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Location Date Fri, 09 April 2010 1270833685 Mon, 15 March 2010 1268659874 Sun, 07 March 2010 1267979831 Tue, 02 March 2010 
1267544742 Sat, 27 February 2010 1267271626
Wo Men De Ce Suo Sheng Bing le! (Our toilet is sick!)
So,it's been roughly a weeks since I've arrived in heavily polluted Beijing. Whee. I've just sort of kind of lian xi-ed (studied for you non-PinYin readers) my tiny brain off. Seriously,why did no one tell me this language intensive thing was going to be this intensive?
First of all, the "placement exam?" BULL-f***ING_s***. 100 questions straight and in one sitting? We're college kids- you know, grown up versions of 5-year olds complete with the whole inability to sit still for more than ten minutes.
Second- I feel like a complete idiot here. The Koreans and Europeans speak better Mandarin than me.
Third, Too much read,writing,speaking,listening, comprehending too fast. My brain can't take this much Chinese!
Fourth, did I mention the pollution and the alck of blue sky and sunshine here?
Fifth, Beijing Normal University feels like Little Korea. I wonder if Peking University or TsingHua University are the same.
But, I do love how all the international students can understand each other, but the Chinese students or non-students can't. I think it's due to the fact that we all translate just about the same way. I've also learned that I need to get one of those nifty translator things that all the Korean kids have. And it's AMAZING.
I've had some difficulty trying finding dessert places around here since most of the places that us, "foreigners" like, are all located in ChaoYang (practically everything in my Luxe travel guides) and SanLiCun. There's a Sephora here! GAH!
All in all, I'm getting used to this place. I avoid going to WuMei (or WuMart, as all the international students call it), the Chinese version of Walmart.
My roommate and I have finally made our tiny living room as homey as we can (lots and lots of food). We still have to find some posters or paintings for the wall.
One thing I'm not sure I'll ever get used to is how blunt non-native English speakers are. It's kind of embarrassing and hilarious at the same time. I can't think of an example right now, but when it occurs, I just sort of sputter and then laugh and attempt to explain to them in broken Chinese as to why I find it funny.
On the other hand, it's kinda nice to know that there are some boys that still lack tack. I was having lunch with a Chinese friend and a Korean guy friend today. And the topic of my roommate came up, and the girl was trying to convince me to set my roommate (who is also Korean) and Jong Min (the Korean guy) up. She told him he was hen piao liang (very pretty) and he looks to me and asks if it's true. I say,yes,of course. And then he replies by saying he doesn't trust our opinion and that he will have to judge for himself. To top it off, he turns to me to ask me if she's prettier than me (If I wasn't so nice,I'd say yes,of course!) I don't think any of the guys back at home would ask a girl that. You just don't ask a girl to judge herself,least of all ask her to compare herself to a friend! MEN!
Another thing, the radio here. They play Chinese Pop then you hear Lady GaGa's Bad Romance, followed by another pop song and then Sean Paul. It's so... random and odd... but kind of reminds me of home.
Last of all, you know you're studying or having to speak Chinese when you can't even write a short email in Spanish. CRAP. I think in Chinese now. Bu ke neng ah!
Right,well, this entry was rather... random, but yeah.
Zai Jian!
P.S. Hoping to hit a few bars in ChaoYang or WoDaoKou and maybe the Forbidden City this weekend? Ke neng!
- comments
Jason Haha! I TOLD you it was intensive. It's Sa Li Tun, but the taxi drivers call it Sa Li Tur (the whole 儿 thing at the end. You'll figure it out eventually. ) I felt like a complete idiot. Do not feel bad. And I STILL think to myself in Chinese. And my spanish is pretty much gone. I tried to talk to a coworker in spanish and Chinese popped out. It's soo weird when it happens. But just wait until a local starts talking to you and it automatically translates in your head and you don't have to think about it. Coolest thing ever! Embrace WuMart. Some are 24/7. I still have one of those big orange Wu Mart bag! There's also JianMart. Don't be afriad of fruit vendors on the street as long as locals buy from them, too.
jason oh! There's a decent mexican restaurant in WuDaokou. Also there's Propaganda, a night club. It's very popular. Wangfujing is a great shoppping area. there's a HUGE mall and a HUGE bookstore. there are also 2 chopstick stores and there's a haggling place down an alley. go lower than half of what they say. make sure you know how to haggle in chinese first!! also on Line 1 is Xidan. another great shopping area. There's an H&M, Uniqlo, Zara's, etc. There's a store int he bottom level of the mall in Xidan that sells western products imported from the US. I think it's Xidan. email me if you have any questions!