Banquets & Markets

Life has been interesting lately here in China. A couple days ago the school (Langston) hosted a big banquet that all of the interns were invited to attend. We were told that there would be a lot of food and a lot of drinking. This was no joke.

The food was awesome, weird, and plentiful. It was all placed on a lazy susan and circled around the table (all of the Americans were seated together at a large table), for us to help ourselves to. There were three other large tables filled with the Chinese staff of Langston, and it was a loud, social, cheerful affair that lasted a good couple of hours. It was a tad bit like Christmas with my family (loud and chaotic), filled with a lot of food and humor, minus the familiarity of the American customs and language that we all take for granted at a large social gathering. Overall, it was a nice glimpse into a bit of Chinese culture, and I know I speak for all of the interns when I say we felt to lucky to have attended this event. An exciting extra for us was receiving 100 Yuan from the big boss just for being there (this is equivalent to around 16 bucks or so!)

In other news, me and my roommates found out about a market that has great fresh veggies located right near our apartment (right behind the supermarket that we go to all the time). I decided to check it out yesterday, and found myself in the middle of a bustling market completely unsure of how to go about buying the food that I actually wanted. This was the first time that I was without a Chinese speaking friend, and realized that I probably wouldn't be able to bargain for reasonable prices by myself. By random luck, I met an African guy who happens to speak amazing English and Chinese, and he was nice enough to help me buy and bargain for everything I wanted. I don't know him well yet, but his kindness was greatly appreciated and I hope to hang out with him soon.

Today I had the pleasure to hang out with my first Chinese friend here, whose English name is Jenny. Me and my roommate Mollie met her while shopping, and her English is super. She took me out to a Chinese restaurant and ordered a bunch of food for us, and it turned out to be great. Possibly the best meal I've had here so far. It was noodles and veggies and some kind of mystery meat (reminded me of sausage) in spicy broth. After our hearty lunch, we went to an inside shopping market to look for gloves for me (mine are by far too thin for this cold weather). I ended up buying a thick pair of leggings (it's considered weird here to not wear a pair under your jeans), and a thick pair of gloves. Thanks to Jenny, I got them for a very reasonable price and had fun watching the Chinese stall owners laugh at me and ask me random questions through Jenny.

Classes are going great so far, I love the students and their willingness to learn. Chinese classes are also very interesting, as the pronunciation part is very difficult to pick up, and we are all having fun trying to differentiate between the tones and learn them as best as possible. We have a great teacher and I can't wait to be able to communicate more!

The school is preparing a trip up North to a city called Harbin for the Chinese New Year, which is super exciting. I don't know all the details yet, but I should soon. I think they are paying for our train tickets and hotel rooms. More details to come soon!

Our internet is still a bit shaky here, but I will try to call more people in the coming week. I miss and love you all.