Recent Developments

1/4/06

Recent developments:

- The temperature has dropped significantly. It was straddling about freezing for the past few days and that was fine and bearable and I started to wonder what all the fuss was about it being cold, but then today it dropped. The Siberian winds came in and sucked all the joy and happiness from the country with their coldness. I don’t know exactly how cold it got today, but suffice it to say that I nearly didn’t leave the apartment. While walking around, my ears, underneath a hat made for me by my loving sister, would go numb and the wind would cut right through all the millions of layers I had put on. The only part of me that is warm without fail are my feet and lower legs due the as of yet invincible Uggs I sport every single day.
- I’ve made friends! (I know, amazing, right?) The other four students in my class are pretty cool. All significantly older than me which is a bit of a change after being a senior in high school (and therefore the equal in age or older than all my friends). I’ve also met a few other people who are studying Chinese at my school and a handful of people who teach English in the evening. And of course the occasional local Chinese who is interested in talking to me for no other reason than because I speak English.
- I cook. I cooked lunch for myself today in my apartment and it was delicious. I stir fried some corn and beans together and I made wanton soup and I had yogurt and fresh fruit from the market and some tea. Very Chinese and very very good. I think China and I were made for each other.

Life isn’t quite as exciting here as it is on the road, admittedly. Last night, Patrick’s language exchange partner took us out for a very ethnic experience including Chinese super markets and gigantic bookstores, and dinner including liver and throat and other internal organs and a lot of pi jiu and bai jiu (things I’m not defining for a reason). It was much fun, but about as exciting as it gets around here. I spend a lot of time studying, mostly because I’m the furthest behind of anyone in Chinese characters and that needs to change. I realize now is the time to study and later will be the time to have fun. It is fun, though, to have conversations in Chinese and to realize that my vocabulary and conversational skills are much better than those who spent the same amount of time or longer in classrooms studying. They might understand characters, but I can survive in China! (Characters aren’t really important for survival, there are enough people in China to talk to that signs hardly matter).