family hugs on the other end.
Today is awesome because I got to see my 中国朋友 one more time, have some great conversations, and spend my last day of Study Abroad in China with lovely people doing relaxing things.
Today was a day that I had set aside for packing, sleeping, and travel preparations, but being the insanely obsessively organized person that I am, I actually ended up having nothing to do today. I woke up at 6:45, which was not a great start, and there was a note from Andrea outside my door and a woman inspecting her room. When I couldn't fall back asleep, I watched some videos on YouTube and the one episode of BBC's Sherlock that I own while I rested and reclined.
Around noon, I decided to leave my room. I contacted a friend for whom Andrea left a phone card, and we met up outside for the handoff. I ended up taking the elevator with another girl from my program, Grace, and she was making plans for both lunch and dinner, which I joined. For lunch, we went to a steamed bun shop down the street from our dorm, and I had the tofu strips cold dish. This is my new favorite kind of tofu. It is a lot like a noodle, but it is tofu. My favorite preparations are when it is treated like a noodle or used to wrap vegetables like sushi. Anyway, I ate with Grace, Pooja, Feifei, Brian, Matthew, and Victoria.
After lunch, we stopped at the bakery for some final sampling of Chinese pastry, which I had yet to do. I got an egg tart and something filled with red bean paste, both of which were small tastes, sweet and delicious. At that point, Matthew and I decided to make a trip to the Silk Market for him to do his souvenir shopping and the rest of our lunch group went for manicures.
I really like talking with Matthew because he always has something interesting to say. Amid the talk of bargaining and which items to get, we discussed how to read people, views on souvenirs, seeing our families, and what we look forward to upon our return home. It was a really nice, peaceful time, but I think the fact that it was The End, the last shopping trip, the last chance for an adventure or story, was hanging over us a little and coupled with the rain, it was also a little sad in the nostalgic kind of way.
We got back at 4:45, which was just enough time for a decent rest before meeting up at 6:30 for dinner. My language partner, Helen, joined the group, which was really great because I wanted to see her one more time before going home. She went home herself for a few weeks, so I'm happy she returned to Beijing today because the timing worked out really well to see her again.
The group took the subway two stops to the Haidian Mall shopping area (near Carre-Four). It was later than anticipated, so we changed our plans and ate at a Taiwanese restaurant called Bellagio. My small table ordered a garlic ginger chicken (it was unexpectedly cold rather than hot), Chinese broccoli, and eggplant (my favorite, as always) as our dishes, and we had beef fried rice. Taiwanese desserts are a specialty, and I shared a chocolate ice with Helen.
I really loved being together as a large group for the last time, but I particularly liked getting to spend one more dinner with Helen. She has been the kindest language partner I could have asked for, and I am so grateful that she is my friend. I got to give her my broom, so I'm glad that went to someone who will use it, and as we said good bye in the foyer of my dorm room, there were endless hugs and promises to stay in touch. Really, we will, because there is a lot of geography between us, but I do care about what happens to her. We really did become great friends in the short time that we've known each other, and I appreciate how lucky I am to know her.
On the subway ride home, one of the guys was emphasizing the lastness of it all, and it was making me have a lot of feelings. I think he was trying to get me to react and possibly cry, but since there's such a mix, I just end up flapping my arms and ranting about feelings. It's all okay; I will be coming back to China, so it's not a true good bye, just the end of this particular trip with this particular group of people. I will miss them a lot, but I will see the majority in six weeks, and the others have e-mail as well.
I made my final run to the C-Store to get some food for tomorrow's breakfast and plane rides, then I finished my e-mails and went to bed before my early start to a long day of travel. I actually live the day twice because of the way I cross the international date line, so that's extra fun. I'm looking forward to the family hugs on the other end.
Today is awesome because I got to see my 中国朋友 one more time, have some great conversations, and spend my last day of Study Abroad in China with lovely people doing relaxing things.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Closing Banquet and Thoughts on Conclusions
It was really hard to get out of bed this morning. I was tired and I knew that the only thing we were doing in Chinese class was watching a movie (I Hope You're the One/Fei Chan Gu Ra (?), the first in the series of which we watched the second last week). I went, though, and was the first one there. I did well on my final, and ended the summer with the highest marks for my class, which I am very proud of since I did put in the work. Yao Laoshi gave each of us mooncakes as a parting gift, went over the exam with us, we watched the movie, then practiced for the talent show. In the middle of our rehearsal, Gu Laoshi came in and handed out our program polo shirts, so that was exciting.
I had two eggs for lunch from the baozi cafeteria, then I finished the cafeteria money on my card by buying a soda from the convenience store. For the early afternoon, I walked all over Bei Da's campus so I could make sure to see everything one last time. I got to take pictures and vlog a little, and it was pretty emotional to realize how much this campus has come to feel like it's mine and that I'll really miss it. The vlogging was pretty sentimental, particularly because I felt like it was my present self talking to my future self so I could remember how I was feeling as this program was ending.
I know I've talked about the program ending for a while now, but being the last day of actual programming, it's feeling more real than the time crunch countdown that I've been feeling. I really leave the day after tomorrow. There is absolutely no time to find more things to do. It's ending. It just hit home a lot harder when I was walking around.
When I got back to my room, I did some more packing and organizing for departure, and then I did some computer business. I had a couple of e-mails to answer, my camera needed uploading and charging, I charged my electronics for the airplane, and I took the time to fill out my program evaluation for the office at my university. The survey took a lot longer than they said it would, but that could be my own fault for taking a long time to write detailed answers. I hope it helps them. After all the business was taken care of, I had a little more than an hour before the talent show, and I used that time to watch some videos and generally relax before our final program. And, yeah, hitting 1700 photos was pretty exciting!!!
The talent show was at 6PM in Shaoyuan Building 7, the same place we had orientation and welcome lunch on the first day as well as the 4th of July celebration. I met with my classmates to walk over at 5:40 so we could be there a little early, and we arrived in time to greet our teachers and find seats before the program started. We sat by class, which was both nice and limiting, and Gu Laoshi began the evening with a speech (in Chinese) welcoming everybody and introducing the different groups of people present. There were not only the students, but also the Bei Da officials, our language teachers, some alumni from our American university, and the incoming international students from Beijing and their parents. Next, the head of the language program at Bei Da made a speech about how well we did learning Chinese, and we got to eat dinner when she was done.
After dinner, we had the talent show. Our class went first and sang "Nan Zi Han" from Mulan. The problem was that our Jackie Chan video was not playing loudly enough for us to hear, so we didn't do as well as we had practiced. Then Brian from class 2 sang "Swing Life Away" while accompanying himself on the guitar. The next act was class 3 reading a poem, followed by the Beijing freshmen spontaneously (at Gu Laoshi's suggestion) singing "Beijing Huanying Ni," which is still my new favorite song. We did our charades (which felt very silly), then class 5 re-enacted a Chinese dating show, class 3 sang their song, class 2 sang "Good Riddance" but wrote a new verse about being in China using both Chinese and English, and class 4 wrapped the show with their songs performed by the class band.
After the talent show, we mingled with the freshmen and took photos. I had some great conversations with three of them, one of whom is going to live in my dormitory! That was very exciting. I gave them my e-mail, and one of them saw the Chinese vocabulary I had written on my legal pad that I was carrying. She asked how long I had been learning Chinese and was impressed that it had only been eight weeks. I am so excited to see these new students on campus, and I hope that I can hang out with my Chinese dorm-mates to keep up what I've learned here. I'm so excited for them to come to join my university!! Their energy is fantastic and they are so ready to jump into everything.
I walked home with Andrea and Sam, and we got to talk about successful Chinese langauge experiences in the world rather than the classroom, and I began hugging people good bye because I don't know who I'm going to see tomorrow before I go. It's tough, but I know that I will be seeing the majority of them in just six weeks, so it's really okay. I just need to do the hugging to put a capstone on our time together here.
By the time I got home, it was after 10:00, so I had some relaxing time before going to sleep.
Today is awesome because I got to meet a new member of my residential college. Today is notsome because of saying good bye.
I had two eggs for lunch from the baozi cafeteria, then I finished the cafeteria money on my card by buying a soda from the convenience store. For the early afternoon, I walked all over Bei Da's campus so I could make sure to see everything one last time. I got to take pictures and vlog a little, and it was pretty emotional to realize how much this campus has come to feel like it's mine and that I'll really miss it. The vlogging was pretty sentimental, particularly because I felt like it was my present self talking to my future self so I could remember how I was feeling as this program was ending.
I know I've talked about the program ending for a while now, but being the last day of actual programming, it's feeling more real than the time crunch countdown that I've been feeling. I really leave the day after tomorrow. There is absolutely no time to find more things to do. It's ending. It just hit home a lot harder when I was walking around.
When I got back to my room, I did some more packing and organizing for departure, and then I did some computer business. I had a couple of e-mails to answer, my camera needed uploading and charging, I charged my electronics for the airplane, and I took the time to fill out my program evaluation for the office at my university. The survey took a lot longer than they said it would, but that could be my own fault for taking a long time to write detailed answers. I hope it helps them. After all the business was taken care of, I had a little more than an hour before the talent show, and I used that time to watch some videos and generally relax before our final program. And, yeah, hitting 1700 photos was pretty exciting!!!
The talent show was at 6PM in Shaoyuan Building 7, the same place we had orientation and welcome lunch on the first day as well as the 4th of July celebration. I met with my classmates to walk over at 5:40 so we could be there a little early, and we arrived in time to greet our teachers and find seats before the program started. We sat by class, which was both nice and limiting, and Gu Laoshi began the evening with a speech (in Chinese) welcoming everybody and introducing the different groups of people present. There were not only the students, but also the Bei Da officials, our language teachers, some alumni from our American university, and the incoming international students from Beijing and their parents. Next, the head of the language program at Bei Da made a speech about how well we did learning Chinese, and we got to eat dinner when she was done.
After dinner, we had the talent show. Our class went first and sang "Nan Zi Han" from Mulan. The problem was that our Jackie Chan video was not playing loudly enough for us to hear, so we didn't do as well as we had practiced. Then Brian from class 2 sang "Swing Life Away" while accompanying himself on the guitar. The next act was class 3 reading a poem, followed by the Beijing freshmen spontaneously (at Gu Laoshi's suggestion) singing "Beijing Huanying Ni," which is still my new favorite song. We did our charades (which felt very silly), then class 5 re-enacted a Chinese dating show, class 3 sang their song, class 2 sang "Good Riddance" but wrote a new verse about being in China using both Chinese and English, and class 4 wrapped the show with their songs performed by the class band.
After the talent show, we mingled with the freshmen and took photos. I had some great conversations with three of them, one of whom is going to live in my dormitory! That was very exciting. I gave them my e-mail, and one of them saw the Chinese vocabulary I had written on my legal pad that I was carrying. She asked how long I had been learning Chinese and was impressed that it had only been eight weeks. I am so excited to see these new students on campus, and I hope that I can hang out with my Chinese dorm-mates to keep up what I've learned here. I'm so excited for them to come to join my university!! Their energy is fantastic and they are so ready to jump into everything.
I walked home with Andrea and Sam, and we got to talk about successful Chinese langauge experiences in the world rather than the classroom, and I began hugging people good bye because I don't know who I'm going to see tomorrow before I go. It's tough, but I know that I will be seeing the majority of them in just six weeks, so it's really okay. I just need to do the hugging to put a capstone on our time together here.
By the time I got home, it was after 10:00, so I had some relaxing time before going to sleep.
Today is awesome because I got to meet a new member of my residential college. Today is notsome because of saying good bye.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Done with Schoolwork!!
Meiyou zuoye 没有作业 I don't have homework!!!
I really like the conclusion of classes, no matter what country they are in. It is quite liberating to not have to do homework or study anymore, particularly when the studying I have been doing was intensively learning around 25 Chinese characters each night.
I also realized that I only wake up in Beijing three more times (contact lens count and whatnot), and that's totally weird to me. I think that over my time here, even though I've known it was temporary and finite, I set up a sort of routine and life, and that pattern has been very fun and awesome all summer. I'm sad to see it go, especially because there are so many more things to see and do in this enormous country. That said, I'm still okay with leaving because I haven't seen my family for a long time and I haven't been home since March, so there are also things to look forward to as consolation for leaving my adventure in China. I think it's good that I have a bittersweet conclusion because it means I had a great time while I was away and I have people and things to come home to!
I took my Chinese final in the morning, and when we were all done with the test we practiced for the talent show and finished a movie about food and family that we had been watching all week. I finished my test pretty quickly and ended up having time to do some life tasks including a stop at the dorm, and I ended up walking back to class with four of the five students in our Chinese 2 class. It was pretty funny, and nice to have walking companions. Before class (since I woke up remarkably early today) I decided to go to the store on campus that uses the meal card to buy yogurt and a coffee, but then I remembered that they don't have the coffee I like and the yogurt I got was really odd. It was a cardboard cup of drinking yogurt that came with a straw. The package had a picture of a strawberry and some sort of grain on the outside, and when I started sipping, it was indeed strawberry yogurt, but there were pieces of cooked barley or something. It made it taste like cake and I didn't finish it because I didn't like it after a while.
After Chinese class, our class and class 3 went to a restaurant called Spice Spirit for lunch. Our Laoshi drove me and two other classmates, and he has a membership at the restaurant, so he knew just what to order. He really ordered too much food, but it was delicious. The main thing he wanted us to try was the Sichuan oil cooked fish, and that is served with a piece of bread to soak up the oil. I ate a little bit of that to try it, but my favorites were the salad, the lettuce with peanut sauce, the mapo tofu, and the pineapple rice. I think all the food was really delicious, but the entire meal was very spicy, so there was nothing to cool off my mouth with. The lettuce with peanut sauce and the pineapple rice were cooling and the rice was sweet, but the spicy was everywhere. I liked it though; it was tasty spicy. Other things on the table were prawns (they had full shells so I didn't try it), frog, chicken, spicy noodles, and spicy vegetables.
I spent the two hours of afternoon time I had relaxing in my air conditioned room, and then I left to meet Yizhou (my friend from high school who is a 北京人) at the subway station near Houhi for our meetup. In planning, we decided to meet at the station because we could then take a taxi together, and we were meeting early to beat rush hour crowds. I know the subways so well, so when we picked a station I knew exactly where it was and how to get there with the transfers without having to look it up, which was really cool.
When I was waiting at the 地铁站 (subway station), a guard came up to me to see what I was doing. I either looked lost or suspicious, but I told him 我的朋友在地铁三个站 (my friend is on the subway for three more stops). I didn't know how to say I was waiting for my friend, but the message came across and I was really happy to have handled the interaction.
We took a taxi from the station to the Houhai area, and it was really cool there. Houhai is a lake with a few bridges, an island, and lots of boats for rent that is surrounded by storefront after storefront of bars, clubs, and restaurants. Yizhou had made a reservation at a Yunnan restaurant, so we walked around and then went there for dinner. We ordered their specialties of beef and fish (best fish I ate; it was grilled with lemongrass), and we got chicken soup, pea flour glutinous rectangles, and bamboo rice. I really liked the food and the fish was my favorite. The soup was the best soup I've had in China (not such a fan of the seaweed soups), and the rice was extra sticky and a little bit sweet. The restaurant was decorated with paper flowers, lanterns, and wooden surfaces, and we had a table on the second floor by the window overlooking the lake, so it was a fantastic setting.
I loved getting to spend time with Yizhou and talk about life. She told me about her summer internship, travel to and from her American university, her upcoming semester abroad in Hong Kong, and her jazz dance class. I told her about my time in China and we played some "where are they now" with our former classmates. I used a lot of my Chinese language with her, and she was excited that I could speak at all, and I was excited to be speaking, so it was really fun. We walked all around the lake and took some pictures before ending our evening with beverages from a smoothie/juice/tea shop, and then going to the train station together. We took the same line but in opposite directions, so our good-bye hugs were on the subway platform. It was so fantastic to get to spend time with my friend, and I am truly happy to still be friends after these years apart.
Returning home was easy, and when I got back to my room around 10:00, I wrapped up my day with a shower, writing my blog, and going to sleep.
Today is awesome because I finished my classes, I had two fantastic meals, and I got to see Yizhou.
I really like the conclusion of classes, no matter what country they are in. It is quite liberating to not have to do homework or study anymore, particularly when the studying I have been doing was intensively learning around 25 Chinese characters each night.
I also realized that I only wake up in Beijing three more times (contact lens count and whatnot), and that's totally weird to me. I think that over my time here, even though I've known it was temporary and finite, I set up a sort of routine and life, and that pattern has been very fun and awesome all summer. I'm sad to see it go, especially because there are so many more things to see and do in this enormous country. That said, I'm still okay with leaving because I haven't seen my family for a long time and I haven't been home since March, so there are also things to look forward to as consolation for leaving my adventure in China. I think it's good that I have a bittersweet conclusion because it means I had a great time while I was away and I have people and things to come home to!
I took my Chinese final in the morning, and when we were all done with the test we practiced for the talent show and finished a movie about food and family that we had been watching all week. I finished my test pretty quickly and ended up having time to do some life tasks including a stop at the dorm, and I ended up walking back to class with four of the five students in our Chinese 2 class. It was pretty funny, and nice to have walking companions. Before class (since I woke up remarkably early today) I decided to go to the store on campus that uses the meal card to buy yogurt and a coffee, but then I remembered that they don't have the coffee I like and the yogurt I got was really odd. It was a cardboard cup of drinking yogurt that came with a straw. The package had a picture of a strawberry and some sort of grain on the outside, and when I started sipping, it was indeed strawberry yogurt, but there were pieces of cooked barley or something. It made it taste like cake and I didn't finish it because I didn't like it after a while.
After Chinese class, our class and class 3 went to a restaurant called Spice Spirit for lunch. Our Laoshi drove me and two other classmates, and he has a membership at the restaurant, so he knew just what to order. He really ordered too much food, but it was delicious. The main thing he wanted us to try was the Sichuan oil cooked fish, and that is served with a piece of bread to soak up the oil. I ate a little bit of that to try it, but my favorites were the salad, the lettuce with peanut sauce, the mapo tofu, and the pineapple rice. I think all the food was really delicious, but the entire meal was very spicy, so there was nothing to cool off my mouth with. The lettuce with peanut sauce and the pineapple rice were cooling and the rice was sweet, but the spicy was everywhere. I liked it though; it was tasty spicy. Other things on the table were prawns (they had full shells so I didn't try it), frog, chicken, spicy noodles, and spicy vegetables.
I spent the two hours of afternoon time I had relaxing in my air conditioned room, and then I left to meet Yizhou (my friend from high school who is a 北京人) at the subway station near Houhi for our meetup. In planning, we decided to meet at the station because we could then take a taxi together, and we were meeting early to beat rush hour crowds. I know the subways so well, so when we picked a station I knew exactly where it was and how to get there with the transfers without having to look it up, which was really cool.
When I was waiting at the 地铁站 (subway station), a guard came up to me to see what I was doing. I either looked lost or suspicious, but I told him 我的朋友在地铁三个站 (my friend is on the subway for three more stops). I didn't know how to say I was waiting for my friend, but the message came across and I was really happy to have handled the interaction.
We took a taxi from the station to the Houhai area, and it was really cool there. Houhai is a lake with a few bridges, an island, and lots of boats for rent that is surrounded by storefront after storefront of bars, clubs, and restaurants. Yizhou had made a reservation at a Yunnan restaurant, so we walked around and then went there for dinner. We ordered their specialties of beef and fish (best fish I ate; it was grilled with lemongrass), and we got chicken soup, pea flour glutinous rectangles, and bamboo rice. I really liked the food and the fish was my favorite. The soup was the best soup I've had in China (not such a fan of the seaweed soups), and the rice was extra sticky and a little bit sweet. The restaurant was decorated with paper flowers, lanterns, and wooden surfaces, and we had a table on the second floor by the window overlooking the lake, so it was a fantastic setting.
I loved getting to spend time with Yizhou and talk about life. She told me about her summer internship, travel to and from her American university, her upcoming semester abroad in Hong Kong, and her jazz dance class. I told her about my time in China and we played some "where are they now" with our former classmates. I used a lot of my Chinese language with her, and she was excited that I could speak at all, and I was excited to be speaking, so it was really fun. We walked all around the lake and took some pictures before ending our evening with beverages from a smoothie/juice/tea shop, and then going to the train station together. We took the same line but in opposite directions, so our good-bye hugs were on the subway platform. It was so fantastic to get to spend time with my friend, and I am truly happy to still be friends after these years apart.
Returning home was easy, and when I got back to my room around 10:00, I wrapped up my day with a shower, writing my blog, and going to sleep.
Today is awesome because I finished my classes, I had two fantastic meals, and I got to see Yizhou.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Puppets, Nanluoguxiang, and Wrapping Up TCM
Today was a special day. I skipped Chinese class to finally see my puppet show and I finished my TCM class, so the Public Health portion of this trip is concluded. I woke up at the normal time today, but instead of going to class, I first skyped my parents and then took the subway over to the puppet theater. I got there early and was asked to wait downstairs. I was one of five people there; the other four were two women with their two boys. They took photos in all the places I was last night, and I did some additional exploring before taking my seat front row center.
Ten minutes before curtain time, and little boy and his father arrived. Then, at both five til and five past ten, a bunch of audience members arrived. There was a young family who sat next to me on the right, and another family who sat on my left. The little boy didn't want to sit next to me, but I think he was more comfortable after I said 你好. Chinese people do not arrive early or on time for things.
It was kind of awkward to be alone and clearly foreign, and I was sad for the theater and company that the audience was so small, or at least it was for most of the time leading up to the show. However, despite this sadness, my excitement grew as time passed. I was finally going to see the show I've been trying to see!! Sixth time's the charm, right? The space itself was adorable, the music playing was very Chinese and certainly too loud, but it set the right mood, and I could see costumed people moving backstage.
The show started with one person wearing a triangular hat speaking, then an empress type character entered and the two of them talked. I don't know what they said, but they mentioned 朋友们 (pengyoumen; friends) a lot and used the phrase 朋友们一起 (pengyoumen yiqi; friends together), so that's was cool that they were using inclusive audience language.
The first shadow play was with three human characters and a tiger. The couple talked and possibly argued about something, and then another man entered, and the husband served him water and something alcoholic (I heard 水 and 酒). Then the drunk guy took a hike and the story ended with him fighting a tiger. The fight was really cool and very dynamic. The puppets did exactly what I wanted them to do, and I loved the interaction with music in a sort of Peking Opera style way, and there was even a time when the husband was rapping (more like speaking rhythmically, but it was still cool). They did have Chinese subtitles for the dialogue, so that helped since they spoke so fast.
Instead of an intermission, the pengyoumen were invited backstage to try the puppets. At first I didn't realize we were all allowed to play, but I was out of my seat as soon as I realized what was happening. It was the coolest part!! I was so happy to see behind the shadow screen and try controlling one of the people. Seeing the real construction of these puppets and the theater was so rewarding, particularly because I knew what I was looking at. I'm really happy that this is a standard part of their shows.
After the break, we saw another shadow play. This one had no dialogue and took place on a lake. The characters were a bird (a heron or stork), two frogs, a turtle, and some fish. The scenes were set using still pieces made from the same painted leather as the puppets, and there was a rock in a lake with some lily pads and a lotus plant that bloomed during the show. The bird was so lifelike and moved so well when it was flying, preening, and hunting. I love the frog puppets, they are pretty common to try playing with, and the turtle was just so funny because his head poked in and out of his shell. The puppets did what they were supposed to do, moving like life and dying like toys, and I was so happy to see the show.
It was a very hot day!! I managed the subway by myself totally fine (it was only one stop), and as I was walking back to the dorm, I got hiccups. I used TCM to make them go away by holding my breath and pressing the Neiguan acupoint, and it worked! That was pretty awesome. I had baozi for lunch with some friends, then did some studying, and took my TCM final at 2:00. It was an easy test, but I felt like the questions were looking for certain answers without asking the question they wanted to ask. It was open book, so it was very smooth.
I finished and got home around 3, when I started working on my studying for Chinese and writing my final paper for TCM. I wrote my paper about treatment of injuries with TCM therapies based on our clinical experiences. It was not a big deal. At 3:30, I met with Marissa to go to Nanluoguxiang because we planned to go together at the point when neither of us had been. It was fun to walk around, and we enjoyed going into the cupcake shop, tea shop, and journal shop. It was a cool area to walk around, and we made it back to campus around 6:30. On the train going there, for one stop there was a young family and the little boy tried to speak English to me. He said "peace" and "you are beautiful" and I responded in Chinese. His parents seemed impressed that I could reply in their language, and when they left I said "zaijian, pengyou," which means goodbye friend, and the cuteness of the interaction was a fantastic memory. I finished my paper, and then was in for the night. I needed to study for my Chinese final because I have to reinforce all the grammar plus learn the vocab that was reviewed in class today. The test shouldn't be too hard, but I do need to prepare.
I'm feeling great in this last week. I'm keeping busy, seeing the last things I need and want to see, and getting through the work part with effort and ease. I'm very happy with how this trip has gone, and I felt my progress when ordering ice cream at the hutong today (I don't like cupcakes; we were just intrigued by the presence of a cupcake shop since they're so trendy). I couldn't have done that when we got here and now it's not a big deal at all. That is simply amazing to me.
Today is awesome because I finally got to see my puppet show and it was everything I wanted, and I finished TCM class successfully.
Ten minutes before curtain time, and little boy and his father arrived. Then, at both five til and five past ten, a bunch of audience members arrived. There was a young family who sat next to me on the right, and another family who sat on my left. The little boy didn't want to sit next to me, but I think he was more comfortable after I said 你好. Chinese people do not arrive early or on time for things.
It was kind of awkward to be alone and clearly foreign, and I was sad for the theater and company that the audience was so small, or at least it was for most of the time leading up to the show. However, despite this sadness, my excitement grew as time passed. I was finally going to see the show I've been trying to see!! Sixth time's the charm, right? The space itself was adorable, the music playing was very Chinese and certainly too loud, but it set the right mood, and I could see costumed people moving backstage.
The show started with one person wearing a triangular hat speaking, then an empress type character entered and the two of them talked. I don't know what they said, but they mentioned 朋友们 (pengyoumen; friends) a lot and used the phrase 朋友们一起 (pengyoumen yiqi; friends together), so that's was cool that they were using inclusive audience language.
The first shadow play was with three human characters and a tiger. The couple talked and possibly argued about something, and then another man entered, and the husband served him water and something alcoholic (I heard 水 and 酒). Then the drunk guy took a hike and the story ended with him fighting a tiger. The fight was really cool and very dynamic. The puppets did exactly what I wanted them to do, and I loved the interaction with music in a sort of Peking Opera style way, and there was even a time when the husband was rapping (more like speaking rhythmically, but it was still cool). They did have Chinese subtitles for the dialogue, so that helped since they spoke so fast.
Instead of an intermission, the pengyoumen were invited backstage to try the puppets. At first I didn't realize we were all allowed to play, but I was out of my seat as soon as I realized what was happening. It was the coolest part!! I was so happy to see behind the shadow screen and try controlling one of the people. Seeing the real construction of these puppets and the theater was so rewarding, particularly because I knew what I was looking at. I'm really happy that this is a standard part of their shows.
After the break, we saw another shadow play. This one had no dialogue and took place on a lake. The characters were a bird (a heron or stork), two frogs, a turtle, and some fish. The scenes were set using still pieces made from the same painted leather as the puppets, and there was a rock in a lake with some lily pads and a lotus plant that bloomed during the show. The bird was so lifelike and moved so well when it was flying, preening, and hunting. I love the frog puppets, they are pretty common to try playing with, and the turtle was just so funny because his head poked in and out of his shell. The puppets did what they were supposed to do, moving like life and dying like toys, and I was so happy to see the show.
It was a very hot day!! I managed the subway by myself totally fine (it was only one stop), and as I was walking back to the dorm, I got hiccups. I used TCM to make them go away by holding my breath and pressing the Neiguan acupoint, and it worked! That was pretty awesome. I had baozi for lunch with some friends, then did some studying, and took my TCM final at 2:00. It was an easy test, but I felt like the questions were looking for certain answers without asking the question they wanted to ask. It was open book, so it was very smooth.
I finished and got home around 3, when I started working on my studying for Chinese and writing my final paper for TCM. I wrote my paper about treatment of injuries with TCM therapies based on our clinical experiences. It was not a big deal. At 3:30, I met with Marissa to go to Nanluoguxiang because we planned to go together at the point when neither of us had been. It was fun to walk around, and we enjoyed going into the cupcake shop, tea shop, and journal shop. It was a cool area to walk around, and we made it back to campus around 6:30. On the train going there, for one stop there was a young family and the little boy tried to speak English to me. He said "peace" and "you are beautiful" and I responded in Chinese. His parents seemed impressed that I could reply in their language, and when they left I said "zaijian, pengyou," which means goodbye friend, and the cuteness of the interaction was a fantastic memory. I finished my paper, and then was in for the night. I needed to study for my Chinese final because I have to reinforce all the grammar plus learn the vocab that was reviewed in class today. The test shouldn't be too hard, but I do need to prepare.
I'm feeling great in this last week. I'm keeping busy, seeing the last things I need and want to see, and getting through the work part with effort and ease. I'm very happy with how this trip has gone, and I felt my progress when ordering ice cream at the hutong today (I don't like cupcakes; we were just intrigued by the presence of a cupcake shop since they're so trendy). I couldn't have done that when we got here and now it's not a big deal at all. That is simply amazing to me.
Today is awesome because I finally got to see my puppet show and it was everything I wanted, and I finished TCM class successfully.
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