I’m now going into week 4 of living in Beijing. I’ve heard that it takes about three weeks to form habits and get used to new setting, and I feel like that’s definitely held true for me. I know how to navigate campus. I have a feel for what to eat and what not to eat at the dining halls. I know how to hail a cab and get back home. And I now know enough Mandarin to embarrass myself.
One of the best things about the trip so far has been PKU’s campus. There’s a wide variety of food available, and you can get a sizable lunch in the dining halls for what comes out to three to four bucks. It’s full of so many things to do, many of which I haven’t even gotten a chance to check out yet, like bowling, ping-pong, basketball, and watching movies at the cheap university movie theater. I think I need way more than 8 weeks to be able to fully explore all of what PKU has to offer. The classes have been very informative so far. I’ve really enjoyed learning Mandarin, despite my lack of skill in forming tones or remembering all the various characters. I would say we’ve all enjoyed learning the language, and the title of this blog post, which means “I am not the teacher” in English, has become an oft-repeated phrase among us NU students.
The other things I’ve enjoyed a lot have been the organized trips to various historical and cultural sites. We’ve gone from the Forbidden City (the Chinese imperial palace in the center of the city) to the Great Wall to a Chinese acrobatics show. The vast history here is hard to get a full grasp of, and the bits and pieces that I’m picking up from our excursions are just making me more excited to learn more. It’s already been three weeks, but I feel like we’ve all just gotten here.
Walking along the Great Wall