Classes, Classes and Exploring
So, I arrived in Chongqing on Friday and spent some time with my Chinese Family and some Chinese students learning the area around. The real adventure however started on Monday. I learnt that their first year students wear a uniform for their weeks of training. They are trained for about 3 weeks by the military. Its such a weird thing, but it unites them and strengthens their loyalty to the state.
So Monday, first day of classes! However, all my classes were cancelled, but my last one. I had Chinese Martial Arts. Which was fun, and difficult and well so not made for me. We were divided into guys and girls and the girls learnt to dance with swords. Which was cool. However, if you know me, you know I can’t keep a beat, and so that was difficult. I seriously felt like I had two left feet. I never knew which one to put where or when to turn my body. I spent a bit of time at the library.
*that is the view from the Library. And yes it does rain almost every day.
So with the arrival of Tuesday, I finally had class and got to meet some of the students. Now here is the thing about this program. I am the only Canadian student. The rest are mostly German. I’ve been joking this whole week that by the end of my trip I will have learned either German or Mandarin. Or Maybe both. A group of us went out for lunch and got hotpot. Now the thing about living in China is the menus are in Chinese, so we picked random things and just eat them, or didn’t eat them. It was interesting. I have definitely been eating outside of my comfort zone. YAY!! or nay?! :S
Wednesday I only have morning classes so this week we had a short lecture and than the local police came by to explain visas and local laws. Wednesday was nice and relaxed. However, I started my Master’s applications! I’m growing up..
By Thursday I had reached the agreement to teach some of the German students some English if they taught me some German. Plus, I will be teaching an English class to some locals. So lets hope my years of speaking the language will pay off. :P My Chinese grandparents even taught me how to use chopsticks properly. I should make it clear, they do not speak English, or even really Mandarin. They speak the local dialect. Which, makes it difficult to communicate, however we get by.
Friday was great, I only have one class so I had a lazy morning or just reading and getting ready for my afternoon class. That night we went out to the bars. It was interesting to go to a bar in China, the music was American, and the booze. But the vibe,and atmosphere were so not. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday was probably the most fun! in the afternoon we went to Green Fest as a family. We watched gypsy performances, and Chinese bands. After that we went to hotpot with some friends. Which was a little better since they ordered the food. After hotpot we went to Central Avenue, which is like the American Central Park. SUPER BIG. super cool. Chichi and I played in the sand. She is finally starting to like me. We may not be able to speak to each other but now she will play with me! YAYY
And today we went shopping and will be going to the pool and the Opera house. So far everything has been amazing. The food, the culture, the people.
I definitely miss some things from back home, but this is awesome as well.