Gaby and Hanlu

With the first week of classes and exams behind me, I have finally gotten a chance to slow down and look around. I admit my observations are not the most profound; nevertheless, they are observations. Therefore, I will proceed to jot down a few:

1. Sun umbrellas everywhere! I was prepared for this. I distinctively remember being completely ashamed of my mother in fourth grade when she came to pick me up after school with a flower-patterned umbrella on the most glorious day possible. I will affirm the reader’s suspicions that after that day, the child never let the mother go outside with such umbrella. This feeling of what was disgust turned into amusement could be contributed to my rather dark skin – I never was the pale one. However, one cannot deny that walking to class everyday in a sea of colors (rain or shine) is pleasant.

2. Exactly a year ago, I rode the metro in D.C. everyday to

and from work. It is not the most fantastical place in the world. It’s a little dark and demure, not to mention its unreliable service. Therefore, compared to last summer’s transportation experience, the metro in Beijing seems to be the most fantastical place in the world. It is so clean! So reliable! So convenient! Everything is written in both English and Chinese. So considerate! The bus fare is very cheap too. Only one yuan. Why is the transportation system in the U.S. not as well developed?

3. No toilet paper outside the dorm! Inside the dorm, not enough toilet paper! Thus, my roommate and I grabbed two huge packs of toilet paper to last us the entire summer at a huge Chinese supermarket. We also grabbed a huge case of Coca Cola – a source of caffeine - for Gaby, my roommate.

Here, Starbucks is not found on every block, and no Starbucks grace us with its addicting presence anywhere near the school. There is a small Seven Eleven, and I cannot say I have been entirely avoiding it the past week.

I have yet to mention my roommate and my language partner! My roommate is Gabby from Duke University. She is graduating late this December because she has been studying abroad in the past year. Her Chinese is far superior to mine. I cannot even begin to imagine communicating only in Chinese with me. It must be terribly frustrating. I believe she is an East Asian Studies major.

My language partner has been assigned to me by the program. A language partner is a native speaker who is a student at the university we are staying at. Mine is a dear girl with an adorable sense of style named Han2Lu4 who is interested in business with focus on English. It must be terribly frustrating for a native to communicate only in Chinese with me. She is immeasurably nice. She takes so much time out of her busy day just to help me with my Chinese, sit down to a meal together, and buy me a cell phone. (Of course, I wanted the least expensive phone during my 2-month stay. So, I got my least expensive phone – it is so cheap that it does not even have an earpiece volume control).

Did you know that the Chinese go to sleep early and wake up early while the Americans go to sleep late and wake up late? Did you know that the Chinese take a shower/bathe in the evening as opposed to the Americans who shower/bathe in the morning? Definitely food for thought.