Sophie's host dad was very excited to be introduced to this strange American custom of mutilating pumpkins for Halloween, so he volunteered to go buy some. He came back with two very tiny pumpkins, so we decided to give a watermelon a shot - and it actually turned out quite well! It only lasts about twelve hours, though. Sophie's host family had a great time watching us carve pumpkins, and helping out sometimes too! We were even skilled enough to carve "Happy Halloween" on the back of them in Chinese! [View Full Entry]

---

---

1. People here don’t expect anything of me. Everyone looks at me, a foreigner, and assumes that I can’t speak any Chinese and I am oblivious to the Chinese way of life. That way, people are impressed when I simply say “xie xie” or whip out my bus card and actually know how to use it. 2. The children here are treasured. Even people who would usually completely ignore me smile proudly if I grin at the small child running laps around their feet. The kids can do whatever they want. When kids point at me and stare it is innocent, [View Full Entry]

---

---

The first thing I saw in my host home upon arriving in Beijing was a pair of slippers. Blue, clear-plastic house slippers, with black and white cartoon cats. These slippers were, in some ways, the easiest part of my transition to a completely different life. It was easy enough to pick up on; put them on as soon as you get to the house and leave them by the doorway as you leave. It was easy to comprehend and easy enough to get used to. What did it matter to me why people wore house slippers here? All I know is [View Full Entry]

---

---

My new host family took me to a hotel basically in the middle of a swamp for a vacation. We walked around and hung out at a little, very rustic hotel. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Da jia hao (Hello everyone) I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in a while. The internet in my home wasn’t working for quite a while and I have virtually no free time while I’m at school! As some of you may have heard, there was a situation that resulted in my having to switch host families. My first host mother, Wang Quan, was recently diagnosed with cancer. The doctors weren’t too worried about it, but she needed to stay at the hospital for about one month. Obviously, this means that she couldn’t take care of two children. We were all devastated [View Full Entry]

---

---

Exhausted, here I’ll finally sleep And wait for the tears I’ve been longing to weep But it seems no matter how hard I try I have not the strength even to cry I’ve been waiting and waiting, I’m finally in bed The scenes of the day coursing through my head Many words, words for “big” and “small” How can I possibly remember them all? Overwhelmed, yet wanting to take it all in Trying to remember what made this journey begin Out here with strangers - and now I will see What life is like living with those different from me I’m [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello everyone, I've officially been in Beijing for two weeks, though it feels like about two months. I am now fully functioning and successfully take the city bus two and from school every day. I haven't gotten lost...yet. We got our school uniforms today (sadly, we had to exchange our t-shirts that read "the school high attached to Beijing Normal University" for grammatically correct ones), so pictures will be up soon of how amazing we all look in our HUGE sweatpants and jackets. Also, we have discovered that due to China and its communism (which, actually is politically incorrect - China [View Full Entry]

---

---

So after a five hour delay in San Francisco, we finally got here to Beijing and moved in with our host families. My host family pretty much rules. My host dad is this tiny, skinny little man who speaks six words of English (hello, Karly, sit down, hot, and sofa), and giggles a lot. My host mom is very happy and teaches me how to say words for everything we pass (chair, wind, bus, street)...too bad I can't remember it all (two or three words a day if I'm lucky). They are all worried that I don't eat enough and I [View Full Entry]

---

---

After having a five-hour delay on our flight from San Francisco, we finally made it to Beijing, China and went to our school to meet our host families. My host mother and her daughter, Lai Ke, came to pick me up with Lai Ke’s uncle, because her dad was away skiing. We live on the 8th floor of an apartment building about 15-minute drive from school. There is a main room with the TV and couch and the table, the parents’ bedroom and my bedroom, and my host sister sleeps in a big bed in the study. I am very lucky, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey everyone out there! I just recieved my mailing address. If you send me anything, it should be to my school, since that will be faster and more reliable (plus, there's a better chance that the mailcarriers on that route will be able to read English). You might want to send me an e-mail if you ship something so I can be looking out for it. School Year Abroad BNU High School # 2 12 Xinjiekouwai Street Beijing 100088, PRC I get some info about my host family on the 18th, and I leave the morning of August 27th, after I [View Full Entry]

---

---