Little Backed-Up

I haven't posted in a while cause there wasn't anything exciting or pressing that I needed/wanted to share, but I feel like it's good to fill everyone in on those details sometimes. Me and the group of people from BGSU have made pretty good friends with a lot of international students; we're very close with the other Americans, a few girls from Europe (like Poland, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, Germany) and a bunch of French students. We're actually traveling to Chengdu with five French students that we've become really fond of, and we're all excited because they're very good people and a lot of fun to be around. I'm glad we met students that we clicked with so well and that share our values/desires about being here in China. It's nice to know that there are people that think like we do, feel like we do, and act on what they believe, which is why most of them are here.

Going back to the Chengdu thing, we're actually leaving today (tomorrow for you people in the states)! We're taking an overnight train there from Xi'an and arriving at 9:00 in the morning; perfect! We're going to go see pandas, try and climb a mountain, see some temples and national parks, and just take in the feel of the city itself. It costs 1000元, about 150 USD, to hold a panda; yikes! But I think the money is worth it, especially since they're so rare, it's not really THAT much money, and I get to actually hold it. I'll have my camera, so everyone in our group will be able to have the memory in pictures, which will help us rationalize the money. China Bilotte is the one that's especially excited, because her sorority's mascot is a panda! She's incredibly excited to feel closer to home, closer to China, and closer to this endangered species all at the same time.

As for me, I'm excited to go to the city that so many people say they fall in love with, that they never want to leave, and that they write songs about. As for the excitement of Chengdu and the good friends, nothing else is really worth writing about. just kinda living, going to school, and getting used to the language, the people, and the culture, which takes a lot of time to do all of that!

Until I return

Getting in the Groove

Things have been improving a lot out here. People are FINALLY starting to get to know people well, breaking out of their bubble, and metting people they didn't think they would meet. I've made some awesome friends from the States (Amuricca, fuck yeh), a bunch of French students, and then some other students scattered around Europe. They're all incredible people and we're all really starting to get to know each other and do things together. That whole bubble/timidness that everyone had when we all arrived is finally wearing off and even people that don't normally hang out, like Kazaks, are hanging out with us (I mention Kazaks because they typically hang out with themselves since there are so many of them).

A group of us went to see Asia's largest water fountain; it was a lot of fun to watch, apart from a couple unexpected tumbles and "admission fees," it was really enjoyable. A groups of about 10 of us went and we had a blast! We sat in GRASS in a park by a lake, talked, tossed a frisbee, and ate.

That's pretty much it, short one for now. Just thought I'd comment on new friends and what not.

Deuces.

New Things!!

So the other day I ate pig intestine! Gross, right? Actually, not even close; it was freakin' delicious! It was crispy on the outside and chewy, like fat, on the inside. It was seasoned with some pretty good spices and after getting over the thought of the food, I can honestly say that I would order it again! I've tried some vegetables that I would never had tried back in the states, even though they aren't scary at all!! Green beans, duck, pig intestine, even something as simple as lamb!! Some of these things I've never tried that are common to most people that I was afraid to try, but I'm getting over these barriers.

My friends are helping me out, too. They aren't telling me what I'm eating/ordering so I eat it, thinking that it's good, and then I find it's good and get over the negative thought. They're jerks for doing it, but I love them for helping me get over my irrational fear of food.

Short one today, but I was proud of myself for eating pig intestine and knowing that it's pig intestine halfway through the dish.

Go me.

Not Homesick....Yet

So I was looking up some things on homesickness to see what I should expect to happen to me, or to even see if it was happening to me at all. I found everywhere telling me there's four steps: excitement (honeymoon phase), frustration, depression, then acceptance. I've definitely gone through the first one and would have to admit that I'm right in the middle of the second stage. The immense cultural differences are fascinating to learn about, but you can only get stared at for so long before you want to strangle someone!! I understand that I'm an oddity, they think my whiteness is attractive, or are simply curious about me; I get that, I really do. The problem is that where I'm from, that's considered rude and I'm still under the impressions of those cultural norms and morays. I understand that they're not trying to be offensive, but it gets old! I have to stop myself from cussing someone out.

Another difficult thing that I have to deal with is that the people don't really look where they're going so they bump into you, accidentally hit you with an umbrella, or just are oblivious to you wanting to go around them when they stop in the middle of the sidewalk. I think that it's accepted there because everyone understands that everyone around them is going somewhere and at their own pace and they don't take it personally when these things happen; they're not doing these things because of the people around them, but they're doing them because of themselves, and everyone understands that and practices that. Back in the states you would be considered very rude, but here it's a mutual understanding that it's not necessarily "I'll get mine and I hope you get yours," but it's along the lines of "I'm going to do me, don't take that personally." I also hate how overly bearing people at stores are. You walk in and you have 3 people shoving different things in your face; I'm so not used ton that. I'm used to someone being available when you need them but your shopping experience is relatively unimpeded; not how things are done here. I literally walk out of a store that I like because I get so fed up with this style of customer service: again, I'm not used to it!! It's not bad by any sense and I'm not putting the culture and customs down, it's just hard for me to get used to something that's so different when they're based on deeply embedded morals that I have yet to understand.

There's a few things we've been sitting down and thinking about that we miss from home, and here's a little list of some of these things:

Late night Taco Bell
Convenience of talking to friends without losing sleep
Convenience of hanging out with anyone on a whim
Having a multitude of friends you can hang out with on said whim
A complete understanding of the common language
Being able to blend in
A hamburger
Red solo cups....you know why
Thirsty Thursdays
Hookah
Sidewalks not crowded with people

I'll probably add more when I remember them. Just wanted to share where I was emotionally and why I was there. If anyone wants to send me any of these, please send me a crunchwrap supreme, bacon club chulupa, freinds, fluency in Chinese, and red solo cups.

Much love =D

Few Neat Places

So I've already gone to a few really cool places around the city, but only a couple. I've done to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an city wall, and the Muslim district. They're all really fun and neat. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was a Buddhist temple that was really important, mostly because Xi'an, then known as Chang'an, was the center of Chinese politics and culture for centuries. It was a functioning Buddhist temple and it's absolutely gorgeous.

The city wall was a lot of fun; we got to walk an 8 mile wall (yeah, we walked the whole way) around the historic part of Xi'an. Although the wall itself and the walk was boring and it was more for the sake of doing it and being able to say that we walked it, being able to see the whole city from different places was really neat. It was a lot of fun being able to walk along the wall that was build many centuries ago, the same path that was taken by so many people over so many years!



The Muslim district was a lot of fun. Although there wasn't a lot of important historical monuments that we saw, it was filled with great food stalls and awesome shopping. Obviously most of the things were knock-offs, but they looked authentic and they looked to be pretty good. There was bargaining and excitement all around, and it was easy to tell that a lot of the foreigners were excited at the prospects they were finding.

First few days of classes

So classes started. It's pretty intense; none of the teachers use english very much, if at all. They divide all the classes up by levels, 1-8, and descending level gets more difficult. Level 1 is the easiest, it's for people who don't know chinese, and level 8 is the hardest, designed for people who are very proficient in the language. I was placed in level 4, which is actually pretty good, and I could have gotten by and learned a lot, but I dropped down to level 3. Level 3 is pretty much where I left off in BG, but moves quicker. I'm much more comfortable because, although I could have learned more in level 4 than 3, I feel I wouldn't have gotten as much out of my time here. I doubt I would have retained the things I would learn in level 4, and I would need to dedicate a large amount of time to studying, which means I might lose out on travel experiences and opportunities to meet locals and native speakers, where the majority of learning occurs.

So my decision to drop to level 3 was smart because I am learning at a similar pace and at a similar level that I left off at and I'll have more free time to explore and meet people. The classes are tough, but satisfying. The majority of people are kind and intent on learning, with the exception of students who get free tuition for the rest of their college career if they study abroad, those students are disrespectful, disruptive, and unfocused, which inhibits everyone else. I really feel like my time here will be well spent, both in and out of school hours.