I've made it safely, and have been loving it here! It's morning on my third day, and I'm watching the only CCTV English channel on the TV while sipping some lime juice. It's been quite the few days with lots to see and do, many people to meet, and lots of language to practice!
My 13 hour flight was very smooth. Most of the people on the plane were from China, and I sat next to a very nice couple who couldn't speak much English, which gave me a chance to practice some Mandarin before I got to the country. I wasn't able to sleep very much at all, maybe 45 minutes at most, but I was able to look out the window at the beginning and end of the trip, and watch several movies in the interim. I have decided that China is much more interesting to fly over than the U.S. The U.S. (And Canada, actually...) looks like a bunch of patches sewn together with a random house here or there, or a lake, or a city. Not much to see. I loved looking out the window at China though! There are very few, if any, houses on their own, but there are several clusters of them scattered around. We also flew over some mountains (not like dinky little things, but huge ripples in the earth), and the texture of the ground in the flat areas is fascinating. No patches, just several different small stripes of different shades of green. We flew over a river, some lakes, and some sandy areas too.
Once I landed I made it through customs relatively easily - there were a few lines to wait in, but nothing terrible at all. The group I was meeting was already there, and because I was the last person to show up we were able to leave immediately for the school. We took a private bus, and went through some introductory things during the hour-long drive to Minzu. Once at the University, we got moved into our dorms, which are very nice. I am rooming with two other girls from my group, and we all think the dorm is very nice. It's much bigger than anything at my home university! There is a living area with a bright blue couch, a tv, a table with some chairs, a coffee table, and three desks. The next room is the bedroom, with 3 beds (linens are provided here), 2 night tables, and 3 wardrobes. Both the living area and the bedroom have air conditioners, which can be turned on and off with a remote (all in Chinese, but the blue power button is hard to miss). The bathroom has a Western-style toilet (no, I have not used a squat toilet yet, but I know that day is coming), a sink, and a shower (no shower curtain though). We have a washing machine between the bathroom and the kitchen area (no dryer). The kitchen area has a sink, a water boiler, and some cabinets, but no stove top (even though there is a vent for one??). There is also a random room, which we have dubbed the "dance party room". It's about as big as a powder room. We have a GREAT view of the city from our room - we're on the 11th floor, and have a great view of the street below (which is busy all day and night, except for maybe between 1 and 5 in the morning). If we look straight out, we can see several high rises and lots of neon lights.
After settling in the dorm, we all went out for dinner. I can't tell you half of the things I ate, except for the eggplant and the corn (the corn was fried together and then sprinkled with sugar - very yummy!), but everything was delicious. I could get used to the food here. Because we were all exhausted, we were all asleep by 10, and that was our first day!
The second day we registered at the university, got our schedules and other important information, and took a tour of the campus. It's a very pretty campus, and I can't wait to post pictures for you all to see! Afterwards, we went to the subway to get our cards to use it (they are prepaid - to go anywhere on the subway it is 2 yuan - think about 30 U.S. cents), and we went to Zhongguancun, the silicon valley of China, to find cell phones. I got a very very basic Nokia for 190 yuan ($30). I can't wait to go back sometime and visit the mall that is nearby as well!
We went back to campus to get lunch at the cafeteria. Cafeterias here are very different than in the U.S. They are very cheap, I paid 7 yuan for my meal, and that's because it included a drink (that's just over $1). Otherwise, it was 4 yuan (less than $1). You look to see what you might want to eat, tell the person behind the counter, and pay for whatever you got right there with the university card. You pay for each item, so for example, if I wanted to get a green bean dish (which probably has some sort of meat in it) and some rice, the green bean dish might be 3 yuan and the rice .30-.80 yuan. So I could pay 3.3-3.8 yuan. If I don't have a card, I'll look to see what the prices are, go to the pay counter and tell them how much I want to pay, take my receipt back to the food counter, and hand it to the person behind the counter. During lunch we found out that one of the girls had gotten a dish that had some liver or stomach in it (we couldn't figure out which - it was definitely an internal organ though!). I wasn't brave enough to try it yet, but someone else did, and apparently it's not bad.
After lunch we went over to Bejing University (Here they call it BeiDa, kind of like we'd say UWM or UVA). You have to either show your passport, student pass, or pay 5 yuan to get in because it is such an attraction, even for those who live in China. As an American, it is hard to grasp the importance of BeiDa. It is THE number one University in the country, and it is a very hard school to get into. It is like the Harvard or Yale of the U.S. but even that doesn't quite describe it. The campus houses the largest library in the country (it's a VERY big library), and the campus is absolutely gorgeous, with several traditional-looking buildings and lots of plants, trees, and ivy. One of the things that surprised me was finding out that it was designed and built by an American! I feel very excited and very honored to be able to take a class there. We met some of the people we will be working with there, and they were very friendly. Several of them were key to setting up this study abroad program with the U.S.! We spent a very pleasant afternoon there and then went back to the dorms to rest for a little bit.
For dinner, we tried hot pot, a very popular dish here. Everything is boiled in one pot - we had lotus root, sweet potato, wide noodles, glass noodles, lamb, pork, and so many other things. Along with that, we had some chestnuts and a sweet potato dish. The sweet potato was my favorite - it was cut into pieces, then coated with a sticky, sugary substance and was very hot. That is something I'd like to have again!
After dinner we were able to go back to the dorm, and our tour guide/program directors left us to explore on our own a little bit (they've shown us the area we are living in already, so we are familiar with how to get around). We went to the campus convenience store, and checked some of the prices there, and got some items we needed. After that, we met one of the students that was introduced to us as a person who was willing to help us adjust. We had met him the night before at dinner, and had expressed an interest with meeting people who would be willing to help us with our Mandarin in exchange for help with English. He brought two such student to meet us, and we had a wonderful time. He was also able to help us get connected to the school's internet, which was a huge relief to everyone!
So far, it was been quite the experience. Because we are living with other foreigners, we have already met a couple people from other countries - one from Kazakhstan and one from Cambodia. They are able to understand a little English, but it is easier to speak in Mandarin with each other.
Well, I think that is all for now! Hope you are all doing well, and that those of you in the southeast of the U.S. aren't getting hit too hard with the hurricane!
