My First Free Weekend

So, like the title says, this was the first weekend in which I was master of my schedule. I started out by sleeping in till 11, which surprised me. Usually I can't sleep very well past 9, and I'm lucky if I can doze till 10:30. Makes me think I'm still working on adjusting to the time. Either that, or staying up till 2 in the morning talking with people from home messed up my schedule...:-P

Around lunchtime Pla and I went to get lunch from the street, and to find the Tianyi Market which she had looked up online. It's not too far away by subway, but then once we got off the subway it was a 4 block walk to the market. Now, I'm not talking about a typical American block, I'm talking about a Beijing block, which is about the equivalent of 2 American blocks. It was a lot of walking. But the market was worth the walk! It was a very different experience than the Pearl Market. The Tianyi Market had just as many items - if not more - and catered more towards local people than foreigners. We were able to browse in peace, and even though we didn't buy anything on that trip, I think we'll definitely be back!

After our adventure at the market, we picked up Rachel (another girl studying with our program), and the three of us went to Pyro Pizza to meet up with students who had just arrived to study at BeiDa. That part of the evening was a little overwhelming because there were 75 students packed into the basement of the place, but it was nice to meet some of the people that we'll have classes with.

Sunday I woke up at 8 (quite the change from the day before!), and could not sleep anymore. So I read, and I have to say, I lost track of time. It was about 11 before I got out of bed, and that was only so I could move to the couch to eat. I continued reading and studying most of the day, and it was one of the most restful days I've had in a while. I did venture out of the dorm for a while, and walked around the area. I stopped by the convenience store (I found cheese sticks that were inexpensive! In an area where most snack foods are meat flavored, this is quite the accomplishment!), the local fruit stand (I bought and tried a dragon fruit - yummy!), bought some baozi, and managed to buy a grape smoothie. It was somewhat humbling to realize that while shopping I have to rely heavily on objects that have pictures or English - I am becoming very sympathetic to anyone who comes to America without being able to speak or read English. I know we Americans like to say, "Hey, this country speaks English, get with the program or don't come here", but it's not quite as simple as that. I have no sympathy for people who go to a foreign country and do not try to learn the dominant language. But, at the same time, it is extremely intimidating to go to another country without being able to speak or read the language very well. I hope that when I return, I'll be more understanding of people who may not be able to communicate there very well.

Today's classes were not bad - I had dictation quizzes in both classes, and I think I did alright! Characters do not come naturally to me, so I am hoping that by being surrounded by them I'll catch on a little faster. We also got 4 new students in our class! The class now consists of 4 Americans, 1 Indonesian, 3 Japanese, 1 Russian, 1 Swede, 1 Kazakhstanian, and 1 Frenchman (I think I may have just butchered those nationalities...I'm sorry!). I'm excited to get to know some of them a little better! Speaking of which...

My favorite part of today was having lunch with two of my Japanese classmates! We went to a local restaurant, and they were able to help me understand a little bit of the menu - progress!! I had so much fun talking with them, even though it was a little difficult to communicate. We spoke "Chinglish" - a combination of Chinese and English. When we couldn't understand each other, out came a pen and paper so that we could write it. I found out that speaking English and Chinese is difficult for them, because the Japanese language does not require much movement of the mouth. So after 4 hours of Chinese class each day, their mouths hurt because of the muscles that are not used to being used. We also talked about what we're studying at our home universities (one of them is studying international communication, and she is the first person here to completely understand what my communication major means! I can't tell you how happy that made me...), what made us want to study Chinese, food in our respective countries, and many other subjects that led to a better understanding of each others' cultures - not to mention each other. I can't wait until we can all speak better Chinese so we can talk a little more in-depth!

After an afternoon nap (I didn't mean to! One minute I was reading and the next...well...), I went to a Muslim restaurant for dinner with my friends. The food was very good, and the rice was reminiscent of Mexican rice. We also had a beef and potatoes dish that was very homey in its taste - yum yum!!

Time to work on homework! Have a great Labor Day everyone!