China. It didn’t seem real. As the plane landed, the grogginess of my jet lag, slowly faded away. Am I really here? Is this really where I will be for the next semester? Waves of anticipation and nausea hit me, making my stomach churn. The weeks of preparation and studying, slowly vanished as I took in my surroundings. Swarms of people filled the airport, some visitors, some coming back home. As I sat in the bus, going to what will be my new campus, I felt overwhelmed with sensations. There was so much to look at, so much to do, and so many people to meet. That night, I couldn’t sleep. I felt the excitement of not knowing what was waiting around the corner, where tomorrow would take me. After being in Beijing for a week, I have realized that nothing could’ve prepared me for this wonderful and always surprising country. Its been only a week, and I have slowly realized how little I know of this country. Everyday is a new adventure. Last weekend, I went tea tasting, and tried almost 40 cups of different teas. The next day I went to a karaoke bar with Chinese students, and sang Taylor Swift. The following day, I had to pantomime to a desk receptionist in order to get my mail. It is so surprising how different, and yet how familiar China can be. There isn’t one moment of my day, that I’m not experiencing or having another adventure. Just surviving in this country i.e speaking and talking with people, ordering food, taking the bus, buying school supplies, provides new and exciting challenges. Even something so small as doing laundry, is an experience in China. I can’t say that China is anything that I expected it to be, in fact most things are not what I expected. I can say, however, that studying abroad in China, so far, has been the one of the best and most exciting decisions in my life. I look forward to sharing the rest of my journey with you.
Until then, 再见!
Over this past weekend, some of our students enrolled at Minzu University of China took their annual Spring Outing – this year, to Gubei Water Town. Situated about a 2-hour drive northeast of Beijing, the April weather made it absolutely perfect to explore for a spring outing. It surrounds various canals and offshoots of Yuanyang lake.
If you ever want to get a taste of Old Beijing, by far one of the best ways is to visit the hutongs. They’ve conceptually been around all the way since the 1200s, and in their most modern forms exist as protected alleyways and streets surrounded by old traditional houses and neighborhoods in the heart of Beijing and are recognized in China to be an important part of cultural heritage in the city.