Reflective Journal Entry 3

My time in Chile went by really fast. It has already been my third week here at the university. The two courses I take have proved to be truly impactful, challenging and fascinating. I have class all morning from Monday to Friday, and usually spend the afternoon discovering the city with my friends from school.

The “grammar” class I take strongly improves my Spanish skill, especially in reading and writing. We did a lot of practices in class as well as short writing assignments as homework every day after class. I also started to be more cautious when talking with my host family—trying to always keep in mind the sentence structures and use the correct forms of personal and tense as much as possible. During the other “culture and conversation” class, the professor offered as many opportunities as possible for students to talk freely in Spanish about their experiences here and their understandings on Chilean culture. The topics vary from the history of Valpo and its geographical importance to the best places to eat and highlights of the city. One of the most interesting things we learnt in class is “Chilenismos”, which is the idiom in Chilean Spanish. Here are some popular vocabularies they use in daily life:

Polólo/polóla: means boyfriend or girlfriend

Bacán: means cool

Al tiro: means right now

Ya: always used by the Chilean to express “sí” in a more common way

Lata: means poor or bad, normally used to describe a situation, like “Qué lata!”

The best thing about learning a language in its speaking country is I can actually practice the new knowledge right away in real life. I began to catch these slangs casually on the streets and use them from time to time when talking with the locals. I felt to be a member of this community more than any other time.

Also in this week, I had a unique experience through class by visiting the ancient indigene “Ruca Mapuche” and tasting the typical food of this tribe. We learnt about their religion and special worship of gods, watched the performance of traditional musical instruments, and played the field hockey with the kids. This past experience added another character to the uniqueness of Chilean culture, and provided me with a broader and deeper perspective to view the country.

The indigene plays the traditional musical instrument

The indigene plays the traditional musical instrument

The common but unique house in "Ruca Mapuche"

The common but unique house in “Ruca Mapuche”

Week 3-Beijing Art District and Silk Market

Our trip to the 798 Beijing Art District was definitely one of the highlights of my three weeks in Beijing. The Beijing art is an area of the city reserved solely for Chinese artists and craftsmen to display and sell their work, as well as sell Chinese souvenirs and an assortment of different foods. Not only is it fantastic that a city has a hub for artists like the 798—something all cities should have—but it gave us foreigners a glimpse at traditional, as well as modern Chinese art, culture, and thought. It was definitely a unique opportunity to experience that much culture and creativity in a single district of the city, and it is a place I would definitely return to. 

Examples of artwork seen at the art district:

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Another interesting day trip was to the Beijing Silk Market—a shopping center selling a huge assortment of different clothing, jewelry, artwork, traditional Chinese souvenirs, and different foods. While the contents of the mall are almost all name-brand and high-end, they’re also almost all fake. Because of this, going to the market was the perfect place to practice our Chinese language and bargaining skills—using all the words we know to try to get the price down as low as possible. Because the Silk Market is usually visited solely by foreigners—whose Chinese skills aren’t great—the shops are designed to trick and overcharge who don’t know the difference. While the items sold by the shops were many of the same things we would see at a shopping center in the states, it was an experience vastly different than any we could ever have in the U.S.

Overall, it was a a great weekend! 

Beijing #2

Halfway through my third week living in Beijing, I finally feel like I am beginning to acclimate.  The cultural shock and immediate novelty of my surroundings has given way to a deeper interaction.  For instance, ordering breakfast on the way to class from the small cafe, a once daunting task, has become routine.  Speaking the Chinese language has also become more natural.  Why practicing at school, I was limited to just an hour of class time, so it was easy to forget about speaking for the next 23 hours.  Here, I am constantly thinking in terms of the language.  In conversations, I find myself responding more and more readily.  Third year Chinese is helping me quickly learn how to voice opinions in Chinese, which has led to more stimulating conversation outside of the classroom.  While I am still not “comfortable”, I have embraced my surroundings and the challenge they present. 

Two weekends ago, we visited the Forbidden Palace.  On one of the hottest days in Beijing so far, my classmates and I made our way through a seemingly endless array of ornate buildings and beautiful gardens.  The architecture was truly spectacular.  I enjoyed learning about the history and culture that surrounded the palace.  Perhaps even more interesting was observing the sense of pride Chinese felt in visiting the Palace.  It really provided a view into the historical relevance of the place.  It was truly humbling to be part of their experience looking at the Emperor’s throne room, and hiking up the hill to see the giant golden Buddha statue. 

I believe that my ability to speak Chinese is progressing at a rate at which I did expect when planning to spend my summer in Beijing.  Although I am in intensive classes for much of my time here, I believe my true progress is made outside of the classroom.  Last weekend, I took a cab home from a restaurant I had visited, and found myself holding a conversation about the European Soccer Championships.  While I had never actually read in a book how to criticize the German National soccer team, I was quickly able to learn, and maintain the conversation.  While I no doubt stumbled and made a fool of myself at some points, the driver would just laugh and correct me.  Experiences like these account for much of my learning in Beijing, and are definitely the most fun I have learning the language. 

I am very excited for the next four and a half weeks in for of me.  This week our class is planning to travel to Xi’an.  It will be great to be able to see another city outside of Beijing, and I cannot wait for the opportunities it affords me. 

Tasharrafna ya Beirut! // Nice to meet you

During the last couple of weeks, I have been studying Arabic through the intensive summer program at American University in Beirut. I initially chose this program over others in the region, because it was promised to be one of the most rigorous. In this regard, the program has not disappointed. In fact, the term “intensive” has been quite an understatement as we were immediately thrust into an all-day, all-night whirlwind of classes and homework. We begin class each day at 8:30 in the morning and finish around 3:30 in the afternoon with enough homework to keep us busy until bedtime. It has been mentally exhausting, but my progress is already visible.

Still, learning a new language is such a funny thing. Even as I progress, it feels like the distance I need to go before reaching proficiency keeps growing. It reminds me of that learning model, the “Four Stages of Competence.” When setting out to learn a new skill, people typically begin at the stage of ‘unconscious incompetence’ – blissfully unaware of their deficits. As we move into the ‘conscious incompetence’ stage, we become aware of how little we know and how much we have to learn. I have been idling in this stage for a while now, and I hope that the hard work of this program will propel me into the ‘conscious competence’ stage where I know the language and I’m able to demonstrate this knowledge with deep concentration. And who knows, maybe someday I’ll reach ‘unconscious competence’ – speaking Arabic with ease. Insha’allah.

Sunset over the Mediterranean from AUB's Campus

Watching the sun set over the Mediterranean from my dorm room on campus

One of the most difficult things about learning Arabic has been splitting my attention between standard Arabic (الفصحى – FusHa) and the local dialect (العامية – Amiyya). The differences between the two are vast in terms of grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Essentially, we are learning two different languages. Though I am beginning to feel comfortable speaking in FusHa, this is only used on the news and in official or academic settings. Many Lebanese – especially younger generations – are educated in the French or American systems and do not learn FusHa. Some people appreciate the effort, but speaking in FusHa most often results in confusion, laughter, or a response in English. So as I mentioned, there’s still a long way for me to go.

A glimpse of Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque and St. George Maronite Cathedral from the reconstructed downtown of Beirut

As part of the program, we dedicate three afternoons a week to cultural activities: a lecture, club, or field trip. During the first week of the program, my class watched a Lebanese film called Asfouri which explores memories of the civil war in Lebanon, and the changes that followed it, through the lens of a local family and their building renovations. The post-war changes in Beiruti architecture and real estate have been much politicized and often controversial. The film gave me a better sense of how individual experiences and memories interconnect with the landscape of Beirut, and it helped contextualize some of the construction sites I’m witnessing during my walks around town. An intriguing film.

My class also participated in the “Dabke Club” during this week. As we learned, the Dabke is an Arabic folk dance that originated in the towns and villages of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq. Specifically in Lebanon, the dance evolved from changes in the weather and its effect on people’s homes. The roofs here used to be flat and made of tree branches topped with mud. As the weather changed, the mud would begin to crack. The owner of the house would call out to his neighbors, “Al-Awneh” (“Let’s go help”), and they would all climb on top of the roof, hold hands, and stomp their feet on the mud to re-adjust it. The dance has transformed quite a bit since then, but you can see from this video that all the dancers still hold hands in a line and make rhythmic “stomps.” Our own attempts were a bit of a disaster, but the uncoordinated flailing began to resemble something like the Dabke by the sixth or seventh round.

AUB Summer Arabic students practicing the Lebanese Dabke

The upcoming clubs will give us a space to learn more about Lebanese cooking, music, and calligraphy. I anticipate more progress and discovery in the coming weeks.

مع السلامة // With peace

Dana

 

Velkomin á Íslandi! (Welcome to Iceland!)

I’m in Iceland! That still seems almost unreal, though I’ve been here for a week already. In the past week in Reykjavík, three things have become very clear:

Númer 1. Icelandic is hard to speak. I’m not talking about the grammar or the vocabulary which, since Icelandic is a Germanic language, are probably easier for an English speaker than in many other languages. No, I’m talking about actually making the sounds of the language. First of all, there are difficult consonant clusters – nn, rn, tn, ll, etc. These are the reason I accidentally ordered a Fanta when I wanted a water (Icelandic: vatn) and the reason everyone stumbled over Eyjafjallajökull when it erupted in 2010. To be fair though, these sounds are part of the reason Icelandic is so wonderful to listen to, so I really can’t complain.

Icelandic horses in front of Eyjafjallajökull

Icelandic horses in front of Eyjafjallajökull which erupted in 2010

Another difficulty in speaking Icelandic is the inhaling-já which peppers Icelandic conversation. In English, we generally speak while exhaling and thus get out of breath after long sentences. Icelanders, however, often inhale while saying já (yes). After about a week of concerted practice, I can finally do a passable inhaling-já.

Númer 2. Iceland is very, very small. The capital Reykjavík feels more like a small town than a city. I don’t even need to ride the bus because it takes no time to just walk from place to place in Reykjavík. I didn’t really realize how small Iceland was until our class met the former first lady of Iceland. Literally. Apparently a good friend of our teacher Ulfar, Jónína Leósdóttir is an accomplished journalist and author as well as the wife of the former Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. Jónína talked to our class about her career as an Icelandic writer and her life with Jóhanna, the first openly lesbian head of government in the world. I was ridiculously excited to be meeting the former first lady, but it seemed like a usual occurrence for the Icelanders – and why wouldn’t it when just today the new president, who was formerly a professor at the University of Iceland, stopped by his university office next to our class!

The view of Reykjavík from the University of Iceland's campus.

The view of Reykjavík from the University of Iceland’s campus.

Númer 3. Iceland is absolutely beautiful. With the ocean, the mountains, the glaciers, and the lava fields, it’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever been. Although the midnight sun has taken a while to get used to, I’ll deal with lack of night if it means experiencing this beautiful country!

The sea near Reykjavík.

The sea near Reykjavík.

The church at Oddi.

The church at Oddi.

A chicken coop at a farm in rural Iceland.

A chicken coop at a farm in rural Iceland.

Me by the sea near Reykjavík.

Me by the sea near Reykjavík.

Sjáumst! (See you later!)

“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”

吃了吗?
(As I recently learned, asking if a friend recently ate serves as a substitute for saying hello, an appropriate segue way into…)

In a sort of coincidence (that I’m going to chose to interpret as divine intervention for the sake of a dramatic blog), the very topic I fussed over as the most glaring shortcoming in my ability to express my daily needs, all required for ordering food, was the central focus covered in the past week. While this laid the foundation for understanding a dish’s components, I am nowhere near being able to boast that I could translate any item from any menu in any restaurant, especially given the sheer enormity of variety in Chinese cuisine. In fact, our daily lesson included an adage on the eclectic melange in every kitchen: “带翅膀的除了飞机什么都能吃,四条腿的除了桌椅什么都可以吃,” — besides those of an airplane, you can eat any wing; besides the four under a table or chair, you can eat any leg. Hardly the musings of Confucius, but equally as pithy and equally as observant. Now three and a half weeks into the program, I cannot think of any saying more adequate.

Except maybe a joke told by our program’s Professor Zhu. In response to a few remarks regarding the 很奇怪 meats with which we were not acquainted as we gathered around the ubiquitous Lazy-Susan style dining table, Zhu Laoshi told us about a Chinese man that once went on a safari in the African savannah. While exploring the man was bitten by the world’s most venomous snake. Instead of keeling over dead, the man stood and watched as the snake keeled over from ingesting the digested foods in his own system, potent enough to kill even the beast. Though said in warning of the imminent food poisoning we may expect, which I thankfully have yet to experience, I think the humor holds a definitive truth to it.

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Apart from the dining room, I am pleasantly surprised the degree to which I learn from exploring the jungle that is Beijing. I am endlessly thankful the subway systems and most street signs also include the pinyin pronunciation of the characters it displays, so I can practice the reading and speaking aspects of the language wherever I go. I have found that many formal names are compounded words of simpler building blocks, which with repeated exposure I have begun to recognize and piece together. For example: Tian’anmen Square’s name comes from 天 安 门  tiān (sky, heaven) ān (peace) mén (gate, door) meaning the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Elsewhere, Wudaokou, the name of a nearby neighborhood means the Opening of Five Pathways. With components like these, I’ve been able to decipher the names of other places around Beijing, typically including place words like bridge, alley, gate, pathway, etc.

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The Summer Palace was especially interesting to apply this pattern. Retaining many of its original heavenly and or naturally derived names and the context of the feature allows me to circumvent the English translation and anticipate the meaning of the unknown vocabulary. Accordingly, I’ve learned words I would otherwise not think to look up for usage, like “arch” from 十七孔桥, the Seventeen Arch Bridge, pictured below. Besides the strictly academic benefits of visiting the Summer Palace on a lazy, hazy Sunday afternoon, the proximity to campus and the traditional buildings surrounding the scenery of the Kunming Lake made the site easily one of my favorites in Beijing.

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The more I explore, the more I fully realize the total dichotomy of this country. On Saturday afternoon, the program visited 798, Beijing’s modern arts district, situated at the foot of steel high-rises in repurposed brick factory buildings from the nascency of the communist industrial booms in the 1950s. But on Sunday afternoon, I climbed the stone paths to survey the Sea of Wisdom Temple and Hall of Buddhist Incense from nearly half a century ago. All within the same country. All within the same half of the same city. But lest I forget a half of this modernized ancient country, a pagoda will ornament the mountain ranges beyond the sky-scraping Central Business District or the steely skyline will assert itself through the view of a modest temple.

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Siena: Churches and Artworks

Two things that one has to explore in Siena are definitely the churches and the artworks. This charming Tuscan town proudly houses beautiful churches with really impressive collections of artworks. Siena has such a rich history dated way back to the Medieval age, and I love love love exploring and learning about the town through its art and architecture.

So far, I have visited the Duomo complex (the Cathedral here in Siena), which includes the Cathedral building, the Baptistery, the Crypt, and the Museum (Museo dell’Opera). I’ve also explored the Sanctuary of St Catherine, the Church of San Domenico, the Oratory of San Bernardino and the Palazzo Pubblico (which used to be the main building for the communal government).

The facade of the Duomo in Siena

The facade of the Duomo in Siena, a must-visit! The architecture features a really cool mix of the Gothic and Romanesque style

The interior of the Duomo in Siena: black and white is the color of Siena!

The interior of the Duomo in Siena: black and white is the color of Siena!

I personally really like the Palazzo Pubblico, which is located at the main piazza, the Piazza del Campo. In the past, the building used to function as the administrative and justice building for the city, and the walls of the palazzo is full of really beautiful and intricate frescoes and other artworks. One of the most popular artworks from this building is probably Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Allegory of Good and Bad Government, which fills the entire walls of one of the rooms in the palazzo. It portrays the effects of a good and bad government, with the values associated to each kind of government–justice or injustice, balance or chaos, etc. But one of my favorites was the Maesta, a fresco from the Medieval age painted by a Sienese artist called Simone Martini, which depicts the Madonna sitting on a throne with baby Jesus, surrounded by saints and angels. Siena is a town who worships the Madonna, and this painting is a perfect portrayal of the town and their devotion. The fresco is very elaborately done, with some gold to add to its richness.

the Maesta by Simone Martini

the Maesta by Simone Martini

Our visit to the Palazzo ended with a nice surprise. At the back of the Palazzo, there’s a wide terrace that opens up with a really beautiful panoramic view of the hills surrounding Siena. The view was just overwhelmingly pretty, and combined with the slight breeze blowing in such a hot afternoon, it made me want to stay at that terrace forever!

The beautiful view from the terrace!

The beautiful view from the terrace at the back of the Palazzo Pubblico

My other favorite is the Baptistery of the Duomo, or in Italian “il Battistero di San Giovanni.” It’s much smaller compared to the main cathedral, but it is just as beautiful! The entire room is filled with paintings, frescoes, and sculptures from the early Renaissance period (in the years of 1300-1400), from the floor to the ceiling. My neck felt a little bit stiff after that visit, as I spent so much time looking up to look at the painted ceiling (it was so worth it, though!). But the main star of the entire room is the Baptismal Font, which is a very interesting art piece done by multiple talented Italian Renaissance sculptors. I went with a group of other students and one of the teachers from the school, Andrea, who helped to explain to us the different artworks. He told us that many years ago, almost all of the locals were baptised here at the font! He himself was an art history student, and you can tell his excitement in sharing his knowledge of the artworks as he told us about the different sculptors who did the marble reliefs and statuettes on the Baptismal Font. Some of the artists are Jacopo della Quercia, Giovanni di Turino, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and (the most famous of all) Donatello. The reliefs depicted different scenes from the life of St John the Baptist, whom this Baptistery is dedicated to. Walking around the font, I felt really awed with the intricacies and the moving scenes portrayed by the reliefs, which tell the story of the Saint in a very expressive manner.

The Baptismal Font

The Baptismal Font at the Baptistery

Two other places I visited, which I would definitely recommend to those who wish to come to Siena, are related to Saint Catherine of Siena, the most famous saint who was born and raised in this lovely town. One of them is the Sanctuary of St Catherine, which used to be her house. It was a really peaceful and beautiful building, and a nice place to just pray and meditate. I went to daily mass there, and it was a really interesting experience, attending mass in Italian with a group of locals. Listening to the Homily was quite a challenge, as the priest spoke really fast and passionately. However, I was able to get some of the gist from the preaching and the readings, and my listening comprehension skills have (thankfully) improved since my first day here in Siena. My first mass was something of a mess, where I wasn’t able to understand much, and I had such a hard time following the responses in Italian and listening to the Homily. But now I’m more used to it, and I can focus better to listen and understand what’s happening!

The Sanctuary of St Catherine from the outside

The Sanctuary of St Catherine from the outside

Anyway, the other place associated with Saint Catherine is the church of San Domenico, where there are precious relics like her severed head and one of her fingers venerated. Located on top of a hill, the church has a humble and austere medieval style architecture.

Church of San Domenico on top of a hill

Church of San Domenico on top of a hill

 

Reading this post, you probably sense how many times I’ve used the word “beautiful” to describe the places and artworks I’ve seen. Apologies for that, it’s just that this town is full of rich and beautiful things, they kind of drive me speechless. It’s crazy that there are still some beautiful churches and artworks that I haven’t seen yet, despite the fact that I have been here for three weeks. I only have two more weeks here, time flies so fast!

Till next time :).

Reflective Journal Entry 2

After the first week of adaptation, I became much more confident talking in Spanish and more comfortable living as a Chilean. Through either daily class or my host family, I observed, experienced and have learnt a lot about the local’s culture and their lifestyle. Like most of the local people, I always take the public transportation for school, such as “metro”, “micro” and “colectivo”. Among them, I really enjoy taking the “metro” since it gives me the chance to look at the city closely by myself and get involved with different groups of Chilean people. Through the window of the train, I watched the sunrise from the end of the extremely blue ocean every morning, saw the young couples kissing sweetly on the bridge, and viewed several people with bright uniforms running along the coastline. On the train, I listened to the folk songs played by the busker, played with the little kids travelling with their mother, and sometimes bought a snack from those low-income people. I began to notice the distinct social classes within society and how various people make a life.

Furthermore, this weekend we spent both Saturday and Sunday on two different excursions near Viña del Mar and Valparaíso. On Saturday, we did a full-day trip visiting the “playas del norte” in order to appreciate the beaches that make up the country’s coastline. Firstly, we stopped at a couple of spots in Concón to see the beautiful sand dunes and diverse rock formations along the coastline. Then, we moved forward to Horcón, which is predominantly a coastal village of fishermen and artisans. Here we saw a bunch of small restaurants and souvenir shops that represent a more traditional type of Chilean family—getting along by fishing in the ocean and making or selling some small handicrafts. The prevalence of the sea and the fishing industry are strongly performed in this area. The locals all keep the simplest lifestyle. We even saw a bridge to the sea for the locals to make wishes and worship the power of the sea. Lastly, we went to the exclusive seaside resort Zapallar, which shows an opposite side of Horcón. Zapallar lives the people from the top economic and social class in Chile. All of the houses and streets are carefully decorated with pretty stones and plants, and there is no stray dog anywhere in this area. The beautiful beach here is only for people to relax and have fun in the ocean.

The colorful bridge for wishes

The colorful bridge for wishes

Small restaurants and shops along the coastline

Small restaurants and shops along the coastline

The beautiful beach in Zapallar

The beautiful beach in Zapallar

On Sunday, we visited Isla Negra and the most popular house of Pablo Neruda on it. This time, we saw another aspect of the country—the literary part. The special geographical feature of the long coastline on one side and continuous hills on the other side not only boasts the fishing industry, but also offers a lot of inspiration for creative work, like the poetry, the painting and even the graffiti on the streets. All of these different aspects make Chile a distinctive country in the world and give me more reasons to learn more about this country!

Visiting la casa de Pablo Neruda in Isla Negra

Visiting la casa de Pablo Neruda in Isla Negra

From Chicago to the Great Wall

It’s hard to believe it’s already been two weeks, time has seemed to pass so quickly. It doesn’t seek like all that long ago since I landed in Beijing. The flight itself, however, seemed like it would never end. Fortunately, I was lucky to share a row with two kind Chinese people who every so often would start a conversation with me, which I think made the time pass a bit quicker. One of them even helped me read a page of a book she was reading. The conversations were mixed Chinese and English, so it was also good practice before I got on the ground in Beijing. After settling into the dorms, I and the other students had our first authentic Chinese dinner. That next morning I woke up at 4:00 AM, and continued to wake up early until I recovered from jet lag, which took a few days.

That first weekend we were given a tour of the campus and were introduced to our language partners, who all seemed friendly. Campus is beautiful (the northern half of campus could easily be mistaken for a park), complete with a lake (未名湖 lit. “nameless lake”), trails, and traditional Chinese architecture. The other half of campus is replete with school buildings, supermarkets, dining halls, and other shops. The dorm rooms are very good; they are larger than I expected, plenty of outlets that are compatible with American electronics, strong air conditioning (which is excellent because this city can get incredibly hot sometimes), and hot water. You share a common room and a bathroom with at least one other person, which for most of us was another Notre Dame student. These are both pictures of campus:

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The first days of classes weren’t so bad, but it didn’t take long to get up to speed. There are four hours of classes in the morning, as well as a half-hour long one-on-one session with one of the teachers in the afternoon. Every school night also has a two-hour long study session in the classroom for which attendance is optional, but most people tend to go as you are awarded extra credit for going to a certain number of there. At these you have time to do much of the homework and ask questions if you need to. It’s also a good time to preview the next lesson, which is necessary as every class starts with a quiz. The speed of the class is very quick, but not unbearable as long as you put in the time every night.

My first impressions of the dining halls are good. They can be rather chaotic, and the foods available are only posted in Chinese, so we end up more or less pointing to get what we want, but the food is good and very cheap, usually less than 10 RMB a meal. There are several dining halls nearby, and they all work a little differently and offer different dishes. The restaurants we’ve gone to so far have been very good. The food here is very different but I’m getting used to it. Meals in restaurants are served family style, and chopsticks are always used, both in restaurants and in dining halls. Also, beverages are seldom served chilled; Chinese prefer most drinks either hot or lukewarm.

Our first program-sponsored weekend trip was to the Great Wall, which we went to on Saturday. And I can honestly say the Great Wall is the most, if not second most incredible thing I’ve seen in my life. This far from Beijing there is no smog to obscure the skies, and you can clearly see the mountains that lie all around Beijing. The hardest and most exhausting part was simply the climb up to the Great Wall. After climbing flights and flights of stairs, and then a few flights more, we managed to actually stand atop the great wall. The view from the wall is truly magnificent. Standing, surrounded by forests and mountains, seeing the Great Wall extend in both directions, meandering through the peaks. We walked along the length of the wall for a while before turning back. Here are a few pictures I took there.

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That Sunday a few classmates and I went to the Pearl Market, a large market in Beijing. They sell tons of things: cheap electronics, clothing, bags, chopsticks, fans, shoe, you name it. No items have price tags and you have to haggle with the vendors to reach a price. If you come to Beijing, you should go to at least one of these such markets. To get there, we rode the subway for the first time, and my first impression of the subway was very good. It’s cheap and fairly quick, and there are stations all over the city. Classes resumed the next day, much like like the week before.

Reflective Journal Entry 1: Hola from Chile!

I arrived in Santiago, Chile on May 9th, and spent the first couple days in the capital with other students from the International Studies Abroad (ISA) program. While in Santiago, we visited a lot of interesting places in order to learn more about this country, for example, La Moneda, Cerro Santa Lucía, Cerro Critóbal, Plaza de Armas, and Mercado Central de Santiago. Moreover, we also paid a visit to a pottery town and spent a day at the oldest vineyard near Santiago.

With all the ISA students in Santiago

With all the ISA students in Santiago

We arrived in Viña del Mar the following Saturday evening. From now on, I will spend the next 5 weeks with my host family in this city. All my classes will be at the Universidad Católica in Valparaíso, which is another beautiful city right next to Viña. This past week was pretty busy with various orientations with ISA and the university (PUCV), several excursion trips in both Viña and Valparaíso, and my first three days of class.

Unlike Santiago, Viña and Valpo are two smaller cities close to each other along the coastline with better climate. Therefore, the weather is pretty warm here despite the fact that it is winter in Chile. There are also a number of historic and cultural landmarks in these cities like Santiago. In the afternoon after class, we visited some famous sightseeing spots like Reloj de Flores, Museo Fonck, Plaza Sotomayor, Paseo 21 de Mayo, etc.

View from Valparaíso port

View from Valparaíso port

My Chilean family is wonderful and very welcoming. My Chilean mom introduced me to all the family members on the first day of my arrival on a welcoming party. Normally, the mom, the grandma and one of the sons would live in the house with me. Sometimes, the elder son with his daughter would come for the weekends. I have spent hours talking with my Chilean family everyday, trying to practice my Spanish as much as possible and learn more about this new culture and custom, even though I could barely express myself on the first couple days. My host family is super nice that they always help me when I have difficulty on expressing myself, and is super patient listening to me, correcting my grammar, and talking with me about all the different topics. I could not be happier to live with them for more weeks.

With my lovely Chilean family

With my lovely Chilean family

Regarding my first week of school, I chose two intermediate level courses at the PUCV—“Intensive grammar” and “Chilean culture and conversation” since I believe I can get the most from these two classes by building up my grammar and vocabulary and practicing my conversational skill. In addition, I signed up for a writing tutor session once a week and a Spanish language table with local university students every Friday. I really look forward to all the following classes and activities at the university!

The University PUCV

The University PUCV