那么中国

On the first day of orientation, the resident director gave us this advice on adjusting to life in Beijing: If you don’t laugh, you will cry. While this initially sounds bad, I actually have found it to be excellent advice. I started to take it last week, and since then, I have been having a much better time in China. Because of the language pledge, my friends and I have come to say “那么中国” (our broken-Chinese version of “that’s so China”) whenever something unusual or unexpected happens.

Two Fridays ago, we went to an acrobatics show in Beijing, which featured balancing acts, magic tricks, motorcycle races, and dance routines. The most popular act began with one ballerina riding a bicycle around the stage. With every lap, another dancer would join her on the bike until there were 30 ballerinas on the same one. At the end of the show, my friend Eliot remarked, “那么中国，trying to fit as many people as they can onto one vehicle.”

The next day, we went to a rooftop party to celebrate someone’s twenty-first birthday. Afterwards, we had dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant and then went to a dance club. I ended up returning to the dorm after 4:00, but I still was not that tired. Therefore, I skyped with my friends at Holy Cross, who were awake because it was still afternoon in Worcester, 那么 study abroad.

Much like it does at home, Monday arrived quicker than I expected. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Every weekday I study, go to class, have lunch, return to class, do homework, eat dinner, finish homework, and study. The highlight of the school week was when Suji discovered a café within walking distance where we can study and people watch, 那么 former baristas.

When class ended on Friday, we packed and went to the Great Wall. CET arranged for us to stay in a village, which gives two tours of a relatively unpopular part of the Great Wall. The majority of what we climbed had not been fixed since the Ming Dynasty (which ended in 1644). The hike was exhausting but completely worth it. It was so tiring for me that I did not even mind sharing a kang with five other people, 那么中国。

Next week is Golden Week in China (a week of holidays and craziness) so we do not have any classes. I am traveling to Shanghai with three friends (two of whom are Holy Cross friends), and we made reservations to stay at an airbnb because a real hotel was out of my league.* Similarly, I signed up to take the overnight, 13-hour train ride down to the city, 那么 college student on a budget.  I will let you know how everything turns out in my next post.

-Holly

*Check out this song: “Out of My League” by Fitz & the Tantrums

Rooftop in 三里屯儿

Holy Cross students cannot seem to escape stairs (not pictured: Luke, who chose the wrong day to wear a Bryant shirt)

Kyle asked me if my family partook in the construction of the Great Wall, 那么 Ke Kai

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