The air today was terrible. I don't even think the visibility was one kilometer. My lungs feel as if I have been smoking, I get tired easily, I can't imagine why the air can be this bad.
All of us in the apartment seem to have fallen into a decent schedual. We are all working afternoons/evenings and we are all working enough to keep us happy. The way it usually goes is that we come home (the order in which we come home depends on the day, although Rae is always last) have a drink of some Chinese alcohol, which is actually pretty good once you go up market from that horrible Er guo tou stuff, talk about life here, then go down to the restaurant for some food and more drinks before we come back up to talk some more and go to bed around 1. The restaurant we go to is one of the nicer ones in our somewhat shabby neighbourhood. It is the one that used to have an English speaking waitress. The food is good and reasonably priced, but I think the most important thing is that it is clean and has good air conditioning.
Since we have fallen into this rythm, the relations between the roommates has gotten better. We all seem to get along, if only because we are the only people that any of us actually hangs out with.
One cool thing that has happened this week is that one of my new students is one of the head guys at the China Development Bank. He is smart and professional and he treats me quite well. Also, unlike most of my other students, he seems to know what he wants to learn and why he wants to learn it. This is very fun for me because he seems to be genuninely interested in Western culture. Today I taught him a lot about nightlife and kept asking questions about the customs in North America. I think I gave him enough to satisfy him. Of course, the best thing about having him as a student is that if I can make a good impression on him, I know he could be very useful for me in finding a job.
Yesterday I found out that I was accepted at the Beijing Language University. This is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they are more experienced at teaching Chinese to foreigners, but on the other hand, there are going to be too many foreigners there. It might be like Singapore all over again which is not something I am really looking for right now. I think when the consulate officially notifies me of this, I will respond by asking if I can go to one of the other, more Chinese, univerisities.
Regardless of the university I go to, I have been thinking about doing a homestay with a Chinese family for the duration of my studies. Although it might be very restrictive on my lfestyle, and perhaps even not be very fun at all, just having a fully Chinese living environment will surely force me to speak more Chinese and will ultimately be helpful. A second alternative is to find an apartment with Chinese roommates. I think this would work best if I could find a way to get good roommates, or it could just be like living with a complete stranger. All I know is that right now I have to think about my options.
Marc
All of us in the apartment seem to have fallen into a decent schedual. We are all working afternoons/evenings and we are all working enough to keep us happy. The way it usually goes is that we come home (the order in which we come home depends on the day, although Rae is always last) have a drink of some Chinese alcohol, which is actually pretty good once you go up market from that horrible Er guo tou stuff, talk about life here, then go down to the restaurant for some food and more drinks before we come back up to talk some more and go to bed around 1. The restaurant we go to is one of the nicer ones in our somewhat shabby neighbourhood. It is the one that used to have an English speaking waitress. The food is good and reasonably priced, but I think the most important thing is that it is clean and has good air conditioning.
Since we have fallen into this rythm, the relations between the roommates has gotten better. We all seem to get along, if only because we are the only people that any of us actually hangs out with.
One cool thing that has happened this week is that one of my new students is one of the head guys at the China Development Bank. He is smart and professional and he treats me quite well. Also, unlike most of my other students, he seems to know what he wants to learn and why he wants to learn it. This is very fun for me because he seems to be genuninely interested in Western culture. Today I taught him a lot about nightlife and kept asking questions about the customs in North America. I think I gave him enough to satisfy him. Of course, the best thing about having him as a student is that if I can make a good impression on him, I know he could be very useful for me in finding a job.
Yesterday I found out that I was accepted at the Beijing Language University. This is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, they are more experienced at teaching Chinese to foreigners, but on the other hand, there are going to be too many foreigners there. It might be like Singapore all over again which is not something I am really looking for right now. I think when the consulate officially notifies me of this, I will respond by asking if I can go to one of the other, more Chinese, univerisities.
Regardless of the university I go to, I have been thinking about doing a homestay with a Chinese family for the duration of my studies. Although it might be very restrictive on my lfestyle, and perhaps even not be very fun at all, just having a fully Chinese living environment will surely force me to speak more Chinese and will ultimately be helpful. A second alternative is to find an apartment with Chinese roommates. I think this would work best if I could find a way to get good roommates, or it could just be like living with a complete stranger. All I know is that right now I have to think about my options.
Marc
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