Beijing四天 (Day 4)

大家好 (Hey everyone),

Well a lot has happened these last few days and I haven't had much time to write on here. I'm thinking I'll update the blog 2 times per week. Classes started a few days ago and they are intense, as expected. We have class from 8am to 11:30am and then an afternoon class and 1 on 1 time. The language pledge started a few days ago and we quickly found out how difficult it was to follow. But it definitely helps in learning Chinese so I think it's a nice goal to aim for. All the kids on the program are great and they are all committed to learning Chinese which helps me improve. I ended up being placed (hopefully, since today we had a re-placement test) in Wang Laoshi's and Xiao Laoshi's class who were the two teachers that taught at AU last year. It's great to have them and class is so much better here than it was in the US since it's all taught in Chinese and we get much more individual attention. I have 7 other kids in my class which is a nice size if you ask me.

China is a pretty amazing place. Every morning we wake up to "Old Suzanne" (the American children's song) played over a loudspeaker followed by hundreds of kids running outside to do their daily exercises. Going to class in the morning and seeing the crowds of people riding their bike to work and the crazy Beijing rush hour traffic is really out of a different world. Every day is an adventure trying to order at mega cafeterias that seat 1,000 people and are always almost completely full. You really just have to have a sense of humor when you're trying to get across what you want. Today I tried to order chicken and ended up with fish but it was only 5 kuai which is roughly 75 cents. It is pretty amazing to think about how much food costs here. Today I bought a banana from a street vendor for "ba mao", about 10 cents. Water is about the same price if you buy it at a store.

Yesterday I had another unexpected event that made me greater appreciate where I am. I was walking to We Mei to get some water with Charlie and Alison when we came upon a throng of children who seemed to be on a field trip. As they approached us they pointed in our direction and started to wave. Some of the kids would say "Hello, how are you?" We would say "Ni hao" back to them. It was a surreal experience and one that I probably won't forget after my time in Beijing. Tomorrow we are going to the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and Tiananmen Square. I think I'll pull my shirt up into my collar as I've seen a bunch of Beijing people do these last couple days. In the next decade or so you'll see everyone doing it. Watch out.