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| So the other day I got to my Chinese classroom early and found that the door was locked. One of the fuwuyuan (a building assistant) came by. realized it too, and ran off only to come back later with no key in hand. I guess no one in the building had it at the moment. Instead, as a friend and I watched in amusement, the little fuwuyuan dragged a desk and chair out from another classroom, stacked them, and then climbed up and disappeared through a small window that was about 6 feet above the floor. Problem solved, she came out of the classroom with a big smile on her face. Oh, China. Our time together has been much too short. How I will miss you and all of the wonderful, random occurrences that can only be explained by the fact that I'm in China.
Two weeks left. I've already started packing. :( | | |
| I've been keeping pretty busy here in China and I apologize for not posting in so long! So much has happened that I don't even know where
to start.
The
first couple of weeks of this program the group, numbering about 100
students, split in two and traveled the Silk Road in opposite
directions. My group started in Xi'an and traveled to Lanzhou, Xia'he
(a Tibetan area), Dunhuang, Turpan, and Urumqi--all the way west in
Xinjiang Province--on overnight sleeper trains and long bus rides. It
was an amazing trip and we got to experience more of China that most
Chinese people themselves. Some of these experiences included...
...enjoying the beautiful landscape of Tibet, watching the sunrise and climbing a mountain to overlook the city.
...camping
in the Gobi Desert, lying under the stars, waking up at 4 am to ride
camels and climb a sand dune to see the sunrise--unfortunately the sun
never rose and we got caught in a sandstorm instead, but it was still a
great experience.
...enjoying a home-stay with a Uighur family, feasting the night away, and sleeping under the grapevine.
...staying
in a Khazak yurt by Heavenly Lake, experiencing the lifestyle of the
nomadic shepherds, and admiring another beautiful, star-lit sky.
Of
course we had our share of not-so-great times experiencing the worst
possible toilet situations (I've seen it all and I've definitely mastered the squat) and sickness, and by the end of the two and
a half weeks of spending 24/7 with each other, we were ready to return
to Beijing.
For
a month now I have gotten into the routine of
my classes and internship. Although Chinese has been the main source
of frustration for most, it's the class I enjoy the most. I'm in the
beginner level class which is at 8:00 - 9:40 am on Monday, Tuesday, and
Thursday mornings. There's a total of 12 people in my class and we
typcally practice dialogues with each other. My program brings in
professors from other universities to teach our classes so the other
academic classes meet for one three hour block each week. Needless to
say it's very tiring and right now we're all grateful for the weeklong
break we're currently on.
This week we are celebrating the National Holiday. The other day, a
bunch of my friends visited Tianamen Square at the wee hours of the
morning to wait with a million of other people to see the flag raised
at sunrise. Most of the people in my study abroad program have taken
this opportunity to go travel to places like Mongolia, the border of
NKorea, Hong Kong, Hainan, Shanghai, etc. I am excited about traveling
to Shanghai as well to meet up with my fellow Wheaties (Easten, Jerry,
Jeff) in a couple of days!
I have found every opportunity of being in the presence of other
believers to be a great source of refreshment and have been blessed
through the chances I have had to meet up with Brothers and Sisters
from home in these past couple of weeks. After attending ch.
yesterday, I enjoyed a nice lunch with Dr. Martindale (a Wheaton prof)
and his family. It was nice to be in family setting again. Tonight,
I get to see another Wheatie, Lydia, who is visitng Beijing for the
holiday! In the past weeks, I've also been able to meet up with
Carolyn, a Sister that I met this summer, Uncle Derek, Uncle Paul and
Auntie Alice. It's crazy to think that we're all here on the other
side of the world...what are we all doing in China?!...:p | | |
| Today was the big trip to the Great Wall. We began the climb as a group of nearly 100 students and had about 4 1/2 hours to explore but as we hiked, people kept dropping out until there were only several people actually exploring the whole wall. Three other guys and I hiked for about 3 1/2 hours and pretty much climbed the full length of the wall (although I turned around before the last and longest flight of stairs due to time). It was pretty scary since the steps were really tall in some areas of the wall. I was sweating in places I didn't know it was possible to sweat from and I don't ever remember perspiring so much in my life. The Great Wall is one of the 7 Wonders of the World because of the way it was built, but I would definitely label it as a Wonder since I can't imagine how guards would be able to walk up and down that in all of their armor on a regular basis. One thing's for sure--those guards definitely were in shape. Also, there were some people selling cold water, drinks, and popsicles at some of those guard houses. Although the guys I was with were having fun bargaining for water, I just paid the 5 RMB (about 62.5 cents) since I felt so bad that they were all old and had to lug that stuff up the wall each day.
When I got back, I rewarded myself with a nice shower, which I took in my clothes. I have decided that this is a good way for washing my clothes, even though I scoffed at the idea when my mom first presented it to me.
After getting cleaned up, we went out to enjoy a great meal from a 24 hr noodle place and it only cost me 5 RMB for a big bowl of soupy noodles and beef!!! Quite delish and satisfying :) The restaurant has this menu with English that has been translated by this guy named Howard. It is quite hilarious--he even invented his own word for fried rice (frice), something with is actually explained on the menu. I wonder if the waiters and waitresses ever find it strange and are curious as to why people are laughing at the menu.
Last night was a nightmare just paying for items in the campus store since they all expect me to understand Mandarin but I think I'm getting used to speaking in broken Chinese to order and pay for things.
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| After waking up at 3:00 and undergoing a grueling 24 hrs of airport, flying, and layover time we finally made it to Beijing last night! As soon as we walked out of the airport, these little ladies ran up to us and tried grabbing our luggage to help us take them to the bus (for money). We had to hold on to them tight and tell them we didn't want help. It was quite the scene :)
We made it to what would be our home for the next four months and were all surprised by the bathrooms--none of which have a curtain or anything to separate the shower from the rest of the room. I'm still trying to figure out a way of keeping the water from getting all over the floor. Also, we're only limited to 3 cubic meters of water per month but none of us really know how to judge that.
I slept pretty well after an exhausting day of travelling and had the weirdest dream. Naomi tattooed this huge design on both of our legs. It covered my whole lower leg and was pretty strange. I definitely didn't want it and didn't know what to do so I was glad when I woke up with a normal right leg.
Anyways, it's pretty hot here. Most of today was spent wandering around with my host student and 5 other study abroad kids and we sweated up a storm. We really wanted to go to an outdoor market but it was to far away so my host student told me she'd bring some other friends and take me to a night market to bargain for stuff. I'm so excited!
Tomorrow we're going to the Great Wall for a picnic!
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| Right now I'm still at orientation at Loyola University Chicago. It's kind of weird...it feels like freshman year all over again, except with a much smaller group. Also, it's been different and difficult knowing that there is no assurance of a fellowship and no one I've talked thus far seems to be a believer. We have more free time than I expected and one of our activities is going to the "beech"--which everyone thinks is awkward since we don't really know each other yet. Everyone's really anxious and they all just want to be in Beijing already but I know that time will come soon enough since we're going to be flying out in less than a day! Anyways, I'm off to another orientation session but I just wanted to post something before leaving!
I apologize in advance--I probably won't be able to post pictures since I won't have my own computer :( | | |
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