好久不见!

Probably twenty times a day I think to myself, “Chinese class this fall is going to be so easy.”
Now that’s not necessarily saying that this summer program is any harder than Chinese at Notre Dame. The only difference is the speed of the class, which compresses an entire week-and-a-half’s worth of normal content into one day, which in turn means we have an exam equivalent to a midterm covering six week’s worth of material every Friday, but it’s not like the vocabulary or grammar started significantly harder but with the speed, the new content is grows harder more and more quickly so the content is compiled and compounded and grows exponentially as any language class is always a cumulative review. Actually, I take that back. It’s way harder.
Studying Chinese in China has its advantages though (duh), even if its at this breakneck pace. I constantly find myself thinking metacognitively about my language growth to narrate in each blog post, and besides the obvious benefits of studying in China, I’ve noticed some psychological shifts not apparent in South Bend. I am always thinking in Chinese. Unlike at Notre Dame, where I walk to class for a single hour per day to drill the week’s grammar and immediately revert to English at the conclusion, here, I rarely bridge the gap back into the English mindset. Admittedly, most of the hour-long class was spent just attempting to enter into the solely Chinese mind frame. But amidst the language’s country of origin and all its folderol, I’m always thinking of a way to get my thoughts into that mode of communication, trying to decipher the characters I see on the board, in my dorm or on the street signs, and even the conversations from the couples next to me on the subway, even hearing them subconsciously guarantee that I stick to that Chinese first thought process. I never have to switch out of it. This makes for some pretty interesting consequences though. I have to force myself to timidly attempt newer grammar structures, especially when I’ve gotten into a comfortable routine of using certain other approaches with similar meanings. While the comfort of the more recognizable one means my speaking is just fine, failing to understand every grammar structure renders me completely dumbfounded when it comes to listening comprehension. There’s a recurring joke amongst my classmates and I regarding our ability to speak well enough to get by but whenever a native Chinese speaker responds to our request our only reaction is to become a deer in headlights. For example, ordering a pizza on the phone. After planning what I would say and reciting the order in my head for a few minutes before calling I was reasonably confident in ordering one large barbecue chicken, one medium half cheese, half veggie, but I could not even begin to fathom what the receptionist asked, presumably for clarification. Prices, on the other hand, I can understand perfectly fine. I’ll accept the small victory that is recognizing any Chinese class’s first chapter content.

But the best of these consequences includes training my brain into finally taking that shortcut of developing thoughts in Chinese first, completely circumventing the English and translation process. It’s amazing how even in my stunted vocabulary there are words I refer to only by their Chinese translation, often times even forgetting the English for it while on the phone with my friends and family.

It’s weird.
I like it.

Now for the part where I satisfy my lifelong dream to write for National Geographic. This last weekend was void of any program planned events. This entirely free weekend yielded radically different results from the first. There’s an additional level of bravery required in initiating conversation with other people on your own, to ask for directions, buy a ticket, order a meal or whatever you may encounter.

In addition, traveling alone is an radically different experience. I’ve noticed people are much more likely to approach me on my own than when I’m in a group with the program. Aside from an instance at the Xi’an Museum where a tour group of twelve year olds asked to take their picture with me, I have never been approached while with my professors. But as soon as I took the opportunity to walk around the Summer Palace alone, eight different groups of Chinese people asked to take a picture with the 外国人, foreigner, three different couples solicited me in order to practice their English, and eleven different babies or little kids ran up and shouted “美国!” (America!) at knee-height. Yes, I counted. It’s such a distinctive experience having strangers approach you in the mall to tell you all about their business plan dedicated to applying Chinese values to the competition of Western industrial job markets and asking your opinion than simply sight seeing with the same group of people I’d eat with at South Dining Hall. But hey, that’s what I signed up for.

下个星期见！

Class is going well, it is definitely still busy but also manageable.  Time is passing very quickly I can hardly believe that we already almost at the halfway point.  I also am noticing a significant improvement in my speaking ability.  For the most part I am able to get by pretty well with everyday interactions whether it be buying food, talking to a taxi driver or meeting a new person.  By far the hardest thing that I find is understanding what some native speakers are saying, it sounds so different from the clear pronunciation we hear in the classroom.  Our teachers say not to worry though, people’s accents from different areas can be so strong that even native speakers can have trouble understanding sometimes.

This week we went as a class to the Forbidden City.  Originally a high security area for emperor and elite of China, it is now a major tourist destination, adjacent to Tiananmen Square.  The Forbidden City itself was pretty magnificent, but after honestly the buildings all looked very similar.  After a couple hours we hiked to the top of hill which had a amazing view of the whole City. Next week we will be going to Xi’An which should be exciting, as fun as Beijing is it will be nice to see another part of China.

Our cultural excursion for week 2 was to visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, which was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. As we entered the square, we saw hundreds upon hundreds of Chinese people lined up to see Chairman Mao’s mausoleum. Something that’s really interesting about China that’s different than most of the other countries I’ve visited is that at every tourist destination, mostly Chinese people are found being tourists in their own homeland. It seems to me that it’s almost as though because Beijing is the cultural hub of China, many Chinese people visit Beijing as almost a pilgrimage of some sort, whether they’re touring beautifully ornate Buddhist temples or climbing the Great Wall.

Tiananmen Square, famous for having a huge picture of Mao on the outside as well as being the site of the famous picture of Tank Man, leads into the Forbidden City, essentially a small village composed of 9,999 traditional architectural buildings for the leader of China and his 3,000 concubines. After wandering through the maze of buildings that all seemed to blend into each other, we stumbled upon this huge manmade structure of a rock that had every Chinese zodiac animal carved into it as statues. In my opinion, this was the coolest part of the Forbidden City, as it was interesting how the artist chose to depict each zodiac symbol. As we left the Forbidden City, we hiked up a small mountain that provided us with a spectacular view of the entire city as well as a huge gold Buddhist shrine.

Although I enjoyed learning about the history of China throughout the day, my favorite part of the day was exploring Houhai, a small neighborhood of traditional hutongs, bars, and shops organized around a calm lake filled with paddle boats. The scenery was breathtaking, and I ate the most elaborately constructed and most delicious flower-shaped cotton candy I’ve ever eaten. I plan to return to Houhai and experience the magic of the neighborhood at night, as one of my Chinese teachers recommended experiencing Houhai’s vibrant nightlife.

Learning Chinese is ridiculously difficult, and every day I’m reminded of how rare and hard it is to achieve near-native proficiency in the language. However, with the help of my very patient teachers and eager classmates, I’m able to quickly learn new vocabulary and grammar structures, which I’m later able to test out in real situations like in restaurants or shops. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to study in China, and I think it has helped my Chinese proficiency grow in such an enriched environment.

P.S. Good luck to my fellow ND classmate, Dino Swan, as he embarks on learning Spanish!! 加油！

…Resources and energy are depleting, send help…

My stash of American granola bars I brought may have slowly disappeared, but I’m mostly kidding.

Week two was definitely a lot harder than week one, as I struggled to come to terms with just how different the food is in China from America (the Chinese version of an American breakfast sandwich is a fried egg inside of a Taiwan pancake). However, I was able to find some foods I enjoy, such as authentic Kung Pao chicken, 煎饺子 (fried eggs with meat and vegetable filled dumplings), and 香辣鸡汉堡 (the Chinese version of a spicy chicken sandwich). Living in the suburbs of Chicago my whole life, I hadn’t been exposed to a lot of authentic Chinese food, so fully immersing myself in the Chinese culture and eating traditional Chinese food took some getting used to. Every Friday afternoon, our Chinese teachers take us out to a traditional Chinese restaurant, which really helps to understand the Chinese culture’s approach to food as well as try more different types of Chinese dishes, the names of which are all conveniently composed with the ingredient used in the dish as well as the way the dish is prepared.

The Chinese culture places a large emphasis on sharing food when actually sharing a meal. In most Chinese restaurants, a Lazy Susan sits in the middle of the table, allowing for easy access to every food and drink that is brought out in staggered time intervals. Unlike in America, you’re able to try a wide variety of foods in one meal, broadening your tastes with each unique bite. Because you try so many different foods, it’s easy to become full quickly without realizing it, but your Chinese teacher will still urge you to take that last piece of eggplant. Chinese people are very selfless when it comes to sharing food, always offering others the first and last bite of every dish and encouraging you to eat as much as your heart desires and your stomach can hold. In China, one of the absolute worst things is to be wasteful, so it’s important to try to finish every plate that you’ve ordered.

As far as drinks go, it is very rare that a restaurant will have cold or even room temperature water. The water quality in China very easily causes foreigners to get sick, so many of the restaurants only serve hot tea and soda. The two most common sodas to drink are Sprite and Coke, and a liter bottle of each is typically placed on the Lazy Susan at the beginning of the meal, only to quickly disappear as eleven thirsty Notre Dame students each guzzle down a glass. In some restaurants, a small glass with the cup not more than the size of a thimble, which is meant to hold 白酒, essentially the equivalent of a really strong vodka, is placed next to each guest’s plate, soup bowl, spoon, chopsticks, and tea cup. Of course, because we’re part of a school program, we don’t partake in the tradition of drinking with any meals, but it’s interesting to see the Chinese culture’s approach to alcohol with meals.

My ordering in Chinese has slowly but surely developed from pointing at menu items and asking what meat is the main component of the dish (side note: for some reason, the workers at the dining hall enjoy telling us that the dish is composed of chicken or beef when really it’s made of fish L) to being able to pronounce full names of food and successfully order for myself. I still have a long ways to go when it comes to getting used to eating and ordering Chinese food, but I’m so lucky and fortunate to get the opportunity to practice every day.