798 Art District+Some Troubles

And so begins week three in Beijing. This past weekend has been eventful and cold. Oh, so very very cold. Which will be relevant later on, just you wait. On Friday my apartment, sans two members, went to a bar for dinner. The bar was like being back in America. There were more foreigners than Chinese citizens at the bar, a concept that prior would have felt normal, but now felt out of place. I was more wary, nay I say mad, at the large amount of foreigners. Is that the sign that I am now a true Beijing person? I had a good lamb burger, fairly priced so I walked away happy.
Saturday my program took us to 798, an art district. It was fun and we took a lot of pictures, but there was a LARGE problem with the day. It was cold, colder than usual actually, and the district was ALL outside. So, I struggled and constantly fled indoors towards the semi-heat. I'll include some pictures we took at 798. I also got a chance to eat with three Chinese natives and my two teachers, which meant I got to try a lot of good food I normally wouldn't have bought for myself. We had Hunan food, which is the food from the hometown of Yang laoshi (my teacher who lives with me) and two of the Chinese people who ate with us. The food is spicy, but not too spicy. Although, I got in trouble with calling it not spicy. When I ate the leftovers the next day, let's just say in the middle of the meal I had to run and get some yogurt.

Saturday night, after some resting, our apartments, plus Yang laoshi, failed to go to a jazz bar. The night we had chosen was an expensive night for the jazz bar so we fled the scene and instead went to KTV. We sang mostly Chinese songs (expected) and Korean songs (don't ask).
Sunday, we cooked not-Chinese food (I wouldn't go so far as to call it American food) and had a joint apartment dinner. It was a lot of fun and we got to relax and laugh and have a good time.

All sounds good about the weekend, doesn't it? And it was, don't get me wrong. Until I woke up Monday morning. I'm guessing it was a combination of being out in the cold for too long and my roommate still not being fully recovered from the flu, but no matter the cause, I woke up sick. I'm currently eating my fair share of oranges, taking medicine every moment I am able to, and hoping to sleep like it's my job. Let's see how my school work fairs.
Until a hopefully not-sick next time!

My Program

So, in the timeline of my trip, this post is a little late. But nonetheless, it is now being written (and read). In case you were unaware of the purpose of this trip to China, it is not entirely a trip based around vacationing and sightseeing. The main purpose of my four month long stay in China is to study abroad here.
The program I am on is called China Studies Institute. Through this program I have two choices in program types: immersion and non-immersion. Take a wild guess at which program I chose?
Yes, I chose the immersion program (although I am thinking more and more about taking another semester here as a non-immersion).
So, here is the quick and easy breakdown of what being an immersion student in this program means. I am intensively studying the Mandarin language, which includes 25 hours of Chinese class every week. Oh, and did I mention I can't speak English Monday through Friday? Yeah there is that. It has only been a measly week, but I can tell my language abilities are many times better than when I started.
But, being an immersion student does not just mean studying the language intensively 24/7. It does not just mean sitting with a book open studying. That could be done in the states. No, being an immersion student means immersing myself in the culture as well. That is why I live in an apartment, which gives me the ability to mingle with more native speakers.
I have also made many friends here in China, who I hope to keep in contact with over the years. I've learned how to cook Chinese dishes (get ready to taste them none stop if you are around me when I get back). I have tried all the dishes and foods I can get my hands on (including the scorpion I mentioned before). I am learning the Beijing accent so as to fit in.
I have also become a known regular at my favorite breakfast spot. The guard at my building at school knows me and we frequently talk about our days before my class. All of this could not be done in the states. And that is why I decided to study abroad.
I mentioned that the program name is China Studies Institute. You might be wondering how I decided on this program. I could give a completely academic reason, but that would be lying. The real reason I chose this program was that you take a two week long "study" trip at the end. And by "study" I mean glorified two week vacationing around China. Hey, it came at no extra cost and who am I to decline extra traveling?
Since, I love pictures I'll include one of my breakfast. Be prepared to drool.
Until the next stable connection!

Pictures Finally!

 This is a picture of one of the food stalls I saw. The scorpions in the back were alive and still wriggling around!

 This is a picture of our two apartments together. Everyone except one person is in the immersion Program. The girl to the right of me is my roommate!

 Me eating dinner with two of my roommates.

 Girl's apartment group photo (minus our Chinese roommate).

Eek! I had two sticks of these they were so good!

First Week in China

It has been officially one week that I have been in Beijing. This first week has been a whirlwind of emotions: tired, stressed, excited, awed. From the moment I landed I have been learning so much and seeing so many sites (as well as eating so many new foods).

Beijing University (北大）is a huge campus. It is practically it's own town. The first two days we toured around the campus and I saw so many buildings that I soon forgot where everything was. There is a huge lake on campus that is currently frozen over. It was the first lake that I've seen frozen over where people can ice skate on it.

Speaking of freezing, the weather here is so cold. I definitely prefer Georgia's winters haha. I have never appreciated a winter coat like I have in this one week in Beijing.

My favorite moment this week has been the food street we went to on Saturday night. There were stalls upon stalls of food vendors selling everything from fried tarantulas to soup dumplings. As a food lover and avid food seeker, it was definitely a happy place for me. I tried scorpion, bubble waffles, Chinese hamburger, fried soup dumplings, and dried pork skin. And I regret eating none of it so I would consider it a successful trip. I also visited a seven story bookstore after the food street. All in all, that was a great day.

I just finished planning my 春节 trip. I'm going to the Harbin Ice Festival with two of my roommates. We are going to stay with one of my roommates friend's family. Be on the look out for that post in about a month!

Until next time when the VPN is solid...


P.S. I was going to add pictures but they won't load :( If I can get it working I'll make another post for them!

Off to China

Atlanta decided to send me off with warm weather, foggy skies, and lots of traffic. The next I will see my home town, two seasons will have passed, the Super Bowl will have occurred (let's hope with the Falcons), three major holidays will have gone by, and I will be fluent in Chinese. That's a lot to occur and a lot to comprehend.

It still feels unreal that I will be spending a semester in China, a country I have long loved and been fascinated with. Ever since fifth grade I've known that I want to speak Chinese and I have been lucky enough to have such early exposure to the language, and to have had opportunities to study in China. I spent a month in China during high school, to test the waters one could say. And test them I did. Upon arriving back in the U.S. after that month, my fascination wasn't quenched but ignited. I knew after that I would spend a semester studying the language in China.

But everyone says that. The idea of studying abroad is amazing and fascinating and goals. But actually following through? Stressful. Nerve racking. And to be honest? Still doesn't feel real.
I am going to try and update this blog weekly, hopefully more often. Some of the posts might be long. Some of the posts might be very short. Some will be more composed, some I won't even reread. Some might be all photos, some might have none. But I can guarantee they will all be about my time travelling. (And let's be honest, most will be about food).

I would like to have a little shout-out time. Shout out to my parents for putting up with my crazy fascination with China and being totally supportive of my desire to constantly go across the world. Thanks to my grandparents for keeping me grounded and always giving me advice and believing in me. Thanks to my sister for listening to me ramble about China every possible moment I have. Thanks to my friends for sticking with me and not hating me for leaving for an entire semester. Thanks to my dogs for putting up with my last minute smothers. And thanks to the people at the Atlanta Airport for not judging me as I cry writing this.

See you in China!