Taking It Easy

---

Hey everyone!

This past week was very, very cold. We've had some rain on and off for the past few weeks, but this past week we finally ended up with some snow. It wasn't much, but it was wet enough that using my umbrella in the snow didn't feel as weird as it should have. Luckily there wasn't too much snow, but it did mean that the bus to school was way more packed than usual. And usual is so packed that you're pressed up against at least two other people, so instead of being packed like sardines, it was more like compacted brown sugar. I almost missed my stop that day because I was having so much trouble getting to the door. At first, the attendant woman (most of the buses have a ticketing person who sells the bus tickets to those without bus cards, and that person is also in charge of telling the driver when they can close the back door) didn't hear me when I called out "等一下" (děng yīxià wait a moment), but luckily one of the people near me heard and said it louder so that she could hear. I definitely got the evil eye as the bus stopped again and opened the doors, but at least I made it off at the right stop!

The end of Friday's test marked the beginning of our independent travel week. That is to say, we have the entire week to travel around China and explore on our own. Most of my classmates decided to take a trip to 上海 (Shànghǎi) and 三亞 (Sānyà), one of the major cities on Hainan island. Due to the fact that I will be studying in 上海 next semester, and beaches are all kind of the same wherever you go, I had no interest in joining my friends on their planned trip. However, I also strongly dislike traveling alone (especially in a country like China where scams are a dime a dozen). Due to that and a failure to find a friend to make a plan with, I will be spending the week in Beijing (along with Ian, who is also staying in Beijing), and we are planning on taking advantage of the break from schoolwork by taking it easy and exploring the city.

After the test on Friday, Ian, Will, Su laoshi, and I all went out for burritos and then to sing KTV (karaoke) together. It was a simple day, but it was really fun to hang out with Su laoshi (my primary teacher) outside of the classroom. We sang a wide rang of songs and artists, from Green Day to Backstreet Boys, Payphone to 對面的女孩看過來 (duìmiàn de nǚhái kàn guòlái) - that one should look pretty familiar to those of you who have known me for a long time. *sigh* childhood memories. But anyways, I think one of the great things about study abroad has been that my teachers have all been pretty young, which makes them much more relatable. While they commend respect in class, it’s much easier to talk with them outside of class and to just go and hang out with them in a very casual manner. I think this is also what makes our pop culture class possible, because sorry Sun laoshi, but I just can’t imagine learning some of the words that we do from my professor back in the US.

Saturday I was able to sleep in and do laundry in the morning, which was definitely a nice way to unwind, which I feel like I haven’t been able to do for a long while. Saturday afternoon, Ian came over to my 中國家庭 (Zhōngguó jiātíng - lit. Chinese household), and we made 餃子 (Jiǎozi - dumplings) with my host family. It was a blast, and my family definitely really likes Ian! I also finally have someone who understands how incredibly brilliant my host sister is, because although she doesn’t believe me when I try to tell her (she is incredibly humble for a 10 year old), she seriously has genius-level intelligence. My 阿姨 (Āyí - lit. aunt; what one would call a woman in their parent’s generation - although she is quite a bit younger than my own parents), kept telling Ian how much I am like a legit Chinese girl - I’m quiet, have a strong preference for Chinese food and holidays, apparently I wrap dumplings well (shoutout to Mary Swanson), etc. Anyways, we had a great time making the dumplings, and eating them was a delightful task. Somehow (no thanks to me as I gave up first), we managed to eat all of them. My 叔叔 (shūshu - lit. uncle; same deal as 阿姨) made the filling and dough from scratch, and they were delicious!

On Sunday it was my turn to visit Ian’s house, so I ate dinner there. Ian’s host family is also very very nice, although it was different from my own because while everyone in my family knows quite a bit of English, Ian’s 叔叔 and 阿姨 don’t know any. I think this is both better and worse, because if I don’t understand something someone is saying in my family, they are typically able to summarize using a mixture of Chinese and English, whereas Ian’s family is unable to do that. On the other hand, it definitely forces him to use his Chinese more and work things out himself. In that sense, his situation is probably better, but I think I prefer being able to have that English failsafe to make sure we don’t miss each other on the important things. I also really enjoy having conversations with my host sister when she is speaking to me in English and I am attempting to respond and ask her questions in Chinese.

Anyways, I’ve had a great start to my week off so far, and I hope that everyone else is taking it easy and not working too hard! Until next time!

---

Photos

餃子
Photo cred. 中國家庭的阿姨

Wrapping 餃子
Photo cred. 中國家庭的阿姨

Sara showing us calligraphy
Photo cred. 中國家庭的阿姨

Playing chess with Sara (I lost)
Photo cred. 中國家庭的阿姨