Week Three was jam-packed academically. Let’s get into it!
Sunday
Predictably, this Sunday could be summed up by: laundry, homework, and phone calls. The morning started out with a 12 pm essay deadline, so I quickly polished and submitted my work before hopping on a chatty call with my roommate from junior year. After that, I called my friend Evan (who wanted to speak in Chinese even though calling home is the only time I can speak English – no, sir!), grabbed some lunch, and called my mom. Hours of phone calls later, I threw some laundry in and settled in for an afternoon of homework assignments.
Halfway through, I decided I needed a pick-me-up, so I tried Chinese McDonald’s for the first time! I ordered a Coca-Cola and some fries, and to my great disappointment, everything tasted exactly the same. However, it was exactly what I needed to power through the rest of Sunday.
Monday
A little bit of context: after four years of living on the East Coast, I’ve learned to keep my umbrella in my bag or backpack at all times, no matter what the forecast says. This habit has already served me well a few times in Beijing, including on Sunday during my McDonald’s run. I always air out my umbrella after use and store it next to my dresser while it dries. Herein lies my fatal mistake: I don’t always remember to put my umbrella back in my bag; I just expect it to be there.
Imagine my surprise when I stepped into a downpour while exiting the cafeteria on Monday, only to reach into my backpack and realize I had left my umbrella resting peacefully next to my wardrobe. I ran back to my dorm, but at that point, the damage was done. I walked into my building so drenched that the security guard offered to loan me his personal umbrella.
Stepping into class looking freshly showered, I didn’t expect much from the period. However, we ended up having a really interesting conversation with Chinese students about online consumption habits of young people. I learned that youth in China essentially only buy two things offline: prescription glasses (which is funny, because Americans commonly buy glasses online) and cultural products like souvenirs. They buy everything else, including meals, snacks, clothes, decorations, gifts, and more through online merchants.
In my second class, we discussed Beijing’s art district, which is called “798.” It used to be an abandoned neighborhood full of unused buildings before a developer converted a few into avant-garde style art galleries. A trend took root, and similar art houses popped up in the rest of those unused buildings, eventually expanding to fill an entire district. We traveled to 798 on Wednesday, so on Monday we simply discussed the area’s history and cultural relevance.
After a quick nap, I headed to dinner and the highlight of my day – the ice cream truck. I walked around campus while eating my ice cream, then headed back to my dorm to memorize some traditional characters for a quiz on Tuesday.
Tuesday
Tuesday was an exciting day because I slept in! I did eventually get up to review characters and make a few Quizlet, but that extra hour of sleep was glorious.
In my first class of the day, we started reading the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party. The document outlines a very well-organized party with plans for every contingency. Also during this class, we asked our professor what the most interesting city in China is, hoping to find inspiration for our Fall Break in a few weeks. He answered that Chengdu is the best place to visit but we can’t travel there during Fall Break because he will be in Chengdu, and he doesn’t want to see any of our faces. Fair enough!
In my second class, I presented my plan of action for visiting 798 on Wednesday, which included a trip to an art gallery that is currently displaying a collaboration with printmakers at Yale’s Art School. (I’m devastated to reveal that the gallery was in fact closed when we visited on Wednesday, but it was a nice dream.) Immediately afterwards in my third class, I aced a traditional character exam and learned about Taiwan’s early indigenous history. Fun fact: Taiwan’s first product from the Americas was sweet potatoes, which in Chinese are literally called “foreign potatoes.”
Even though I had a productive afternoon post-classes, Tuesday was a weird day. Here’s what I recorded in my journal:
“Today was one of those days where I just felt off, like I consistently performed just under my expectations for myself. I know everyone is allowed to have days like that – and other people have grace for me, so that’s not the problem – but I am struggling with negative self-beliefs and a growth mindset today.”
On the bright side, the wifi around campus happened to be working super well this day, so I got to stream music for about 4 hours while working on homework. That’s a serious win.
Wednesday
And just like that, Wednesday was a much better day. I started the morning with a presentation, which went okay – I was able to have a pretty rich discussion with my classmates about the rising popularity of streaming services, the decline of movie theaters, and how those affect a film’s ability to permeate into pop culture.
I grabbed a quick lunch with friends and then met up with all of my classmates to go to Beijing’s art district, 798. This was my first time riding in a car since coming to Beijing, and everyone warned me that I would feel like my life was in danger, but it was actually fine. The driver was super nice – he wanted to know why foreigners were speaking Chinese together and not their native language. He also heard us talking about how we would be making dumplings together for the Mid-Autumn Festival this weekend and butted in to say that Chinese people don’t make dumplings for the Mid-Autumn Festival but instead have moon cakes. He then pulled out four (unopened, packaged) moon cakes for us to try. It was surprisingly hospitable for the equivalent of an Uber.
Once we got to the art district, it was a total adventure. One other girl and I had written an itinerary, but it ended up being a complete flop. We only saw one of the exhibits we planned to visit; everything else was either closed, invisible (seriously, we looked everywhere!), or charged exorbitant fees. In the end, we wandered around and had a magnificent time. The highlight of the trip was a Lawrence Steiner exhibit at the Center for Contemporary Art, which was full of little sayings in both English and Chinese. For a bird’s eye view, the exhibit looked like a dinner table with two plates, two cups, and chopsticks – a place you might engage in bilingual conversation and cultural exchange.
On the way back to campus, we hit major traffic, and the ride ended up being about an hour and a half. Our driver was chatty with a thick Beijing accent, but we talked the whole time and it really boosted my confidence. We could communicate even though I didn’t catch every word. The four of us in the car then ran to dinner before the dining hall closed and gossiped about relationships before heading off to our dorms for some homework.
I felt good today, more like a normal college student with friends who goes out and does fun things. I didn’t realize I had been craving that, and it was nice to experience.
Thursday
At this point in the week, I was feeling a bit academically burnt out, so it’s no surprise that Thursday turned out to be a a stressful day. I had another recitation quiz that morning which I thought I had adequately prepared for, but as soon as I finished my quiz, the professor asked me to try again. Oops. As someone who feel embarrassment viscerally and for extended periods of time, I had to go for a walk around campus to clear my head after that class.
Note: I know that feeling embarrassed about these things is silly. My second try went totally fine, and I can’t expect myself to do things perfectly the first time. However, this happened in my one-on-one class, where the only important metric for how well I’m doing is whether my professor thinks I’m an idiot or not. I don’t care what you say, it’s embarrassing to look a fool!
That aside, the rest of my day went as expected. Over lunch, I prepared for the second half of my one-on-one class, which I obviously still haven’t totally gotten the hang of. I spent hours reading and practicing my text, but once I got to our meeting, I knew nothing at all. That morning walk must have helped, because I honestly felt okay about this shortcoming.
I also presented my one-on-one research to the Director of my program on Thursday afternoon. She recorded the meeting, which made me nervous, but I felt so much relief after walking out of her office. I collapsed in my room when I got back, but still, I was proud of myself for finishing the day.
That night, I noted in my journal that I’m watching my mood vary drastically by day. I’ll have a down day, followed by an up day, followed by an up and down day. On the whole, I would say I’m feeling good about Beijing and enjoying the city, but on a micro level my feelings are less stable, and I’m not sure how to regulate that.
Friday
Friday fun day! We started out today with the classic “Wednesday Excursion” presentation – this time introducing a 798 travel guide to our peers, informed by our experiences the district. These presentations aren’t graded, so we always have fun with them. This time I pretended to be a salesperson advertising my guide for a totally reasonable price, and hey, everyone gave my pitch five stars.
The best part of Friday is, of course, Language Table after classes and presentations finish. Usually, we split into small groups to eat out, but this time we stuck together for a special dumpling-making workshop with our roommates. You may remember the cab driver who told us that Chinese people do not wrap dumplings for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but we did it anyway and had a blast. By the end, I had my technique down to a science. I hope I have more opportunities to practice wrapping dumplings here, because I don’t want to lose my new skill before I have the chance to show off in front of my American friends.
The above picture shows all of my classmates from the Middlebury program, their roommates, and a few administrators getting ready to settle in and eat a Mid-Autumn feast. Note the trays of cooked dumplings on the table, in addition to the array of uncooked dumplings on the counter behind us. We were up to our elbows in dumplings – is there anything better?
We all left that table hours later with full bellies and an excitement for the upcoming holiday. Since none of the staff members will be working that day, I’m glad we all got to celebrate together beforehand. And that concluded my Friday!
Weekend
If you didn’t know, I’m a complete homebody, and an introverted one at that. When I found out my roommate would be spending most of the weekend away for the upcoming holiday, I immediately made firm and immovable plans to stay in my room for two days straight. I took the opportunity to sleep off my dumpling-coma and catch up on homework. While interesting to write about, I assure you I had the time of my life spending a weekend alone. The weather on Saturday morning was beautiful so I took a long walk in the sunshine but otherwise mostly stayed in. I loved every second. When my peers later asked if I did anything over the weekend, I proudly answered, “absolutely not.”
That’s a Wrap: Week Three
Highlight: Eating my bodyweight in homemade dumplings.
Lowlight: Having a few off-days for no discernable reason.
I think that’s all I’ve got this time. Stay tuned for my next post about this upcoming week – spoiler alert: it will involve the Great Wall!
很想你们，
婉婷
