After coming back from Xi’An, everything is back to the regular routine again.\u00a0 Class is pretty manageable, and I’m still finding time to do other activities in the city and visit the places I want to go.\u00a0 Recently I took a trip to two very famous markets; the Pearl Market and the Silk Market.\u00a0 These are unlike anywhere I have ever been in the U.S.\u00a0 Infamous for their fake name brand goods, it would be completely ridiculous to go to one of these places without bargaining.\u00a0 The initial price that someone there will ask for is generally several times what they are willing to settle for.\u00a0 I actually really enjoy going to these places, not just because of the cheap prices that one is able to get. Although I was able to get a good amount of gifts for family members here, what I really enjoy is talking to the people there.\u00a0 I will often at the same time as bargaining talk to the workers about everything from where they come from to which country tends to have the most annoying bargainers.\u00a0 It is actually an excellent way to practice Chinese.\u00a0 Sometimes I feel as though my greatest progress in terms of language comes after going to a place like this and just talking to people.\u00a0 The people who work at places like this are also always thrilled to see a foreigner taking an interest in learning Chinese. I can’t believe that I’ve already been here over a month.\u00a0 The feeling is somewhere between a mix between I’ve been here forever, and I got here yesterday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After coming back from Xi’An, everything is back to the regular routine again.\u00a0 Class is pretty manageable, and I’m still finding time to do other activities in the city and visit the places I want to go.\u00a0 Recently I took … Continue reading