Hi everyone! So I have just under a week before I return to China, and as such, have posted my first blog through the IES Abroad website. For anyone who doesn't know, I will be writing for IES this coming semester, and part of their rules are that I am not allowed to post the same thing on their website as I post here (which is what I did last semester, when I was writing blogs for Alliance for Global Education). As such, I will be posting the link for the blogs here, because I don't think there is any way to subscribe to my blog specifically on the IES webpage. So without further ado, here is the link for my predeparture blog post: https://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/blogs/kmcgeepugetsoundedu/spring-festival-and-missing-china Hope everyone is well, and until next time (which will be ... read more

Hey everyone! Wow it’s true what they say: time really does fly when you’re having fun! I honestly meant to write this post on time, but due to the need to wake up at a decent time for lots of days in a row, seemed to have run out of time every day for about a week. Oops! First of all, the trip to the orphanage was really cool, if a little underwhelming. While everyone there was very nice, and the kids were adorable, apparently somewhere along the way communication did not happen, so they didn’t actually know that we were coming. It was also pretty awkward because the woman who ended up showing us around was super surprised that we didn’t bring a translator of any sort. Just me, trying to translate as best I ... read more

Hey everyone, I apologize for not writing last week, but I got pretty busy with finals and the end of our program. I spent last weekend writing a paper for my music class, and this week was full of closing activities, such as group lunches and pictures, and last minute hanging out with friends whom I won't see for a while. I am both glad and sad that the semester is over, as on the one hand I was getting a bit burnt out towards the end of the semester, while on the other, it was hard to say goodbye to some of the friends that I have made this semester. After spending so much time abroad, I have come to realize that it is less about the program and the location than it is about ... read more

Hey everyone! Upon arriving in China, it is quickly apparent that there are two major issues that you will find yourself talking about with just about everyone. Whether the person you are speaking with is young or old, male or female, college educated or not, 空氣污染 (kōngqì wūrǎn - air pollution) and 婚姻／談戀愛 (hūnyīn/tán liàn'ài - marriage/dating). 空氣污染 Over the weekend, it seems the pollution has decided to come back - this time worse than ever before. Previously, the snow and rain have kept the pollution to manageable levels, and have come often enough for the AQI (air quality index) to creep up too much. However, while the past week was very very very cold (reaching -12°C or about 10°F on Thursday morning), there has not been much precipitation. Over the weekend the AQI began creeping ... read more

Hey everyone! As I mentioned in my last post, last week was our independent travel week. However, since I stayed in Beijing, I didn't really do anything particularly noteworthy, other than a failed attempt to visit the art district, and eating 火鍋 (huǒguō hot pot) so spicy it felt like a hole was burning through my stomach (but it was soo tasty - totally worth it). Mostly I tried to stay indoors this week, due to a mix of bitter cold and air pollution so thick it could be mistaken for brown fog. On a different note, one of the things I have noticed while I am here is that racism and stereotypes are not just something that the US struggles with. Being a more homogeneous society, racism in China is definitely less obvious, but it ... read more