Beijing Bound: T-Minus 9

Hello all,

As usual, it's been quite a while since I've last written anything here. I don't really have a good explanation as for why. A lot of it has to do with the end of the semester being a busy time. People are leaving or already gone. I've said goodbye to a lot of good friends made here that, truth be told, I'll like-as-not never see again. One of the reasons I've sort of shied away from writing this blog is because I know that it's going to be the penultimate post in China. Because I don't really feel like spending a few thousand words analyzing my time in China when I'm supposed to be studying for my Tingli final tomorrow, I'm just going to make this an update on my times here since I last posted.

Christmas was unusual, to say the least. At the bottom of this post are photos of my activities on the 25th of December. We started the day out with YiHeYuan, the summer palace, and wandered around there for a bit. Some of those with us hadn't even walked on a frozen lake, so there was much exclamation and unsafe tramping over ice-bound water. After this, I went ice-skating in HouHai (a large park in downtown Beijing full of bars and a big lake) with Sarah and some of her friends from Australia and France. It was a lot of fun, truth be told, and I actually got to prove that Canadians are born and bred to move on ice. The fact that I was the first person to fall has nothing to do with anything; I MEANT to slip and land on my ass. We then went and spent a little too much money on bad hot chocolate, which is still welcome after 2 hours in cramped skates.

The cap on an unusual but good Christmas was Jenny and Me gorging ourselves on Sichuan hot pot and YanJing beer! Ate so much good food... I think I was in a bit of a food coma afterwards. Photos of our 'spread' are blurry, but also below.

Flash forward to New Years (happy birthday to Mayan in the days between), we did what everyone normally does on the 31st of December! We went for Teppanyaki at Tairyo. This is a place with downright _amazing_ food and all-you-can-drink sake and beer. We ate a lot of great japanese food and drank way more alcohol than was healthy. After this, we went to HouHai (again) to stand in a crowded bar and listen to loud, bad music while drinking sugary champagne. Saw the President of China get on tv and give an address. Sarah translated for me, though this basically amounted to her repeating to me the words that I also understood when HuJinTao said them! After this, I went home and slept for a day and a bit.

The semester has wound up as of last wednesday. I sit here facing three solid days of finals; 1.5 hours a day worth of tests for the 12th, 13th and 14th. Tomorrow morning is Listening (TingLi) at 8:00am and will undoubtedly be my _hardest_ test by a large margin. My listening skills in Chinese are worlds better than they were before I came to China, which is to be expected. I can usually understand everything that's being said by teachers and fellow students, while only understanding about 60% of what a local says to me (provided I know what the context of the conversation is about!). This is way better than 4.5 months ago when I arrived, when I felt like I understood pretty much nothing. Still, the concept of 'fluency' is something I can't even consider yet. It feels like the progress made is a tiny, tiny step in the right direction, which is somewhat discouraging. Still, I don't regret coming here. Not at all.

Like I said, the last week or three have been busy but largely within the ordinary bounds of ordinary life. I've scaled back considerably on the drinking but eat out every night. The campus food is bland and unoriginal; being more 'fuel' than 'food'. I'm stressed but not unreasonably considering exams are upon us. I've got my next semester at the U of C all kitted out and I'm looking to graduate in the spring; something I'm still a little shocked about. It's a little intimidating being this close to a bachelors degree while knowing that I need to start making serious decisions about the course of my life from this point on.

Annnnyways. I said I wasn't going to get all introspective this time. That's for a few days time, after everything in my room is packed up and I'm all melancholy about leaving Beijing.

Oh. Special thanks to my mom and dad for the Tim Hortons. I've already finished a tin. I think I'm more addicted to coffee now than I ever have been before. It's delicious and I'm trying to limit myself to 3 cups a day. This is helped by the fact that it's a pain in the ass to make a cup. Anyhow, thanks for the care package!

Thanks for reading and being patient, folks. I really do hope everyone is well and happy.

Enjoy the photos below: