Yesterday was a day like any other. I woke up late and still tired. First to the internet where I discovered that my family has gotten a webcam and I can talk to them for free rather than burning through my prepaid cards. Eventually I was overtaken by the smell of cooking wafting up from the canteen below and I went to eat my breakfast.
My first lecture was not interesting. We have a professor from the PRC and he speaks in a very pronounced accent. He is easy to understand, but he talks very slowly with much emphasis on almost every word, so we don't get to cover much. As a result, even in our third week of international political economy we are still just covering basic economic concepts like "comparative advantage".
My next class is probaly the most interesting of the week: Introductory Chinese. We learned a few more words like "tall" (gao), "short" (ai) and "read" (kan). It is a big class so I am sure it is not the most effective way to learn a language. The professor sais a word and we all repeat it. I am sure it is impossible for her to hear each individual voice in the lecture theater, but I try anyway.
After the lecture ended, a Vietnamese girl came up and talked to me. She complimented me on my ability to pronounce the words. I had heard that the asian girls really liked white guys, but this was the first time that any girl had actually approached me and started talking. It is defenately a boost to the ego, but I don't really know if I am into asian girls. My mother has always said that I am destined to marry an asian girl due to my love of rice, but I think spending my formative years in the homogenous environment of Cape Breton have steered my tastes otherwise.
That evening I hung out with the guys from the trip this weekend, Wili, Bertrand and Vincent. First we started watching 2 fast 2 furious, a horrible movie about street racing. The movie was so bad that it was hard to determine wether the script or the acting was worse. Luckily, I guess, Wili got tired and kicked us out of his room about 40 minutes into the movie. I went to the stair well to wait for Vincent as he had a cigarette and we started talking.
Vincent is a French guy who goes to Sciences Po. This is not only the school where my sister has just finished a year of exchange, but is the top political school in France and thus Europe. We talked for two or three hours talking about economic and social development, international relations, the future relations between China and the West, the position and future of Europe, and French politics. I was so happy to finally find someone whith whom I can discuss these topics and not just feel like I am talking to myself. I went to sleep late and happy.
The next morning I was reluctantly woken by the sound of my phone repeatedly playing a tune that resembles the "drunken sailor" song. I remembered that I had told my parents that I would have a teleconference with them and my grand parents at that time. I got up put on a shirt and got online. Due to some glitches it didnt' work in time to talk to my grandparents, but I talked with my parents anyway.
Not much happened in the rest of the day until, like always, and like many of the other exchange students, I made my way down to the african bar (a place that used to be an african themed bar but has since shut down leaving picnic tables where the exchange students go and drink their own alcohol) and hung out with some Kiwis and a Malaysian.
Thats it for now. I have lots of pictures of my travels so far and I am more than willing to share them. If you want them (as they illustrate many of the stories in this blog) just find me on msn...
Marc
My first lecture was not interesting. We have a professor from the PRC and he speaks in a very pronounced accent. He is easy to understand, but he talks very slowly with much emphasis on almost every word, so we don't get to cover much. As a result, even in our third week of international political economy we are still just covering basic economic concepts like "comparative advantage".
My next class is probaly the most interesting of the week: Introductory Chinese. We learned a few more words like "tall" (gao), "short" (ai) and "read" (kan). It is a big class so I am sure it is not the most effective way to learn a language. The professor sais a word and we all repeat it. I am sure it is impossible for her to hear each individual voice in the lecture theater, but I try anyway.
After the lecture ended, a Vietnamese girl came up and talked to me. She complimented me on my ability to pronounce the words. I had heard that the asian girls really liked white guys, but this was the first time that any girl had actually approached me and started talking. It is defenately a boost to the ego, but I don't really know if I am into asian girls. My mother has always said that I am destined to marry an asian girl due to my love of rice, but I think spending my formative years in the homogenous environment of Cape Breton have steered my tastes otherwise.
That evening I hung out with the guys from the trip this weekend, Wili, Bertrand and Vincent. First we started watching 2 fast 2 furious, a horrible movie about street racing. The movie was so bad that it was hard to determine wether the script or the acting was worse. Luckily, I guess, Wili got tired and kicked us out of his room about 40 minutes into the movie. I went to the stair well to wait for Vincent as he had a cigarette and we started talking.
Vincent is a French guy who goes to Sciences Po. This is not only the school where my sister has just finished a year of exchange, but is the top political school in France and thus Europe. We talked for two or three hours talking about economic and social development, international relations, the future relations between China and the West, the position and future of Europe, and French politics. I was so happy to finally find someone whith whom I can discuss these topics and not just feel like I am talking to myself. I went to sleep late and happy.
The next morning I was reluctantly woken by the sound of my phone repeatedly playing a tune that resembles the "drunken sailor" song. I remembered that I had told my parents that I would have a teleconference with them and my grand parents at that time. I got up put on a shirt and got online. Due to some glitches it didnt' work in time to talk to my grandparents, but I talked with my parents anyway.
Not much happened in the rest of the day until, like always, and like many of the other exchange students, I made my way down to the african bar (a place that used to be an african themed bar but has since shut down leaving picnic tables where the exchange students go and drink their own alcohol) and hung out with some Kiwis and a Malaysian.
Thats it for now. I have lots of pictures of my travels so far and I am more than willing to share them. If you want them (as they illustrate many of the stories in this blog) just find me on msn...
Marc
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