Chengdu Week 4 - End of Week update

Sept. 25, 2014

    Today was my first day back to Chinese class. I actually didn’t feel to far behind and Laoshi was able o catch me up on everything I had missed, including the quiz. Our first final is coming up on the sixth of october. We are essentially doing three semesters of Chinese in one, so the class is incredibly fast pace. After class I went to Cassidy who was getting her second to last IV infusion. She had a new friend with her an old intern named Lin. He is quite fun, Chiyi kept telling about how gullible he was. Cassidy was finished pretty quickly so we went out to lunch at a new restaurant. The restaurant would let you pick what you wanted then put everything over fried rice. It was super delicious and a better water to pile up on the vegetables. I think I will use this place to get a large infusion of veggies. We had to leave rather fast though because our history class has changed from Wednesdays to Thursdays.
    History class is always interesting Xiao Laoshi is interesting but her understanding of English sometimes hinders her understanding of what I am trying to say. She’ll often repeat what I say with mildly different words implying that it’s a new idea. It’s ok because I think that it helps the students understand the historical ideas we are talking about. We watched a movie that was meant to be biographical of Confucius’  life, but I feel they may have exaggerated in the Sage of Ages’ ninja skills. After class, it was back to the dorms for socializing and relaxation. Cassidy, Brennan, and I looked into extending into the summer. It actually looks pretty doable if I can get a job that I can rely on. That was most of the evening. We actually got to meet some new Chinese guys who were just wandering the halls looking for foreigners to speak english with. After a couple of hours of chatting we finally said good night. We holed up in Zack’s room for a movie night.

Sept. 26, 2014

Free from the hospital!!

    Today began with another trip the hospital. Cassidy was given a few tests and in an hour was cleared from needing another IV treatment. She is officially on the mend and is feeling better little by little. Since we didn’t have to be in the hospital all morning I went back to my room and skyped a few people who happened to be around. It was good to chat with some people even if my emails completely failed to send. If you have been communicating with me via email, please have patience with my response, it doesn’t always go through or I have a lot of trouble sending. I also completed my homework in the space of the morning, so I am homework free save for studying characters. At two in the afternoon I headed over to Calligraphy, which I have discovered I am terrible at but really enjoy. There is something very relaxing about the professor and just getting to attempt an ancient art.
    After class I headed out to JingLi road. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but Wentao found me a job interview. The lady’s name is Mabel (English name, I don’t know her Chinese name), she wants me to tutor her 4 year old daughter in English. It actually a pretty steady job and will help supplement my living expenses. It’s a little bit strange how much the mother wants her child to speak English but I guess someday she hopes her child will go to University in America. Mabel teaches English to Chinese high school students but it’s mostly how to read, she has a lot of trouble getting them to speak. We ended up talking for a very long time. Cindy (the little girl) is very quiet and can speak a little English, I think she may be shy. I hope that I can make learning English fun for her. I have a few games that I think she will like that will help improve her speaking ability.

Starbucks looks the same everywhere

    After the interview I went out to dinner with my friend Meiling (or Molly). She took me to the student cafeteria which was quite tasty for how cheap it was.  After we ate dinner we walked around the track. on the track in the evening the Uygur population of the school dance. I really want to get my camera out there and do some filming, but life seems to get in the way. On our way around the track I heard this strange popping sound, I asked Meiling what it was. She explained to me it was a game, and then took me to go see it. Elderly men and women were spinning a top by hitting it with a whip. The she asked one of the Ayi if I could try the game. It turns out I am pretty terrible, but a lot of people were watching and encouraging me to try harder.  It was awesome because for a moment, I was able to connect ad have fun with these elderly people. We played for maybe ten minutes, and we headed back. But I have a standing invitation to come play, which I hope to do more regularly.  Meiling is going to try to find a place where I can buy my own top to practice and hopefully get somewhat good at it.
    After coming back to the dorms I found many people in kitchen having our USAC weekly grill night. Cory, one of the residents has bought a grill from which he makes hamburgers, steaks and grilled cheese. I have a standing order for a grilled cheese sandwich. It is just a nice break from the usual flavors of Chengdu. Lin, one of the interns, came to see what we were doing and got to taste real American style fries.  I think he liked it a lot. After that is was just hanging out and socialization. I work first thing in the morning for several hours, and then I shall be running around Chengdu.

Too expensive!!!