First Week of Classes

The program I am in is extremely good about maintaining small class sizes.  Suffice to say, (because there are only fourteen of us in the program, speaking at various levels) if I do not attend my Chinese 100 class for a day, the teacher has to mark down 50% absence. As a result, my fellow beginner in Chinese and I attend class in the teacher’s office. 

The language class is rather rigorous, during which we are given a list of about 50-60 new words/characters each day to practice our pronunciation. Although we are not required to memorize each word, we have to recite a paragraph that takes up about half a page, written in Chinese characters each morning before taking a short quiz to practice listening and writing skills.

Beside from a 9-credit language class, I am enrolled in two other classes: Sociology and Contemporary Chinese Film.  The teachers have impressive resumes, as my Sociology professor has been all around the world and edited the speech given at the 2008 Olympics by the Chinese president, and the Film professor contributed greatly to the production of “Farewell My Concubine.”

I am eager to learn, but am realizing how little time I have during the day to dedicate to studying.

As someone who worked as a custodian for three summers of my life, I’ve noticed that almost all the university buildings I’ve seen require a paint job and many outdoor pipes have rust marks.  I find it interesting that while the teachers are superb, the school lacks the aesthetics of a good school in the US.  

Taking this and the fact that some of the best bao zi (a common breakfast food) in Beijing comes from a small vender that sells right along the street, I’ve come to the conclusion that in China, functionality and quality come far before aesthetics. I am very fond of this philosophy, and find it refreshing from the American attitude that if a restaurant isn’t immaculate, the food must be disgusting, and that the prettiest and largest schools must provide the best education.

Throughout the week, because there is no set meal plan for students here, the group often assembles (usually subgroups of the original fourteen in the program) to walk to a meal. Traveling to a restaurant takes at least fifteen minutes to walk one way.

The food at the school’s cafeteria is much closer by, cheap, and decent; however, food that is advertised in a way that cater to Americans (such as milkshakes) differ greatly anywhere you go from the expected American counterpart which they are designed to mimic.

Though I’m enjoying everything else during my studying in Beijing, I experienced something that I will never forget.  Honestly, this is probably something I shouldn’t be putting online, but I believe writing will provide me some form of catharsis.

I can recall the event as if it were etched into my very brain.  I was waiting patiently in line at the university cafeteria’s ice cream stand, unsuspecting of what was to come.  I had placed a simple order, requesting a milkshake; however, the event that unfolded before my eyes and what it yielded were horrendous.

Witnessing the making of this “milkshake”, I observed a less-than-generous portion of soft ice cream being squirted into the serving container.  Immediately following, the drink was taken to a back room (out of sight, but certainly not out of mind), and was bastardized in some fashion, presumably puréed with some kind of diluted milk substitute. I was handed something that no decent business owner should dare serve a customer after promising a milkshake. 

As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of vanilla milkshakes, I was terribly distraught when I discovered that the “shake” did not qualify as being a milkshake at all, as it seemed as liquid as water.  Indeed, it was devoid of ALL desirable viscosity.  The end product was a beverage [note, a beverage, not a milkshake].  My day was ruined.

Because I had to consume such a beverage with the widest straw imaginable (approximately 1.5 cm in diameter), my mood did not improve.  Admittedly, it still tasted good, but it WAS NOT a milkshake. If I were in the states, I would have reported this station to the Better Business Bureau for false advertising.  Ever since, I have promised myself and my country only to purchase milkshakes from McDonalds while in China.

Overall, a good week.