Fall Break Happenings

First things first. I have some very exciting news! I will be writing as a CET Student Correspondent and will be featured on the CET blog! I am so excited that I was selected! It's a great chance to have my writing put up for more people to see. Hopefully I do a good job of representing the Beijing Intensive Language Program experience. There are many other student bloggers featured from all over the place, all from different programs here in China and around the world! It's pretty legit, and I am crazy excited. On top of beijing featured, I will receive a 600RMB stipend for doing it! Thats about $100, which I'll have in my pocket come mid November! Last minute shopping! Woot woot! 
-----You'll notice there is a new feature on the page. At the top of the page I've linked the CET Student Correspondent Blog as well as My YouTube channel, so you can easily find all of most posts. Also a photo slideshow was added to the right side so you can look through it, or click on the picture to see the entire album.  I'll be putting slideshows in with my vlog posts containing pics relevant to the post, but this album will include all of my pictures.

It has officially been 1 month since I arrived in Beijing and the last few weeks have been filled with a remarkable variety of things going on. Much of my time has been occupied with school work yet I have managed to find time to explore the city and learn a bit about daily life. Coming off of a summer where I had loads of regular free time and few obligations, readjusting my habits around school proved to be an uphill battle. When CET says that their course is rigorous they mean it! It puts the tense in intensive because between previewing the lessons, attending class, doing homework, and reviewing you really don't get much free time. The first month must be there hardest because there are so many changes to get used to that procrastinating or falling behind can really bite you in butt. Thank goodness the CET staff has been so helpful (shout out to Li Yan!) in answering questions and giving advice!

It is said that life is what you make of it. Someone at CET must have heard this because they really do have a lot of resources to support you as a student, IF you are willing to make the effort to seek it out. This is my seventh semester studying Chinese and I thought I was pretty good, but there have been so many times already where I've learned some new grammar and not understood how to really use it at all! I'm sure that everyone is afraid to say the wrong thing and look stupid, I know I do. Learning how to stay positive about making mistakes has forced me to swallow my pride and be patient, which sometimes feels like the hardest thing in the world. I mentioned in my last post that I realized I didn't know how to study effectively, and since then I have realized it’s just tip of the iceberg of challenges you face in an intensive language immersion study program. Admitting it is half the battle though, so hopefully things will start flowing a bit more smoothly!

Anyone who has lived or studied abroad can tell you about culture shock, but it doesn't seem to really sink in until you experience it for the first time. Culture shock hit me like a crash test dummy hits a wall. Part of this has to be contributed to the difficulty of CET's language pledge.

-----Honking- Traffic in Beijing is hectic already with cars, bikes, motor bikes, and buses weaving in and out of traffic. This makes crossing the street nerve-racking at times, but what really gets to me is how often drivers honk their horns! In America it’s considered rude in every place I've lived to honk your horn. Be patient when you need to, know when to go, and follow the traffic rules...it's not that complex! If someone is about to cut you off or collide with you then honk away, but when it becomes an ever-present thing it really grinds my gears! It always startles me, even if I'm not in the way! At least it's better than being ran over. :-/

-----Asking for help- At this point my 口语 is improving but there are days when I can't understand a word someone says to me. Usually I can get my meaning across with the help of my phone's 中英字典. At times I feel so dumb because I can't express what I really think or want if it's something complex. I don't think I've had as much trouble with this as some of my classmates, yet it continues to vex me.

-----Singing- THIS one is what gets me about the language pledge. I love to sing anytime anywhere, so swearing off English pretty much makes singing impossible. For me singing helps me relax when I am too stressed out. Something about it really just soothes my spirit. Included in this is also the absence to English music. I tried listening to Chinese radio stations, but if you've listened to music in a language you don't fully understand it becomes background noise, and quickly grows tiresome. Fortunately I realized last week that I can still hum whatever song I like or use "da dah" in place of the words! I had the soundtrack to the animated movie Anastasia stuck in my head all week, and must have annoyed someone with the constant humming. :)

I did learn that finding small things to do that are familiar really helps with the cultures shock. For me that turned out to be reading and sweet snacks. Omg! Remembering candy was the biggest mood boost ever! I've gotten into a habit of walking to the little store on my street and getting a Popsicle or ice cream cone every few days. Who knew that feeding your sweet tooth could make you so happy? I also received a great bit of advice to consider experiences you don't enjoy very much as an adventure because the experience is what matters. This has helped me deal with the pollution, differences in behavior, and in getting around the city. A few days ago I was coming back from Tiananmen Square and was so angry at everyone pushing me on the subway and crowding the streets and corridors. It was National Day in China so the city was especially packed, and everywhere was bustling. I had to take a moment to realize that I don't actually hate these people or this place. I was tired from being out all day and needed to rest my feet. Ultimately that tidbit salvaged my good mood and put things in perspective for me.

Tiananmen Square in a single glance!

Exploring has been great! The more familiar I get with the area the more comfortable I feel in Beijing. Today instead of going to a close place for lunch I ended up walking further than I intended and found a new street close to my campus that I had no idea existed. It helped that the weather was gorgeous! I wondered when the leaves would start turning colors. The sky was bright blue and clear for the first time in nearly a week and cool enough to leave you will a slight chill if you stood still in the breeze. I am going to make a bigger effort to get out and explore more often. For one, I get to see more of the city, and second, the more familiar I get the easier it will be to talk with everyday people at the store, ticket office, even here at school! At last school is starting to feel like home!

This week I had the chance to go on several outings including an acrobatics performance, a trip with my classmates to 百花深处胡同 (Bǎihuā shēn chù hútòng), and to Tiananmen Square for National Day! Tiananmen was absolutely packed with people the day I went. National Day was Tuesday October 1st, and everyone was out that day! The feeling of national pride was really strong! I don't think I've ever seen so many flags in one place besides the Olympics. I did plenty of vlogging while I was there, even did an interview! So yeah, look forward to that in my next vlog post! 

The acrobatics show was totes entertaining, probably the most entertaining things I've seen in a long time! There were balancing acts, feats of strength (stuff that is like REALLY difficult), funny acts, and daredevil stunts! (eight motorcycles driving around in a spherical cage at the same time!) I went with all my classmates as it was a CET scheduled event. An interesting thing happened concerning the show too. Last night I was randomly watching late night Chinese TV, which can be kinda strange, and two of the acrobats from the performance were on the show! It was kinda like America's Got Talent, and they did a crazy stunt! Check out my classmate's blog if you want to see the video of the act!

That's basically what I've been up to recently, and my thoughts on how my first month in China was like. This is a great experience, and I am so freaking happy that I managed to do it! Thanks everyone for reading this tome. I really appreciate the support. Check out the CET blog for more updates from me and other CET students. There's a bunch of great content!

Eric

Growing cucumbers hanging on a wire!
Best idea ever!

Perfect sideways handstand on top of more than
10 stacked chairs!

A beautiful 门口 gate. The lion statues were originally used
by visitor for tying horses or pets to.

Visited a traditional Chinese manor (四合院儿) for class.
Field Trip! 

百花深处胡同 

Monument to the People's Heroes