Still alive and kicking in Beijing

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I know, I know, I haven't written in months! I'm sorry! I've actually started four or five entires that I've just never gotten around to finishing, so I'll try to finish them up and post them retroactively.

My program officially ends on June 21, less than a month away. I'm going to travel from June 21 to July 1, probably to Xinjiang with my friend John and maybe some other people. Then from July 1 to July 22 I'll be participating in a Summer Service Learning Program with Tsinghua University, the school I'm studying at right now. If you're interested in finding out more about the program you can visit this website, www.wangfoundation.net/service_learning.htm. Basically, I'll be traveling to Ledu County in Qinghai Province, a rural area of China, to learn about poverty in the country and to help teach English. I will be accompanied by 5 Tsinghua students an 2 other U.S. students. I'm really looking forward to getting to see the rural side of China because most of my travel has been to urban areas, or at least to areas that are often visited by tourists. This program will allow me to learn about a side of the country that most people don't get to see. I'll update you on it as I find out more.

I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. I feel like time is running out quickly and there's so much left for me to do. I've done a ton of traveling (which you'll learn more about once I post those other entries), gone to many places within Beijing, and made some lifelong friends. I absolutely love it here. I'll admit, I was a little nervous before coming here. My last morning in Chicago I threw myself onto my bed and said "I changed my mind. I'm not going." Luckily, Ahmed was there to convince me otherwise. I knew China was going to be different and I just didn't know how I would feel about all of the differences. Now that I've been here for four and a half months I would say that I embrace the differences with open arms. Though there are still a few practices that make me cringe (spitting on the ground for example) I manage to laugh it off and say "T-I-C" (This Is China). I fully intend to make the most of the rest of the time I have left here.

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Comments

[dimitra]

that was a great entry sarah... what does the spitting on the ground mean?

[sarahsinbeijing]

Dimitra! It's good to hear from you! The spitting on the ground doesn't actually mean anything, I'm afraid. Chinese people just seem to have a lot of phlegm. I've noticed that it's mostly men that do the spitting, and many men in China are heavy smokers, so I suspect it also has to do with smoking. Also, the pollution in the air might somehow attribute to their need to spit.