doing the most

Hello again!

There a lots of things to update you all on, from recent excursions to daily and academic life. I'll get the academics bit out of the way first. My speech is still choppy and I have to say “你可以再说一遍吗？” (can you say that again) quite a bit, but I feel a lot more comfortable making mistakes in front of both my classmates and teachers. There truly is no judgement or disdain from them, they genuinely just want to help and see you improve. I've really enjoyed our 小班课 (small classes) and 单班课 （one-on-one classes) recently. Themes we've covered so far have ranged from trust and relationships in Chinese society to the influence of media on maintaining objectivity. Even in English these topics require a lot of thinking, and accurately conveying my opinion here within the scope of my vocabulary has required quite some creativity. I also think it's funny that I know two different ways to say "fraudulent" but don't know how to say things like toilet paper.

In individual sessions I've asked about my teachers' perspectives on everything from government surveillance to China's healthcare and legal systems to territorial disputes South China Sea. Another recent development is that I've decided to start listening to Chinese music. I'll try and get at least one song/artist recommendation from each teacher, then see what I like.

Last week we began our small interest groups where we're paired up with students from BLCU and they take us to cool places in Beijing. I went to another Hutong, Drum and Bell Towers, and Houhai (all pictured above). It was super hot, and yet I noticed Chinese women don't typically wear shorts. Even skirts and dresses are relatively long. I was sweating profusely but they looked super comfortable. America, explain!!!

The next day we went to the Great Wall, which was indeed great. There were so. many. stairs. Definitely worth the hike and the sore calves, though! I also helped a Chinese family take a picture here and they complimented my speaking ability, which was a nice, well-needed boost to my self esteem.

One Third (a nightclub in 三里屯)

- To get this place, we fit nine people in a sketchy van/taxi that should only sit 7, but it was a good time. Our drivers are always intrigued by us 外国人。The club was a lot nicer than those I've been to in the U.S., and one of the HBA students knew a promoter so there was no wait and everything was free! We lucked out for sure.

Food, Friends, & Other Fun

In other news, at our Chinese Table where we eat lunch with our teachers, we played one of those games where you have to figure out what the unspoken rule is and it was extremely entertaining watching people struggle. The food continues to be excellent. My friend and I 包‘d some 饺子 with our host family last weekend, and they also provided us with a feast. If that's not enough, I've also tried Chinese KFC (very good), learned to play mahjong, and taken a calligraphy class in the last week! Oh and also we had our first written/oral tests and first essay which weren't too bad. The teacher's have also taken mercy on us and decreased the amount of characters we have to memorize each night from 35 to 15. Truly a blessing.

Okay, I think I've finally covered everything! Stay tuned for social study trip plans, the Forbidden City, and a visit to Tsing Hua next week.

Cheers,

Sofia