Sept 4, 2014This morning was super lax, I had tea with Cassidy and chatted until class. I am really enjoying our class it has a good feel and the Laoshi is very enthusiastic about teaching us Chinese. We have moved into the ordering food chapter so perhaps it shall come in handy in the following weeks. After class I went with Jesse to “Sichuan Alley” it’s a back road that is lined with restaurants. I had been looking for it but hadn’t been able to find it. I even ordered for us in Chinese which was fairly interesting accomplishment for me. After we wandered back to the dorms I sat around and chatted with Dee and Raphi. Dee is from DC and Raphi is our resident Australian. Thy are lovely ladies and I enjoyed talking shop. At four I finally got a Chinese SIM card and Phone. I can now communicate with people, instead of shouting down the hall.
Cassidy and Brennan had job interviews today for teaching. I am going to sign up for English paid tutoring instead of a more serious job situation. That way I can make and cancel my hours as necessary for school. Jose, Brennan, Cassidy and I head out to find a restaurant that WeiWei (teacher and office staff) recommended. It turned out to be steak joint that was expensive and not very good. Oh well, live and learn. We had fun talking though, when bad experiences happen we tend to make each other laugh so we also get a good memory out of it. Apparently Brennan and Cassidy decided that I would be able to live in a hammock, and nothing else. They said I was just easy going when it came to the conditions of our dorms and any mildly frustrating situation. We laughed hard and we went back to the dorm satisfied with life. We then chit chatted in the hallway with other dorm members. Raphi, Dee, and I are going down to try out the track. I can’t wait to run again, it should be good.
Sept. 5, 2014
Today I got up with Raphi, Dee, and Jose to go running at the track. I was super excited because it’s been so long since I have run, I immediately took off around the track. It was a good time until I discover what heavy polluted air does to running lungs. It was rough trying to breathe, it’s something I will have to get used to. Raphi goes regularly to the track so I will continue to join her. After the run I went to get baozi for breakfast and then just hang out in my room. Down time is weird here because there is always people wandering in and out of the area. I took Dee, Raphi and Erik to Sichuan alley to acquire lunch which was of course quite delicious. I love my close group but I am also enjoying going out and about with everyone in the program. New ideas and different experiences keeps life interesting.
After lunch we took off for Calligraphy class. Our Laoshi took us on a field trip to the antique market, where we could buy all of our calligraphy supplies. It was really cool to see the small jade market and maybe a more local area to shop. The calligraphy shop was super interesting, brushes and paper everywhere. There were so many of us that the owner had to run back to their house to grab all the supplies we needed. We then took a bus back where we immediately had to go to a meet and greet with Chinese English majors. Everyone was super sweet and very friendly. It was nice to finally get an opportunity to meet other Chinese students, all of whom live in our building. We (Myself, Raphi, Cassidy, Brennan, Molly and Grace) then went to Jinling street (famous tourist area) to get food. I will also now mention that Leanne, the home office director arrived today for an onsite tour of Chengdu. She also came with us for dinner. We walked back and chatted about life and experiences, it was a really good time. I showed Leanne a convenience store on campus and then we headed up into my room to chat. I volunteered for Wentao that I would help Leanne as much as I could while I was here. Everyone on our program is extremely friendly so I am sure she will have no issues fitting in. Tomorrow I will be going to see Pandas and take a tour of the city.
No comments:
Post a Comment