First Impressions

Well, it's been four days since I've arrived in China. It was an extremely long plane ride, but it turned out better than I expected. The airplane food was alright and the entertainment was pretty good - I also got to catch a glimpse of Minneapolis and Tokyo (if only the airports). I've never been out of the country before and had no idea what to expect. At first, the differences between here and the US were not that apparent; the first stores that greeted me after leaving Chinese customs were a Starbucks and a KFC and the road from Beijing to Tianjin seemed pretty similar to any US highway (that is, until I saw the nuclear power plant by the side of the road). As the days have gone by, I have come to realize how different this place actually is.

My schedule is really packed; everyone gets up early in the morning for Tai Chi, followed by several hours of language and culture class. I'm usually really tired by the time I get back to my room and haven't had the energy to go and explore the city, although this is something I hope to do before this weekend. Class is moving a little slow since we spend a great deal of time focusing on pronouncing combinations of initals and finals, but I expect it to pick up speed within the next several days. I've never had to speak Chinese as much as I have now (even when I'm with my family) and I can feel my control over the language improving every day.

The locals around here are an interesting bunch, from my American standpoint. The streets are crowded with bicycles, cars, and pedestrians with complete disregard for the traffic laws. People practice Tai Chi on campus grounds early in the morning. Buying an item from a street vendor is not as simple as it is in the states; bargaining and haggling is expected. I gained a bit of experience with this during our class trip to the "cultural street", which is filled with stores selling a wide variety of trinkets (the picture shows this street after most of the shops have closed for the day). As a result of my very poor Chinese, I've come to experience what it feels like to be a foreigner in another country...it's been exhausting and intimidating, but never boring. I look foward to the new experiences that these next few weeks will bring me.