First week
Ｉsurvived my first week! Yippee!
Yesterday was my first day of classes. I had 21 students in my first class and nearly 30 in my second. My first class is from 8 AM until 9:50, with a ten-minute break at 8:50. My second class is from 10:10 until noon with a ten-minute break at 11. It's really not bad.
Because I'm not used to doing my business in the school's bathrooms (they're holes with no flushing system or toilet paper - I tried to go yesterday but there were flies coming out of the hole and I just couldn't get myself to do it!), I actually went back to my dorm to pee, and couldn't find my keys! So I was around 5 minutes late for my second class - oops. The students are nice. They talk a lot in Chinese, they talk in class, they don't necessarily do everything I tell them. But things look OK. Pretty good. They're sweet.
Today, I had the same schedule, but my classes both had around 50 students (a little less but apparently there will be more than 50 by next week because new students are coming). My voice was very sketchy because I have a cold. I also talked very loudly for a long time so by noon I had no more voice left! Pretty funny.
The hinge on my dorm door fell off yesterday. My door was all screwy. But the people at the front desk fixed it that same afternoon. Yay!
Yesterday I went walking around the city with Melanie (American friend from Arizona learning Chinese this year) and Guillaume (French student learning chinese). Remember I live in the foreign "students" building until the teachers' building is completed. We went to a bar district that's supposed to be popular with foreigners. We went during the afternoon though, and it was pretty dead. We tried to go to a park, but it was enclosed with a high fence and we had to pay to get in...not so much fun. We watched old men play Chinese checkers. We went to the Silk Market, which is the headquarters of fake brand names. Guillaume bought a poster to decorate his room. It's fun to bargain. But it can be tiring.
Today we went bowling of all things! We went with three Korean students (also here to learn chinese). It was an American bowling alley. It was lots of un. No something I expected to be doing. In my imaginings of China, somehow I didn't think I'd be bowling with Korean students, a French guy, and a blonde American girl. Quite funny the way things work out.
Josh is arriving tomorrow (Wednesday the 31st) in the evening. My work week is over for now. One of the Koreans is going to make me "Korean medicine" to help me get over my terrible voice (bad throat). We'll see how that tastes...
I always enjoy hearing from you. I hope you're all doing well.
*****
September 13th update: I drank the Korean tea, which tasted great and did a lot of good for my throat, but then Josh arrived and ruined any chance of me getting better, so on Sunday Sean's friends and family got me Chinese medicine which I added to hot water and which also really helped my throat. So I got help from traditional Korean and Chinese medicine, as well as the standard Western pills, which Sean's family also got for me. Such generous and thoughtful people!
Yesterday was my first day of classes. I had 21 students in my first class and nearly 30 in my second. My first class is from 8 AM until 9:50, with a ten-minute break at 8:50. My second class is from 10:10 until noon with a ten-minute break at 11. It's really not bad.
Because I'm not used to doing my business in the school's bathrooms (they're holes with no flushing system or toilet paper - I tried to go yesterday but there were flies coming out of the hole and I just couldn't get myself to do it!), I actually went back to my dorm to pee, and couldn't find my keys! So I was around 5 minutes late for my second class - oops. The students are nice. They talk a lot in Chinese, they talk in class, they don't necessarily do everything I tell them. But things look OK. Pretty good. They're sweet.
Today, I had the same schedule, but my classes both had around 50 students (a little less but apparently there will be more than 50 by next week because new students are coming). My voice was very sketchy because I have a cold. I also talked very loudly for a long time so by noon I had no more voice left! Pretty funny.
The hinge on my dorm door fell off yesterday. My door was all screwy. But the people at the front desk fixed it that same afternoon. Yay!
Yesterday I went walking around the city with Melanie (American friend from Arizona learning Chinese this year) and Guillaume (French student learning chinese). Remember I live in the foreign "students" building until the teachers' building is completed. We went to a bar district that's supposed to be popular with foreigners. We went during the afternoon though, and it was pretty dead. We tried to go to a park, but it was enclosed with a high fence and we had to pay to get in...not so much fun. We watched old men play Chinese checkers. We went to the Silk Market, which is the headquarters of fake brand names. Guillaume bought a poster to decorate his room. It's fun to bargain. But it can be tiring.
Today we went bowling of all things! We went with three Korean students (also here to learn chinese). It was an American bowling alley. It was lots of un. No something I expected to be doing. In my imaginings of China, somehow I didn't think I'd be bowling with Korean students, a French guy, and a blonde American girl. Quite funny the way things work out.
Josh is arriving tomorrow (Wednesday the 31st) in the evening. My work week is over for now. One of the Koreans is going to make me "Korean medicine" to help me get over my terrible voice (bad throat). We'll see how that tastes...
I always enjoy hearing from you. I hope you're all doing well.
*****
September 13th update: I drank the Korean tea, which tasted great and did a lot of good for my throat, but then Josh arrived and ruined any chance of me getting better, so on Sunday Sean's friends and family got me Chinese medicine which I added to hot water and which also really helped my throat. So I got help from traditional Korean and Chinese medicine, as well as the standard Western pills, which Sean's family also got for me. Such generous and thoughtful people!
posted by Caro at 5:22 PM
2 Comments:
changing the fonts will not change anything. caroline's chinese computer is messed up.
Ah. And here I thought there was a visit to an opium den or something.
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