Week One was pretty stressful and not overly interesting to blog about, so I’m going to jump right to Week Two. Enjoy! 🙂
Sunday
Sundays here are pretty similar to my Sundays in the United States (laundry, homework, errands), but I started this Sunday with probably my greatest moment of frustration so far. All I wanted was to throw some clothes in the washing machine, but because of my whole two-phones situation, this was way more complicated that it needed to be. Let’s just say that the washing machine on my floor is evil and that’s why it took me more than an hour to get it started. Smh.
Fun fact about washing clothes here – almost no one uses dryers. Everyone hangs their clothes on lines in the community laundry room and trusts everyone else not to steal them. I have seen at least one sign so far asking for a pair of pants to be returned.
On Sunday I also went to the grocery store (look how many flavors of Lays they sell!), did a few hours of homework, ate my dinner in a beautiful garden on campus, and went to bed early. Oh, and my WeChat messaging app for program communications got censored by the government. We don’t need to talk about that.
Monday
I started out Monday by studying while eating breakfast, which is a habit I developed in college that has really stuck. For my program, I memorize about 200 characters per week for various written tests, so I spend most mornings writing characters while eating.
My first class on Mondays is Hot Topics, and this week we were discussing consumption habits of the younger generations in China. Apparently, nearly all spending happens online, and because of that, Chinese ordering and delivery apps compete with each other to be as fast and convenient as possible. Did you know that in Beijing, if you order clothes that don’t fit (or anything else you decide to return), someone will come straight to your door to pick up the items? They don’t even have to be boxed up or bagged! I guess that explains why online shopping is so popular here.
In between classes on Monday, I grabbed a quick lunch with friends. The lunchrooms here are always crowded, so everybody shares tables. Today, we sat with a history student who speaks Mandarin, Mongolian, and Tibetan fluently, as well as some Russian and English.
After lunch, my second class of the day was Exploring Beijing. This week’s topic was 中关村 Zhongguancun, a section of Beijing also known as “China’s Silicon Valley.” It’s a technological hub situated between Tsinghua University and Peking University, so it’s crawling with young people and has been China’s center for tech development since the late 1980s.
I spent the rest of Monday preparing for my Tuesday classes. Boring, I know, but the homework never ends.
Tuesday
Tuesday started off like Monday, but this time instead of writing characters, I was reciting the Chinese Constitution over breakfast. We had an oral exam during our first class and practiced with each other while eating Chinese breakfast burritos (potato slices, veggies, and chicken stuffed into a seasoned pita).
It may only be the second week, but I’m already learning a lot in my Chinese Politics class. I nailed the oral exam and afterward spent the period learning about the discrepancies between the government system laid out by the Constitution and the systems sometimes seen in practice, which is particularly relevant right now as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation meets in Beijing.
During my second class on Tuesday, Exploring Beijing, we had a written character exam (which I reviewed for over lunch), and then I gave small presentations about non-tech companies inside Zhongguancun. My presentation was about an employee-free McDonald’s fully operated by robots, which ended up being a commentary on how even non-tech companies in this area conform to their high-tech environment.
Also, fun fact: Zhongguancun is one of the most sought-after workplaces in China; for the first five years working in this development employees don’t pay taxes, and if their jobs are high-level enough, the government provides free or discounted housing, even for foreigners.
My third and final class on Tuesday was my first one-on-one session. My professor and I went over some basic Chinese geography and a simple history of Taiwan. Did you know Taiwan was originally colonized and ruled by the Netherlands in the early 1600s? (Then by two different Chinese dynasties, Japan, and two more Chinese governments/political parties, in case you were curious.)
After class, I went for a walk around Beijing and then settled into a booth at the library for some studying. And, for dinner I got a dish that I thought was pineapple chicken – turns out the pineapple was actually onion. Good thing I love onions.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a super fun day because we got to leave campus together and visit Zhongguancun. We had two assignments for this trip: first, to take pictures that represented Zhongguancun in some way, and second, to interview employees at an education assistance company called 德明 De Ming.
You’ll see the pictures I snapped in the gallery below (spoiler: they represent the historical relevance and continuing development of the area), but the second assignment is worth expanding on. We knew nothing about the company beforehand but quickly learned that it serves high-achieving Chinese students looking to attend American universities. Employees act as counselors, helping clients to compile application materials and meet student visa requirements. I interviewed the head of the company, who told me about how valued an American education is in China’s biggest cities. For example, a student that attends a QS-ranked university in United States and then secures a job in Shanghai can apply for an ID card to effectively become a Shanghai citizen (these ID citizenship cards are almost impossible to obtain outside of your birth city). This type of company is not without its flaws, similarly to its counterparts in the U.S., but it was interesting to learn about their processes and objectives.
After riding the bus back to campus, I attended a Chinese martial arts class. This martial art is called Wushu and is very popular in China and abroad – I had friends at Yale who practiced Wushu. The class ended up being way more intense than I thought it would be (we were all sweating buckets by the end), but I had so much fun. I’ll definitely be going back.
Enjoy some action shots below – that’s me in the green shirt.
By the time Wushu ended, it was all I could do to shower, review for a handwritten character test the next morning, and go to sleep.
Thursday
Thursday started off slow with dumplings for breakfast, which was so needed after running around all of Wednesday. I ate while doing some more review, then headed in to my first class where we we studied grammar structures specific to official government documents and created study guides for our big test on the Chinese Constitution next week.
This Thursday, I was most stressed about my one-on-one class after lunch, especially since the first meeting on Tuesday didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I spent all of the time in between my classes reviewing my one-on-one texts like a madman. My roommate was taking a nap, so I was reciting lines from my text while pacing the hallway – I probably did look like a madman. Luckily, this lesson went much better than the first and I don’t think my professor hates me.
I also had my first check-in with the Assistant Director of my program after my one-on-one class. We talked about homesickness and expectations, and I left the meeting feeling about the same as I did when I entered. I’m glad someone checked in on me, though. 🙂
After a long day of classes and meetings, I was expecting to finish one big assignment and conk out, but my roommate invited me out for a night on the town with her and her boyfriend. One of my biggest goals for this semester is to be spontaneous and lean into activities that will enrich my experience in Beijing (even to the detriment of my academics), so I agreed, and I actually had a wonderful time. We biked through central Beijing including Tiananmen Square, “The Egg” (Center for Performing Arts), various government buildings, and a street full of vendors, colorful lights, and families enjoying the evening.
Friday
I can’t lie, I was so grateful to make it to Friday. I only have one class on Fridays, and afterwards we all go out to eat with our teachers and program administrators. So after giving a presentation about my reflections on Zhongguancun, I headed out to hotpot with my friends. This was my first time eating hotpot, and I found it embarrassingly difficult. I kept burning my hands and losing my food! I’m determined to improve though, and who can be upset with free food and an afternoon off?
The recipe for a perfect Friday in Beijing is as follows: lunch at a fun new restaurant with friends, a walk in the park after, and then a night in with face masks and mahjong. (I also started writing two essays, but that doesn’t make the cut for the “perfect Friday in Beijing” list.) All in all, a joyous Friday.
Saturday
This week we had Field Trip Saturday!! The Summer Palace deserves its own post, so stay tuned for details and pictures from this weekend trip.
That’s a Wrap: Week Two
Highlight: Becoming a Wushu master.
Lowlight: Totally flopping in my first one-on-one class.
And that’s all I’ve got for you this time. See you next week!
很想你们，
婉婷
