I had class with my new Chinese teacher this morning. Yao Laoshi is teaching this class of now seven people by himself. He uses powerpoint to present the vocab and grammar, and writes on the board to show us stroke order instead of using the computer. I like that he presents the grammar in a clear way and has a syllabus that moves thematically. I really miss the smiles, laughter, and warmth we had in class with Zhang Laoshi and the TAs. For the next few weeks, we have daily dictations, lots of new vocab, weekly oral quizzes, and weekly written quizzes. I just have to keep learning my characters, and it will be fine. I don't think we will be doing any singing in this class. At lunch, my TA from last session walked by and called me over using my Chinese name, which I actually responded to. It was really nice to see her, particularly because I didn't see her in class for the first time in five weeks.
Traditional Chinese Medicine class is going to be so cool!!! We got a 290-page coursepack first thing that had a syllabus and day-by-day breakdown of what we will be covering in the class. Today's lecture was on Qi (Chi) and the Theory of Yin-Yang. Basically, Qi is the invisible particulate essence of what makes things thingy. The Theory of Yin-Yang is the dialectic in all things physical, and this extends to be applicable to health. I'm really excited about what we're learning in the class, particularly because it is more philosophical. We have the same lecturer for the first three classes, 1-2 field trips per week (pharmacy, health center, acupuncture, herb picking at the Great Wall, just to name a few), and a drop day each week. I'm very impressed by the organization of the class.
Knowing which afternoons we have off, we have already started planning excursions. I love that I know in advance when I'll have some extra free time to get around Beijing; it means that I can finish my tourist list!! I was starting to pare it down because I didn't think I'd have time to get everywhere, but it's actually going to happen because I'll be able to leave campus at 1 instead of 4. The things that are left on my list are visiting the Temple of the Origin of Dharma, the Niujie Mosque, Beihai Park, Jihngshan Park, the Lao She Teahouse, the Nanluoguxiang Hutong, and the puppet show. I'm planning on hitting the first two this Friday, the following three on another day, and then the last two will fit in on one of the other free days.
Being back at Bei Da has felt so good. I was walking to class, and I had room to spread my arms and not be pushed by other people. I am so comfortable in my room, and though I'm still catching up on sleep, it's really great to have my routine locations once more. It's so interesting how quickly this place has become my place, just a little bit. The constants of being a student help me adjust wherever I am.
Today is awesome because everything is falling into place for this second academic session to be amazingly awesome!
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