Spent the morning catching up with people (and not on my blog). Katie went to go see her parents who had just arrived in Beijing. She was super excited since she hasn't seen them for 3 months!
I made a trip to Carrefour since I needed to stock up on a few more items. It was a busy day in Beijing and Carrefour was super busy. Oh great. After lugging everything home, Rachel, Heather and I went to starbucks to do some studying. Unfortunately we got there around 5:30pm, and it closed at 6:30pm. Oh yay. I went home after, Rachel and Heather went to scope out another cafe. Katie came home after a great day with her parents, and I went to bed around 10pm.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Temple of Heaven and Halloween
So in the morning our program took us to the Temple of Heaven. I really liked it, despite how touristy it was. There were three main sections to the temple. It was so strange because at the last part I was completely having deja-vu from when I came when I was 11.
Frank the tourguide:
By a very big door:
The main temple:
There were a lot of locals who were hanging out in the area. It was so adorable. This group of 20 or so elderly Chinese were all dancing to this techno song! They were all completely synchronized and it was the best thing ever! There was this little old lady doing it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone so cute. On the long corridor, heading to the East gate, tons of locals gathered to play cards, mahjong, etc. There were also tons of people playing the Chinese version of hackysack. Katie bought one so we had a big game in the parking lot while waiting for the bus.
The synchronized dancing (look at the tiny lady in sunglasses- she was adorable!):
Some locals hanging out on the corridor:
I spent the rest of the afternoon just resting, and around 6pm we went over to Korean BBQ- 48 kuai all you can drink and all you can eat. It's the one where you go get a bunch of raw meat and then just cook it right in front of you. I wore my big coat so I could smuggle out some baijiu to give to friends back in the U.S. - I wanted to get my money's worth! So after eating lots of food, we came back to the dorm to get changed for Halloween and all just hungout before we left for the night.
Katie, Mariel, me, Rachel and Heather:
Frank the tourguide:
By a very big door:
The main temple:
There were a lot of locals who were hanging out in the area. It was so adorable. This group of 20 or so elderly Chinese were all dancing to this techno song! They were all completely synchronized and it was the best thing ever! There was this little old lady doing it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone so cute. On the long corridor, heading to the East gate, tons of locals gathered to play cards, mahjong, etc. There were also tons of people playing the Chinese version of hackysack. Katie bought one so we had a big game in the parking lot while waiting for the bus.
The synchronized dancing (look at the tiny lady in sunglasses- she was adorable!):
The long corridor:
Some locals hanging out on the corridor:
The Chinese version of hackysack- loved this woman's outfit:
I spent the rest of the afternoon just resting, and around 6pm we went over to Korean BBQ- 48 kuai all you can drink and all you can eat. It's the one where you go get a bunch of raw meat and then just cook it right in front of you. I wore my big coat so I could smuggle out some baijiu to give to friends back in the U.S. - I wanted to get my money's worth! So after eating lots of food, we came back to the dorm to get changed for Halloween and all just hungout before we left for the night.
Katie, Mariel, me, Rachel and Heather:
We went to a big Halloween party in 798 - the art district of Beijing. It was held at this big factory- and was a really cool building. There were some crazy costumes- the three people were dressed as air stewardess', I thought they were women, but no, they were men. We didn't stay too long because everyone was getting pretty tired, but it was definitely a cool event to see!
The Factory:
Friday, October 29, 2010
Pizza/Wudaokou/Glee Off
In kouyu class today we had to give a speech about our dream. I was first. It went okay, afterwards our teacher was like 'you're chinese would be really good if your tones were better!' Oh yay.
After class us four took a cab over to Wudaokou to eat some American food. We went to Pyro Pizza, all you can eat, from 12-2pm, for 39 kuai. It was delicious, but not quite the all-you-can-eat we were looking for. You couldn't order whatever you wanted on the menu, instead the gave us each a small salad and would occasionally come around with pizza and gave us each one slice. The thing was, there were more people than pizzas so everyone kept trying to get it and it was gone in about 2 seconds. Oh well.
After eating Rachel and Heather went to Carrefour, Katie and I stayed in Wudaokou to do some shopping. We went back to a market we went to during our first week in Beijing. It was completely overwhelming then! This time it was much more bearable. I bought a pair of silver leggings which was so exciting! I've always wanted a pair but they're always so ridiculously expensive at American Apparel. After wandering around for a bit longer we took the subway back to school.
Watched some True Blood and painted my nails. Heather and Rachel said they had a surprise for us. They came in and lip-synched to two Glee songs. It was hilarious. Katie and I made them start watching Glee and they are total Gleeks now. So of course we had to challenge them to a Glee off. Katie and I performed Telephone by Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce. I'll try and add the video up but don't know if it will work. It was just a fun, silly night.
Here the link, don't know if it will work: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1271938722170
After class us four took a cab over to Wudaokou to eat some American food. We went to Pyro Pizza, all you can eat, from 12-2pm, for 39 kuai. It was delicious, but not quite the all-you-can-eat we were looking for. You couldn't order whatever you wanted on the menu, instead the gave us each a small salad and would occasionally come around with pizza and gave us each one slice. The thing was, there were more people than pizzas so everyone kept trying to get it and it was gone in about 2 seconds. Oh well.
After eating Rachel and Heather went to Carrefour, Katie and I stayed in Wudaokou to do some shopping. We went back to a market we went to during our first week in Beijing. It was completely overwhelming then! This time it was much more bearable. I bought a pair of silver leggings which was so exciting! I've always wanted a pair but they're always so ridiculously expensive at American Apparel. After wandering around for a bit longer we took the subway back to school.
Watched some True Blood and painted my nails. Heather and Rachel said they had a surprise for us. They came in and lip-synched to two Glee songs. It was hilarious. Katie and I made them start watching Glee and they are total Gleeks now. So of course we had to challenge them to a Glee off. Katie and I performed Telephone by Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce. I'll try and add the video up but don't know if it will work. It was just a fun, silly night.
Here the link, don't know if it will work: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1271938722170
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday-Thursday: Highlights of the Week
Monday:
Monday was a rough day. Not only was I super tired from waking up so early but I came home to bad news. Also I had forgotten to warn my family that I was away for the weekend, which didn't help. I spent most of the day laying in bed and getting sorted. I did go to my evening class, which ended up being one long history lesson, not great. Talked to Mum, skyped with Dad. I did download Taylor Swift's new album, which is amazing and has been on repeat since I bought it!
Tuesday:
Got my exam grades back and did pretty well which was exciting. Still didn't get our Kouyu (speaking) grades back, that's the one I'm really worried about. She gave me tones homework that day in class, not a good indication. I went to the gym, did homework, watched True Blood. Grabbed fried rice for dinner. Received an email from the Chinese departments at Tufts. They're being difficult, as usual.
Wednesday:
Had class, came home, wrote in my journal, took a nap, had noodles for lunch. At 3pm went to Kouyu class. Had a yoghurt- they're so good here- but would be much better if they didn't have chunks of dry fruit in them. Katie and I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show- Glee version. I watched more True Blood and skyped with Marco before heading to bed.
Thursday:
Got to sleep in till 9am. It is by far the best morning of the week. Went to Hanyu class, then went to the gym. Grabbed some orange chicken for lunch but it was disgusting- so cold! Went to the CIEE office and grabbed a note for not going to class on Monday, Marco had sent me another card. Went to send some postcards, then realized I hadn't written the addresses on them, ooops. Went to Tingli class to discover we have our only exam in the class next Thursday! So scary! Came home and wrote a speech about my dream. Oh and did my laundry (almost forgot about it till I was in bed about to go to sleep).
Monday was a rough day. Not only was I super tired from waking up so early but I came home to bad news. Also I had forgotten to warn my family that I was away for the weekend, which didn't help. I spent most of the day laying in bed and getting sorted. I did go to my evening class, which ended up being one long history lesson, not great. Talked to Mum, skyped with Dad. I did download Taylor Swift's new album, which is amazing and has been on repeat since I bought it!
Tuesday:
Got my exam grades back and did pretty well which was exciting. Still didn't get our Kouyu (speaking) grades back, that's the one I'm really worried about. She gave me tones homework that day in class, not a good indication. I went to the gym, did homework, watched True Blood. Grabbed fried rice for dinner. Received an email from the Chinese departments at Tufts. They're being difficult, as usual.
Wednesday:
Had class, came home, wrote in my journal, took a nap, had noodles for lunch. At 3pm went to Kouyu class. Had a yoghurt- they're so good here- but would be much better if they didn't have chunks of dry fruit in them. Katie and I watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show- Glee version. I watched more True Blood and skyped with Marco before heading to bed.
Thursday:
Got to sleep in till 9am. It is by far the best morning of the week. Went to Hanyu class, then went to the gym. Grabbed some orange chicken for lunch but it was disgusting- so cold! Went to the CIEE office and grabbed a note for not going to class on Monday, Marco had sent me another card. Went to send some postcards, then realized I hadn't written the addresses on them, ooops. Went to Tingli class to discover we have our only exam in the class next Thursday! So scary! Came home and wrote a speech about my dream. Oh and did my laundry (almost forgot about it till I was in bed about to go to sleep).
我的梦想
我的梦想是每个国家旅行。小时候我常常到别的国家旅行。我出生在英国。我的父母都是英国人。我的家人都住在英国，所以我去英国看他们。在美国我在一共三个洲住过：科罗拉多，弗吉尼亚，和佐治亚。我曾经呆在香港七年。香港不仅很有意思，而且离别的国家不太远。住在香港的时候，我和我家人常常旅行。我觉得了解别的文化非常重要。我的爱好就是拍照片，所以旅行的时候我很好玩儿。我喜欢看别人怎么生活，有什么希望和理想。每个国家不同。我对别的国家很感兴趣，所以到每个国家旅行是我的梦想。
第一文章：我的假期
(Hanyu Essay: Fall Break)
放假的时候我呆在北京，后来我跟我的朋友们一起去内蒙古。在北京我去看看名胜古迹。首先我去过珀尔的市场。那儿有很多人，尤其是外国人。 由于美国的东西不如中国的便宜，我买了很多的东西，由于美国的东西不如中国的便宜。另外买手袋，我也买礼物送我的家人和我的男朋友。我还买了一条裤子，裤子上有我男朋友的名字！
我和我的朋友们参观奥林匹克公园。我的朋友－严悦－的父母来北京看他们的女儿在北京生活过的怎么样。他们也跟我们去看奥林匹克的国家体育场，还有鸟巢，也看北京国家游泳中心。我觉得这个楼比鸟巢好。不但楼的建筑很漂亮，尤其是在晚上的时候，而且现在楼还有用。如果你买一张票，就可以在游泳池里游泳。那儿也有一个水上游乐场。有很多滑梯和喷泉。人们又玩儿又锻炼了身体。以后我跟别的留学生要一起去那儿。后来看着两个楼我饿死了！所以我们去了一家中文的饭馆，麦当劳。很好吃！我们四个人跟严悦的父母都回他们的旅馆。太漂亮了！我们坐在旅馆的酒吧，喝很多白葡萄酒。后来我们都有点儿醉了，很不好意思！
我们坐出租车到了一家北京烤鸭的饭馆。除了包子以外，北京烤鸭是我最喜欢的中国菜。不论怎么油了，我都吃了。我知道它的营养不很丰富，可是太好吃了！在我们桌子的旁边是一个中国家挺。除了一位男以外，大家都没醉。这个男的太醉了！一个女的告诉我，他喝了三瓶白酒。他疯了！结果他和他的家人不得不离开饭馆。
呆在北京的时候我也参观了北京植物园。玫瑰园是我最喜欢的地方，太漂亮了！我拍了很多照片。在内蒙古我和我的朋友们在草原骑马，也在沙漠骑骆驼！骆驼很可爱！骑马以后我腿疼了！我们在毡帐里睡觉。我穿了所有的衣服，因为晚上的时候冷极了。这个放假我和我的朋友们玩得特别好！
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Nanjing Day 2
We grabbed breakfast at Cafe 85, it was yummy, they even had coffee! Then Mariel, Katie, and I took a cab to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. The cabs in Nanjing are so much cheaper than in Beijing- it's calculated on time rather than distance, and the traffic is a thousand times better.
The memorial was very intense. It was built where one of the massacres itself happened. They had this whole area which was a mass grave of about 10,000 people. Then they had excavations showing real human skeletons buried in the dirt. 300,000 people were killed in a period of weeks. It was during the China-Japan war, when Japan gained control on the old capital.
The sight of the massacre:
Outside they had fountains and a statue of peace. People kept asking Katie and I for photos, I agreed but felt like it was just such a strange thing to do in such an intense place. There was a whole exhibit inside with first-hand accounts of what happened during that time. I found them so interesting, just hearing the terrible things some people endured and lived through. It made me feel very grateful for my own life.
Notes to the victims:
Lots of records:
We took a cab back to the hotel to meet the others (the sleepy ones who didn't wake up in the morning). Our cab driver dropped us off miles away so we had to wander through Nanjing, guessing our way to the hotel. We were planning on going to DimSum for lunch, but unfortunately that's more of a morning thing and we were a little late back. In the end we ate at this restaurant close by. It was really good! Pumpkin cakes, spring rolls, rice, beef, etc., and only 26 kuai a person!
Lunch:
After eating we wandered along the old streets. I loved Nanjing. It had all these rivers with bridges over them. The buildings were built Chinese style, and the city was just laid out much more practically. It was so much easier to navigate. I bought a bunch of movies. We went back to the hotel around 4pm because we had rented the room until 6pm.
So famous:
At 6pm we checked out and left for the streets again. A guy in our program was sitting in the lobby with a cage of 4 birds? He had just bought them, interesting. We went back to the Cafe 85 for dinner- had a cheese sausage roll- it was delicious. Then I ate Rachel's fries from McDonalds, again. We then wandered around the market for a last time. I was very good and didn't buy any more movies.
The rivers in Nanjing:
At the train station we made lots of friends. We had about an hour to wait. This little Chinese boy was making these loud noises with some wooden toy. JiaHua was very annoyed and made a huge X with his arms telling him to stop. Then the boy used those hole-puncher things- but in the shape of an animal- to give us all paper animals! There were turtles, dinosaurs, frogs. He was so adorable and got so excited another every time we signaled for one. Then these 15-year-old Australian boys on a school trip came over and talked to us. They were so cheeky and totally trying to flirt with us all! So we finally boarded the train, had some wine and went to bed.
Heather, Mariel, and Rachel on the train:
The memorial was very intense. It was built where one of the massacres itself happened. They had this whole area which was a mass grave of about 10,000 people. Then they had excavations showing real human skeletons buried in the dirt. 300,000 people were killed in a period of weeks. It was during the China-Japan war, when Japan gained control on the old capital.
The sight of the massacre:
Notes to the victims:
Lots of records:
Lunch:
So famous:
At 6pm we checked out and left for the streets again. A guy in our program was sitting in the lobby with a cage of 4 birds? He had just bought them, interesting. We went back to the Cafe 85 for dinner- had a cheese sausage roll- it was delicious. Then I ate Rachel's fries from McDonalds, again. We then wandered around the market for a last time. I was very good and didn't buy any more movies.
The rivers in Nanjing:
At the train station we made lots of friends. We had about an hour to wait. This little Chinese boy was making these loud noises with some wooden toy. JiaHua was very annoyed and made a huge X with his arms telling him to stop. Then the boy used those hole-puncher things- but in the shape of an animal- to give us all paper animals! There were turtles, dinosaurs, frogs. He was so adorable and got so excited another every time we signaled for one. Then these 15-year-old Australian boys on a school trip came over and talked to us. They were so cheeky and totally trying to flirt with us all! So we finally boarded the train, had some wine and went to bed.
Heather, Mariel, and Rachel on the train:
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Nanjing Day 1
5:49am: Arrive at Nanjing half a zombie. Don't remember much, was still sleeping. Once we got to the hotel a few of us went up to a room to freshen up. Felt much better after that. For breakfast we had Chinese food, oh yay. My favorite thing in the morning!
Katie, Rachel, Heather at breakfast:
9:00am: Leave for Linggu Temple. I fell asleep on the bus, of course. The temple claims to be 'the best Buddhist temple in the world.' Not sure if I agree... (after Laos it's hard to compare). It was built during the Ling dynasty (502-557) (oh and I totally knew that off the top of my head, did NOT look at the information packet they gave us). The temple is in the middle of this big park with tons of trees. It almost reminded me of England strangely enough, though maybe that was just because it was grey and rainy.
Hanging out in the roundest of holes:
We saw the Non-Beam Hall, Linggu Pagoda, and Songfeng Pagoda. The Linggu Pagoda was definitely my favourite. It was 9-stories high and you could walk up to each level. The view was so pretty. All the trees were turning to their fall colours and it was a pretty-foggy out? Don't know if that make's sense.
In front of the pagoda:
The view:
Baby butt pants- more on that later:
On the way back to the meeting spot we saw this guy glass blowing, it was so amazing to watch! When everyone was back we took a mini-train-car thing over to this new area to grab some lunch. I tried some salty duck- the specialty in Nanjing- not my favourite. I loved the fried eggplant though. It was delicious. I literally ate half a plate and could have eaten more.
On the train thing to lunch:
Fried Qiezi (eggplant)
We the walked over to the Open Air Musical Hall. There were tons of doves everywhere. You could buy food and the birds would fly onto you. At one point I had 5 on me! I also developed a trick. When I ran out of food I would hold my hands out like I still had some left, and they would still fly up to me! They seriously look at me like "are you kidding me?" Then sometimes the two birds on your arms would start fighting about food, while on you. One was on my head at one point and I was terrified it was going to pee on me!
Katie with a bird:
Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum was the next stop. At this point it was quite cold and rainy. We climbed tons of steps to get to the Sacrificial Hall, the highest place of the Mausoleum (and main feature). It had a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen- the 'father of the Republic of China.' He helped bring down the corrupt Qing dynasty in 1911. It ended 2000 years of a feudal monarchy in China. Behind the statue was a circular room where his tomb was. As the info packet in front of me says, it is where 'this historical giant forever sleeps.'
Jumping picture- always necessary:
Wasn't supposed to take this photo:
We then walked back down to the bottom with an hour to wander. It wasn't exactly wandering weather, so we ended up sitting under a tea shop's awning. Finally we walked to the bus and headed back to the Egret Hotel. We got out rooms and I just relaxed for a while.
Decorations for a wedding in the hotel (a little OTT):
A bunch of us met at 6:45pm to go to one of the recommended restaurants by CIEE. We finally got a cab (not an easy feat when you don't know where the main roads are) and went to the place, only to discover the restaurant moved and is no longer there! Thanks CIEE. In the end, after figuring there were no more decent food options nearby, we settled on McDonald's back near the hotel. And it was delicious.
We later explored the old street. It had tons of little stores- including DVD stores- totally legit of course. We all found these super colourful masks that we're going to wear for Halloween. As many people know, my dream for my 21st birthday is to have a karaoke-masquerade. The chances of that happening in Boston, pretty small. The chances of that happening in China, totally possible!! Maybe it will have to be my 20th. On the street they had all these pet stores, this tiny, adorable pig was for sale (wow, I almost wrote kid). Anyway, after shopping (I bought a DVD, earrings, and nailpolish) we went back to the hotel and slept.
Katie, Rachel, Heather at breakfast:
9:00am: Leave for Linggu Temple. I fell asleep on the bus, of course. The temple claims to be 'the best Buddhist temple in the world.' Not sure if I agree... (after Laos it's hard to compare). It was built during the Ling dynasty (502-557) (oh and I totally knew that off the top of my head, did NOT look at the information packet they gave us). The temple is in the middle of this big park with tons of trees. It almost reminded me of England strangely enough, though maybe that was just because it was grey and rainy.
Hanging out in the roundest of holes:
Apparently singing this is banned in China?
We saw the Non-Beam Hall, Linggu Pagoda, and Songfeng Pagoda. The Linggu Pagoda was definitely my favourite. It was 9-stories high and you could walk up to each level. The view was so pretty. All the trees were turning to their fall colours and it was a pretty-foggy out? Don't know if that make's sense.
In front of the pagoda:
The view:
Spiral staircase all the way up:
Baby butt pants- more on that later:
On the way back to the meeting spot we saw this guy glass blowing, it was so amazing to watch! When everyone was back we took a mini-train-car thing over to this new area to grab some lunch. I tried some salty duck- the specialty in Nanjing- not my favourite. I loved the fried eggplant though. It was delicious. I literally ate half a plate and could have eaten more.
On the train thing to lunch:
Lunch table:
We the walked over to the Open Air Musical Hall. There were tons of doves everywhere. You could buy food and the birds would fly onto you. At one point I had 5 on me! I also developed a trick. When I ran out of food I would hold my hands out like I still had some left, and they would still fly up to me! They seriously look at me like "are you kidding me?" Then sometimes the two birds on your arms would start fighting about food, while on you. One was on my head at one point and I was terrified it was going to pee on me!
Katie with a bird:
Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum was the next stop. At this point it was quite cold and rainy. We climbed tons of steps to get to the Sacrificial Hall, the highest place of the Mausoleum (and main feature). It had a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen- the 'father of the Republic of China.' He helped bring down the corrupt Qing dynasty in 1911. It ended 2000 years of a feudal monarchy in China. Behind the statue was a circular room where his tomb was. As the info packet in front of me says, it is where 'this historical giant forever sleeps.'
Jumping picture- always necessary:
Wasn't supposed to take this photo:
Decorations for a wedding in the hotel (a little OTT):
The Old Street:
DVD Store:
The rivers through the city:
Friday, October 22, 2010
Midterms! And Nanjing!
Kouyu:
Our exam consisted of several parts. Part 1: read several sentences with the correct tones (didn't know 2 characters...). Part 2: Make sentences and finish dialogues using the appropriate grammar structure (we learnt 49). Part 3: Describe what a character means, only using Chinese (I was super mad because one of my words wasn't in our new vocabulary and I had no clue what it was). Part 4: Tell a story using the pictures in front of you.
The story was about a Dad and his daughter finding a Christmas tree. The girl makes all these animal friends, and then they all celebrate Christmas together. How cute. A guy in our class forgot how to say Christmas so made up a word instead, no good.
After the exam I went to the cafe on campus to study. Katie later met me there. By 9:00 I was just so ready to get the test over with I couldn't study anymore!
Hanyu:
Just a lot of fill in the blanks, grammar, vocab, reading, writing etc. I didn't think it was too bad, but you really never know on Chinese tests. It depends so much on how hard teachers grade, and if you messed up the location of one word, or wrote the wrong tone for one. It was so nice to be finished though! Such a relief.
The Bridge Cafe:
A very interesting experience. A guy from our program randomly came and met us there. He had been drinking since the morning and didn't take his exam. He was being super inappropriate and creepy. I wasn't going to go to the Bridge, it was just going to be Katie, but thankfully I did. Anyway we left ASAP. Sadly didn't have the lazy afternoon of writing in our journals with a Caesar salad- vegetables! But we had a lazy afternoon in the dorm room instead. Rachel and Heather were switching rooms so they could room together for the rest of our time here.
Nanjing:
I bought a yoghurt from Wumei- it was so good! Too bad it has whole chunks of fruit in it. Marco had sent me a card and the CIEE people gave it to me on the bus. We drove to Beijing South Train Station. It's so much nicer than the West one! Waited around for a little, looked in all the touristy shops and ate some McDonald's fries (actually Rachel's McDonald's fries). Then we boarded the train on SOFT sleepers, I appreciate them a million times more after hard sleepers. Us four all got a room together so we were very happy. We chatted with other CIEE people, had some wine, and then went to bed.
Our exam consisted of several parts. Part 1: read several sentences with the correct tones (didn't know 2 characters...). Part 2: Make sentences and finish dialogues using the appropriate grammar structure (we learnt 49). Part 3: Describe what a character means, only using Chinese (I was super mad because one of my words wasn't in our new vocabulary and I had no clue what it was). Part 4: Tell a story using the pictures in front of you.
The story was about a Dad and his daughter finding a Christmas tree. The girl makes all these animal friends, and then they all celebrate Christmas together. How cute. A guy in our class forgot how to say Christmas so made up a word instead, no good.
After the exam I went to the cafe on campus to study. Katie later met me there. By 9:00 I was just so ready to get the test over with I couldn't study anymore!
Hanyu:
Just a lot of fill in the blanks, grammar, vocab, reading, writing etc. I didn't think it was too bad, but you really never know on Chinese tests. It depends so much on how hard teachers grade, and if you messed up the location of one word, or wrote the wrong tone for one. It was so nice to be finished though! Such a relief.
The Bridge Cafe:
A very interesting experience. A guy from our program randomly came and met us there. He had been drinking since the morning and didn't take his exam. He was being super inappropriate and creepy. I wasn't going to go to the Bridge, it was just going to be Katie, but thankfully I did. Anyway we left ASAP. Sadly didn't have the lazy afternoon of writing in our journals with a Caesar salad- vegetables! But we had a lazy afternoon in the dorm room instead. Rachel and Heather were switching rooms so they could room together for the rest of our time here.
Nanjing:
I bought a yoghurt from Wumei- it was so good! Too bad it has whole chunks of fruit in it. Marco had sent me a card and the CIEE people gave it to me on the bus. We drove to Beijing South Train Station. It's so much nicer than the West one! Waited around for a little, looked in all the touristy shops and ate some McDonald's fries (actually Rachel's McDonald's fries). Then we boarded the train on SOFT sleepers, I appreciate them a million times more after hard sleepers. Us four all got a room together so we were very happy. We chatted with other CIEE people, had some wine, and then went to bed.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Last Study Day
-I tried this new Taiwan pancake place. It was super good, but quite greasy.
-Downloaded the new Taylor Swift song, Back to December. Also super good.
-Had a tingli quiz which wasn't too bad. Our teacher told us that our Chinese level is equivalent to a three-four-year-old Chinese child. But they probably have more vocabulary. Oh yay, isn't that great.
-My calendar had a quote that I really liked on it: "All animals except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it." - Samuel Butler
Such an exciting day.
-Downloaded the new Taylor Swift song, Back to December. Also super good.
My new favourite album:
-Had a tingli quiz which wasn't too bad. Our teacher told us that our Chinese level is equivalent to a three-four-year-old Chinese child. But they probably have more vocabulary. Oh yay, isn't that great.
-My calendar had a quote that I really liked on it: "All animals except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it." - Samuel Butler
Such an exciting day.
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