The past three weeks have truly flown by. I'm going to be honest, in the first few days, the prospect of spending eight weeks here seemed unimaginable--something I was going to have "get through." I was exhausted and homesick and completely out of my element; my frustration threshold for trying to master chopsticks or communicate simple questions like "where is the bathroom?" definitely got the best of me.
I foolishly thought I was immune to homesickness until I realized that this trip is truly the first time I've ever been away from my parents for an extended period of time without the comfort of knowing that if needed them, they could get to me in less than an hour. So here I am, on my own. It was terrifying at first, but now I can simply enjoy the fact that every day is an adventure.
So what have I been doing? Well it's a good thing you asked.
I go to classes five days a week. Chinese class for three hours each morning, a short lunch break, and then Traditional Chinese Medicine classes in the afternoon. I barely have any homework, so the the evenings are ours to explore the nightlife in Wudaokou (the city just outside campus). Once a week we have excursions, which have proven to be truly amazing so far (see photos below). Sunday is our day to sleep in and go on longer trips to explore other areas of Beijing.
Photos of the trip so far:
The Forbidden City
Longqing Gorge
(rowboating through the Gorge)
Overall, I'm having a great experience and am no longer regretting that this is how I would be spending my summer. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that these next five weeks are going to go just as quickly and, when that time comes, I'll be wishing I could stay longer.
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