And As We Draw to a Close, I Await My Return to the United St- Oh Wait.

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Sup Everyone! So as a quick spoiler alert, I have officially finished CET, passed that sucker, and am now in Shanghai with my two classmates Megan and Jenny. So last week I visited a Hutong, saw my first two street fights, and had my China Night. And from there…

Aug 8th:
So we studied TV today, which was really boring – but then we had to do a skit to promote a new TV show – so Robbie the Dos and I teamed up and did an awesome cops and robbers skit – to say the least, it was really balling – there was a robbery, I told him to stop in the name of the law (in Chinese no less) and then I “chased him” (as far as you can chase someone 5 meters in a classroom) had a (cat) fight, and then arrested him. It was pretty legit. And then some studying happened (Boo.)

Aug 9th:
And thus studying begins for finals (Boo!). I also had to turn in my paper for my final speech. We got to choose from TV, job loss, old and new Beijing, and marriage. I choose marriage, and for an extra twist – made mine mainly on gay marriage rights in America and China. I was rather nervous writing it, as I knew gay rights in China was a rather taboo topic, and as I researched, 70% of China thinks to some level being gay is morally wrong. However, the only person I talked to who disagreed with my opinion was Jian Qiang. But when we talked about it, we did it in a very respectful way to each other (even if I think his opinion is completely wrong) and so I guess there were no real issues. I had Ian’s roommate proof-read it (Jian Qiang was gone before I finished, and I needed it proof read before I turned it in) and he loved the level and complexity of skill in my writing level (boo-yah!) It’s really nice to hear that, because I really do think reading and writing are my best parts, but most of my classmates/CET people never really get to see that, so having those complements really meant something.

Aug 10th:
And studying continues (BOO!). However Jian Qiang, his friend, Piage (the grad-student from Duke – ew) and I went out for a final dinner, more or less. We went to the place with the bread that is sprinkled with fairy crack (I need to learn where to buy this fairy crack) and had a rather good time talking and enjoying the food. Also, I’ve officially started my campaign to get everyone addicted to WangLaoJi. WangLaoJi is this herbal Chinese tea company that sells ice tea that is suppose to have medicinal qualities. It also taste like a perfect glass of ice tea from the south. Every time I get a little home sick, one can of the stuff and I’m golden. Hooray for me! I might have found a new life goal to be in WangLaoJi advertising (obviously I’d be the male model – I’m thinking I’d use Blue Steel, or maybe El Tigre, but not Magnum – it’s not even close to being ready yet) (For anyone who didn’t get that last part, it was a reference to the movie Zoolander).

Aug 11th:
Had my final written test today (spoiler alert, got an 83 – not too shabby). Afterwards, a bunch of guys from my class, Ross and myself went off to find some presents for our teachers. We first went to a market, and us being guys, were very unproductive, as we thought of a bunch of joke gifts to get our teachers. My favorite example is getting boxing gloves or baseball bats for all of our female teachers, and imagining them stroll down the street together, gangster style. Would have been fantastic. But then we got serious(ish) and went next door to a bookstore, with a lot of American and British classics translated into Chinese. And they had Animal Farm by George Orwell. IN CHINA. How that isn’t banned, I haven’t a clue. But I was giddy as all get out (because Orwell is my favorite author – grim I know) and got a copy for myself as well as for one of my teachers. In addition, we got “Lord of the Flies,” “Wizard of Oz,” “Alice in Wonderland,” an NBA book, and a few comic books we knew one of our teachers loved. But seriously, George Orwell in CHINA. Also, Megan, Jenny and I planned out our travels more or less. Also, Jian Qiang drew me – and frick is it good. I mean really good (of course he was drawing from a great source of inspiration and beauty, so that probably helped).

Aug 12th:
Had my final speech – and I’m going to kill one of my laoshi’s (teachers). So before I spoke, I’d gotten my rewrite back, and I made the corrections that the teachers told me to make. One of those corrections wasn’t so much a correction, but more calling 70% of China gay. Fantastic. Luckily I wasn’t penalized after I explained how that had managed to happen, and ended up getting my best speech grade at CET (90%). Then, Megan, Jenny, Megan’s roommate, and I went to go buy train tickets at the hotel help service – and that failed miserably. So then we went to graduation, which was a ton of fun, good food, and our teachers really liked our gifts – yay! A lot of inside jokes really, so I won’t bore y’all. After the celebration and pictures, the four of us plus Jian Qiang went to the train station and successfully got tickets to Shanghai (after a frick ton of hastle, we were trying to get these tickets for a week). We went back to the dorm (where I then booked hostels and a flight to Hong Kong, because nothing looked guarantied that I could take a train to Hong Kong, and I wasn’t about to risk anything anymore.)
Then around 5:30 my class set out to Amigo’s, the Mexican restaurant, to go eat some food and enjoy their company one last time. However, me and a few other people wanted to take the subway instead of getting lost. And instead of following my advice, they followed their instincts and got lost. We ended up taking a taxi (much closer to the restaurant). But that did give me a lot of time to talk to Ming Rei (American), who was one of my classmates I didn’t really know that well, but after talking to him, I learned he’s a kick-ass dude and will be spending his next semester in Spain. God dang him, he’s a language encyclopedia (take my word, he is).
Dinner itself was fantastic. Well, the food was fine, but the company was fantastic. Everyone was really happy, joking around, and having a great time. Of course people bought the laoshi’s drinks, and it was rather funny to see who could hold there booze and who couldn’t – and don’t get me wrong, no one got really bad, but to see your head teacher get the Asian glow (red face) after 1 drink was rather funny. Then we all headed to sanlituar (the party area) and went to smugglers, where the laoshi’s slowly dismissed themselves – and we met up with Lixuan, our assistant dean of students. Now what was impressive, is that Wang laoshi, our favorite teacher ever (and often talked about drinking and partying) kept up with us every step. It was amazing, and everyone was impressed. Even when we went to Kokomo, he was still with us partying (with a backpack on btw). A true HuaHuaGongzi (playboy – not really though, he is married with kids and is faithful). Just absolutely amazing. So I danced for a while, and ended up meeting this pretty cool girl named Rachel (HELLO RACHEL!) and as it turns out, she’ll be in Shanghai while I am, so expect her name to show up again.
When I started to head out, I noticed Paige was a) walking out with another dude and b) didn’t look super comfortable. So after we were outside, I approached her right as the dude walked away to get a bottle of water to learn that she couldn’t shake the guy (and she has a boyfriend, so that’s double not ok) so I ran buffer and kindly told the guy that he was wasting his time. He wasn’t happy, but he left without much fuss, so win for me (and Paige I guess, but come on now, this is about me). Plus I got paid back in Chuan’r (shiskabobs), so I really, really won. I then took (a rather drunk) Paige home around 5. Dookies.

Aug 13th:
So I woke up at 12 and helped Jian Qiang more or less move out. I knew he was coming back Sunday night, so it wasn’t a final goodbye, but it was weird to have a single with 2 beds. I then more or less spent time with friends; also some final preparations for my travels. Then Ross, Ian, Dohyun, Tommy, the two Korean girls that I didn’t know too well (but are also super awesome) and myself went out to a dim sum restaurant that Dohyun said was really famous. IT WAS CRAZY GOOD. The food was great, and again, couldn’t ask for better company – and then we went to HouHai, walked around for a bit, and then chilled at Starbucks till it closed.

Aug 14th:
So after waking up, and then Ian, Tommy, Dohyun, and I went to the silk market today. Or the pearl market. I don’t know. It was one of the famous markets. I started off by buying some headphones (which broke after 2 times, no surprise) for way too much – 40 kuai. But from there, it got better. After wandering around (and ignoring just about everyone and seeing some people get ripped off), I did some good shopping for everyone. I got Mom a fan with the four seasons on it, a scroll for Jay, a bigger scroll for me (sorry Jay. Not really) and a silk tie for Dad. And man is it fun to bargain. There isn’t much as empowering as getting someone to fall for your price after nearly walking the whole isle. And to have every shopkeeper see how serious you were about your price. To make it even better, when I was bidding for the fan, the shopkeeper and I were debating over 5 kuai, and so I decided to hike up my britches and try something crazy. And this is what I said (translated) “Look, I’m a hot guy, and you’re a beautiful lady, so come on.” And that worked. God did that feel good (and ego boosting – oh my god).
So after all the shopping, we went to another restaurant Dohyun heard was famous, and it was also really, really good. They had a shrimp dish that was maybe the best shrimp I ever had, and I ate the shell too, it was that well cooked. God dang. Furthermore, I was once again enjoying the company of all of my good friends.
Later, after I started to pack up a bit and chill with my friends more, Jian Qiang came back. It was really good to see him one last time. I haven’t had a chance to really write or tell anyone state side about this cause I knew that I wasn’t in the best state of mind during CET and wanted to make sure the following analysis was accurate when I said this. The first two weeks were great, and we got along no problem. But then for about a month, I started to dislike the guy. And looking back I know exactly why. I was really tired during CET, and when that happens, I become very internalized. Jian Qiang is the antithesis of this: he’s outgoing and a ball of energy, and so whenever I saw him, I was a crippling ball of tired, and he was a bundle of energy. The side affect of this was me getting annoyed with some habits – some fair, some not – but it is what it is. And then at the end when CET loosened up a little bit, things got better again. I regret that things turned out that way, but I think if it all happened again, the same result would come about, like it or not. I regret an opportunity kinda missed, but Jian Qiang are still talking, so it’s not wasted either. Plus I’m also good friends with Ian’s roommate as well. But our final time together was well spent, and he drew Ian. So then we said our final goodbye, and things set in a bit more.

Aug 15th:
Well. Everyone left. And it’s really over. I made so many good friends, I don’t even believe it. I woke up at 9 to see Tommy and Dohyun off, and then slowly started packing for a few hours. Around 11 I started to chill with everyone out in the hall, as everyone made their last preparations or last conversations for a while. I then helped everyone onto the bus and waved them off. So weird, almost all of my friends left in a span of three hours.
However, Robby the Dos, Megan, and Christina did not leave, so after I went to my hostel, I returned to CET to chill with them, we ended up waiting 5 hours for Robbie and Megan’s plane tickets to arrive, so around 8 we went to a place called the kro’s nest. I’ve gotta say, that is the best pizza I have ever had in my life. It was a tad pricy, but worth every mao (cent). It’s an absolute must. Afterwards we went to smugglers, and got a few drinks. While we were there, Robbie went out to go quickly buy a coke. But he took a long time to get back, and when he came back, he said he got mugged – well basically. He said he went to a small stand to buy a coke, and while there, a Nigerian dude came up and told him to come look at his stuff. Next thing he knows, he’s surrounded by 5 Nigerians and hearded towards a dark alley where they took his 200 kuai and gave him what I was told to be about 50 kuai worth of weed. Very weird, and kinda scary. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening at SanLiTuan’r, but I’ve never been on a not-weekend either. Very important to remember. So while that wasn’t cool, Robbie kept a positive attitude and was thankful he wasn’t hurt. We ended up going to a club for a bit, and then I headed back to my hostel.

Aug 16th:
Woke up around 6:10, checked outta the hostel, and took a cab to the train station. Dog gone that is too early. But I still made it, met up with my traveling companions, Jenny and Megan, and we boarded the train.

And thus ends my adventures in Beijing, and at CET. It’s so weird looking back and thinking about how far I’ve come, how many amazing friends I’ve made, and being able to regain confidence in my Chinese that I haven’t really had since I first started studying in High School. I’m so thankful for the opportunity, and I think I really made the most of it. I didn’t always follow the language pledge, but the only time I really broke it was on the weekends going out with everyone, and I figure if people were still apologizing to me by the end of the program for using English in front of me, then that has got to count for something. Well, as much as I hate to say goodbye, it’s also time for me to move on to the next chapter of my journey. So my nuggets of wisdom and thought:
How many friends can you make it two months? Apparently about 60.
I love Beijing, and I hope I multiple opportunities to go back. Do you feel that way about a city or a place that isn’t your home?
How much can your Chinese improve in 2 months? A frick ton. I went from borderline survival Chinese to almost completely conversational.
--Robby

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