马可波罗与哈利波特: Marco Polo and Harry Potter

And so another weekend passes . . .

On Friday night, a few of us Yalies went to a coffee shop for a mixer with some students from Peking University (Yale-PKU Language Partners). It was certainly a nice opportunity to speak with people our own age and not in a classroom setting. However, there were certainly moments that night when I realized that if an American student has half-decent Chinese and a Chinese student has half-decent English, it's not exactly equivalent to having a full-fledged conversation. Particularly when we played "two truths and a lie," (Yalies spoke Chinese, PKU students spoke English), the complexity/strangeness/ridiculousness usually present was admittedly lacking. But, the game aside, it was interesting to know that Chinese college students also have an appreciation for "The Big Bang Theory" and "Desperate Housewives" (in addition to "Friends").

On a miscellaneous note, unfortunately that night was also a prime example of China's "early to bed, early to rise" lifestyle. In addition to the subway closing by the time the mixer ended, many of the cabs were turning in for the night or already occupied. Fortunately though, we eventually made it back to campus, tired but unscathed.

On Saturday morning, I went with PiB to visit the Memorial Museum of the War Against Japan and the Marco Polo Bridge. The bridge, also known as Lugou Bridge, was recognized by Marco Polo during his travels and also served as the backdrop for a battle during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The bridge itself has more than 450 stone lions, all of them unique.

Saturday afternoon, I took my second trip to Wangfujing, but this time I had a chance to visit the bookstore.

With six floors of books, the bookstore is one of the largest in Beijing. I bought a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (in Chinese of course) as well a poster of the Periodic Table (with Chinese characters as well). Much more interesting than purchasing books, however, was just watching other people in the bookstore.

While not every aisle was filled people trying to read through books, the bookstore was not short of people. It's certainly quite a sight to see as well as something that I've never seen in the States.

This weekend I also had the chance to bargain for tourist-y souvenirs in Wangfujing and clothes at Dongwuyuan, but I'll save the details for another post. Overall, this weekend was pretty enjoyable.

-艾琳

第二个周末: Weekend number two

Week number two has passed.

But that also means . . . week number two has passed!

Needless to say, I'm starting to realize that eight weeks was not as long as I thought it would be.

Admittedly, the past week has been pretty full of studying, in addition to having the unfortunate luck of getting a nasty cold. Our daily readings continue to be slightly random (some of them awkward/strange enough that I won't mention them on this post), but as I go around Beijing, I'm starting to realize that I can recognize a decent number of characters.

Schoolwork aside, this weekend was pretty full.

[Kungfu at the Red Theater]

Friday evening, PiB took us out to watch kungfu (using pinyin it's gong1 fu) at the Red Theater. I didn't take many pictures inside since the fuwuyuan's were pretty uptight about photography during the show, but you'll have to take my word that it was beyond awesome.

[the picture speaks for itself]

Perhaps the only annoyance I had with the show was that it was presented primarily in English. Of course, this certainly makes it easier for us foreigners to follow along. However, discussing this with a teacher after the show, we both noted that while the translations for the show were not wrong, subtleties found within the Chinese language were certainly lost. Nonetheless, I have never seen that many backflips all in one go.

On our way back to Xinsong Gongyu, we passed by Tiananmen Square.  There was a huge marker recently planted on the square, and I learned that July 1st was the Communist Party of China's 90th anniversary.

[CPC anniversary marker on Tiananmen Square]

The next day, PiB took a trip to the Summer Palace (Yi1 he1 yuan1), which was absolutely beautiful. I also learned that Kunming Lake, a 2.2 square kilometer lake within the palace, was actually man-made.

[just part of the Summer Palace]

On Sunday, some of us Yale kids and a few other PiB'ers took a trip to the 798 Art District in Beijing. I've posted a few pictures below, but in addition to the sculptures outside, there were also the many galleries within the district.

 

Towards the end of our trip that day, we also had a chance to take part in a work in progress. A group was asking for passersby to store their secrets (mi1 mi1) in colored vials, which they were going to take and use for an upcoming piece. They actually gave us handouts as well, but I'm still in the process of completely deciphering it.

[storing secrets]

This weekend has certainly been action-packed, and I'm still in the process of digesting everything that's happened. Additionally, I posted quite a few pictures in this post, but if you'd like to browse through more of them, you can check out my ongoing album.

-艾琳

长城很长: the Great Wall is very long

So yesterday, I went with my fellow PiB'ers to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall.

[a very long and steep section of the Great Wall, and myself sporting a hat that I bought that day]

It was a hot, tiring, and long day.

But it was also pretty awesome.

While I can't say the Great Wall changed my life and all the pieces I know about Chinese history are coming together, it's certainly amazing to see how much sheer manpower can do.

[click on the picture for the original and zoom in, to do this one some justice]

In fact, throughout the past week in Beijing, I've come to realize that my knowledge about my parents' culture is pretty limited, aside from random things here and there. In the coming weeks, there are a few common topics within Chinese culture that I want to expand upon, particularly on how they're tying in with my current experience in Beijing. What I will note now, however, is that while my parents' perspective on China has been helpful in many ways, I'm starting to realize that China has certainly changed, particularly in the last decade.

Getting a better grasp on China is certainly one of my goals for this summer. Looking back at my very first blog post however, I'm starting to realize that the goals I listed before were more guidelines than strict benchmarks. After this past week, I've certainly gotten a good sense of the workload, but it's slightly frustrating to realize that only so much can be done each day. Discipline aside, my biggest issue is something that was mentioned during the Light fellows orientation meeting, that there should be a focus on production rather than perfection. Admittedly, this past week I've heard my teachers frequently tell me "别紧张," which, as interpreted by Google Translate, is "take it easy." Particularly when there's really nothing to lose by talking to locals on the street, I'm still struggling with overcoming that internal barrier of nervousness so that I can really utilize my time while in Beijing. Ultimately, my end goal for this summer is to be able to speak confidently, as well as set a foundation that I can continue to build off of.

As just a random endnote, here's a picture of Beijing Normal University's (new) library.

I am posting this picture not because of the building, but because of the blue sky and clouds behind.

Until it rained this past Thursday, Beijing was pretty hazy due to pollution. So for the past few days, we've actually had very clear, blue sunny skies (that also make for nice picture-taking).

Also, it's nice to know that our readings in class do have some relation to the real world. In relation to the picture above, there was a passage about disposable chopsticks, pollution, and protecting the environment. Additionally, it's also very nice that I can now read and understand the characters on the recycling and garbage cans around campus.

-艾琳

Procrastination (on multiple levels)

So it's been about a week since I last posted.

And SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED.

But, in addition to putting off posting on my blog, I also have quite a bit of studying for tomorrow's quiz, which covers all of this week's material (8 lessons, about 300 phrases, 83 grammar rules).

So for now, I'll just give some of the highlights of the week (intellectual thoughts to come in a later post).

The Friday afternoon I arrived in Beijing, I went to a restaurant across the street from where our dorm is. Thirteen of us went, and the food was good and cheap (10 kuai for a huge bowl of spicy beef noodles). Perhaps the most interesting part of the trip was when we caught one of the waiter's older children trying to take pictures of us. The older child then proceeded to enlist his younger sibling to take a picture of us.

[At that point, it was kind of obvious what they were doing, and we gladly obliged.]

On Saturday, we had our placement test, and as expected, I was placed into third year Chinese. (This past year I took first year Chinese for heritage learners.) There was a bit of a hitch, since my oral exam wasn't spectacular, but so far, third year Chinese has been pretty good (not to say that it's at all easy, however).

[Xinsong Gongyu (XSGY), i.e. home for the next two months]

On Sunday, we had orientation and we were split up into our respective years (lots of handouts explaining the schedule for the week). Although that day was pretty busy, we still managed to get out and drop by Tiananmen Square and the Wangfujing Snack Street.

[On the edge of Tiananmen Square; not exactly sure what the two guys standing with the guards are up to]

 

[Scorpions at Wangfujing (which I opted out of eating)]

 

All in all, besides these adventures on this past weekend and venturing into different restaurants/food carts around town, I've been pretty guilty of burying my head in the books this week.

[an interesting sign on Beijing Normal University's campus]

But,  even with the little time I've spent to go out to see the city, I've learned a lot, in terms of Beijing itself, as well as understanding my own identity, between being American and Chinese.

So, that being said, I'm certainly hoping to get a better handle on the workload this coming week and get some more exploring done along the way.

-艾琳

While I was on the plane . . .

Beijing Time: 10:50 am, ETA 3:54 pm

Okay, so right now I'm on the final stretch of my journey to Beijing. I was definitely worried that I wouldn't be able to make the last connection (multiple delays in Vancouver), but fortunately I am still well on my way.

I nabbed the window seat, although not much of a view since just about everyone on the plane has their windows closed shut (mind you it's about 11:50 pm Eastern Time). But, I'm sitting next to a sweet old lady from Jinshi and a high school-aged girl from Beijing (who went to Edmonton this past year for school).

I have to say, even to minor exposure to Chinese makes me excited (and scared) for what is to come. When I was first sitting down, it took me a few seconds to realize that the woman from Jinshi didn't speak English. Interspersed with my naps on this plane ride, I've had my share of brief conversations with the woman next to me (I found out she was visiting her children in Canada and showed her how to watch a Chinese movie on the touch screens). However, it's a bit jarring when I realize that either because I couldn't keep up or I simply don't recognize the vocabulary, I find myself nodding and smiling along (and that, because she doesn't speak English, I cannot ask for an immediate translation).

What I find most interesting however, is that it actually feels weird speaking English on the plane (e.g. asking the high schooler for clarification on Chinese vocab, to explain that AirCanada went on "strike" [ba gong]). Although I've certainly been in settings where everyone (or almost everyone) is Chinese (i.e. Asian family parties), I've never felt this compelled to only speak Chinese.

Check out, check in (going through Canadian customs)

Phew.

Currently chilling at the Montreal Airport (again, yay for Wi-fi). I must admit, however, that for the last hour I was panicking about being late to Beijing.

As luck would have it, some of Air Canada's staff went on strike two days ago. Needless to say, there have been quite a few delays (getting off the plane, getting luggage for customs to check it back in, going through Canadian security, finding out that my next flight is delayed . . .)

Anyways, slightly more on topic (regarding foreign language): at the airport, people are buzzing about, primarily speaking in French. I can catch the occasional word or two, recalling from my limited vocabulary thanks to two paltry semesters of high school instruction. But it's a bit shocking that I'm already a bit disoriented, despite the French cognates and many signs still written in English. I can only imagine what is to come when I land in Beijing.

艾琳

At the airport

Woah.

It's been more than a month since I've posted, and in less than two hours, I will be on a plane and leaving Boston.

To Montreal.

Then to Vancouver.

And finally, to BEIJING, CHINA.

Admittedly, it all feels so sudden; for the past 4 weeks I've been speaking the language of chemistry research rather than Chinese.

[Fortunately, this is not how I'll be getting to Beijing.]

But ready or not, I am soon on my way to China.

(Also, huge props to Boston Logan Airport for having free Wi-fi.)

艾琳