I’m pretty adjusted to the time change, but that doesn’t stop my body from wanting to wake up at 6:00 AM. It’s a strange feeling being well-rested at 6 in the morning considering the fact that I usually wake up at 9:30 or 10:00 at home. I’m not upset by this though; it just means I have time to goof off in the morning.
After I got ready, I saw that my host mom had prepared me some breakfast (which was super tasty.) I usually don’t eat breakfast because eating too early makes me feel sick. I did tell my host family this, but my mom and sister told me that “it isn’t healthy” and that “breakfast is very important.” And while I do agree with these statements, I couldn’t help but feel a little ill while eating.
Fun Fact: I expected to lose a lot of weight while here because I thought I wouldn’t like a lot of the food, but I think the opposite is happening. Not necessarily because I like the food (which I do), but because the amount of food people at for meals is insane. There’s so much food, and it’s rude not to eat all of it. 我怎么办？
Once I did finally finish breakfast, my host mom drove me to school, which was nice; although, I think she said this was the only day she was driving me. They keep asking me if I know how to ride a bike, and part of me is very scared they’re going to make me bike to school. While I do know how to ride one, traffic rules and laws are completely irrelevant in China. Someone’s walking across the street? Honk your horn and drive inches away from their body. Walking down the street? You might get mowed down my some moped if you’re not careful.
While I do trust my host mom’s driving abilities, I swear a car almost crashed into ours 7 times. This place is a dog-eat-dog world.
On the way to school, I remembered that our RD said we need to have our host families take up to the police station so we could get a residency registration. I was kind of betting that my host mom already knew this fact, so I just randomly said: “I need you to take me to the police”
I’m so glad she actually knew why because I’m sure out of context that would sound very concerning. She told me she’d take me after school and then gave me a lesson on saying 下可以有 vs 放学. IMO saying “after class” and “after school” should be the same, but I guess 放学 is a bit more specific.
My first class was at 8:00. Our teacher gave us our textbook and we went over dialogues and vocabulary. This is pretty much the entire set-up for all four classes we had.
So, here’s my problem: I already know 85% of the vocab and grammar patterns being thought; however, I have a really hard time with listening comprehension, so most the time I have no idea what the teacher is saying and/or asking of me. I’m stuck in a weird situation where I want to move up so I learn new stuff, but I want to move down because I have no idea what the teacher is saying.
In fact, after class, the teachers had a meeting and were asking me if I wanted to move down a level. I’m seriously considering it since I’m just so confused, but our RD told me I should tough the class out for another day before making my decision. Apparently we have a week to decide which class we want to be in.
Feeling more stressed than I should be, I began the 15 minute track to the lunch room. Today I actually got food by pointing to a plate of 包子. I was really hoping for meat, but I ended up with vegetables because I couldn’t understand what the cashier was saying to me. (That’s a lie. I was 90% certain she said 素, but I was too stressed tell her no.)
We were supposed to have a tai qi lesson after lunch, but the teacher never showed up, so we ended up having three hours to goof off. Me and some friends went to one of the convenient stores by the university and bought some stationary. I got some really cute pencils, a notebook, eraser, and pencil led for the US equivalent of $1.50. This is what living feels like.
After class, I went to go meet my host mom at the place she dropped me off and was pleasantly surprised to see my host dad with her. My sister met up with us a few minutes later. She had a friend with her so I decided to say hi to her and she ended up laughing at me. I’m not sure why, but I’m assuming it’s because of how atrocious my accent is. The curse of being Chinese and speaking broken Chinese.
Going to the police was pretty uneventful. We all squeezed into a cab which was fun. I think they said something about there not being any parking, so they didn’t bring their car. And sometimes my host parents ask me if I can read Chinese characters, which, while fun, is intimidating.
Once we established my residency (at least I think we did. I couldn’t understand anything that was said lol), my host family started asking me again if I knew how to ride a bike. They then proceeded to tell me traffic rules (even though no one abides by them). I was then given a bike and told that we were biking home. (Update: I forgot I was "technically" allowed to ride a bike in China, so oops.)
Fear.
The bikes in China do not feel as stable as a mountain bike. I got on that thing and lost control of the steering. It took me a good few minutes to figure out how to balance and steer. I got the hang of it once we were moving fast, but every time we slowed down, I feared for my life and someone else’s. I can’t count the number of times I almost crashed into a person or moped.
Also, the bikes in China don’t have gear settings and most of the ride was uphill so I was really sore after riding.
Now I’m really scared I’m going to have to ride a bike.
I was going to start my homework once we got home and I wanted to do it in the living room so it didn’t look like I didn’t want to be around them, but that plan was thrown out the window. My host mom was so worried because she thought I didn’t know I had a desk so she had my host sister take me to her bedroom desk, and then seconds later called me back into the living room because I need to have some down time.
I ended up watching “Two Broke Girls” and some Chinese drama about a girl who never stops crying and some granddad who’s probs dying.
Dinner was good. They gave me beef and potatoes, which was greatly appreciated. Once again, way too much food, but still tasty.
After dinner, I went to do my homework in my room. I was going to ask my sister for help once I finished, but she came in my room and asked if I needed help instead. It was really nice having her there to guide me though everything. I ended up spending 2 hours writing 36 sentences in characters.
I’m dead.
Once I finished my homework, I took a shower and washed my underwear and socks. I know where to hang them, but I was too afraid to go in the room where they dry because I didn’t want to disturb anyone. I ended up hanging my stuff in the bathroom, but I need to remember to move it in the morning because my host mom apparently goes into my bathroom everything morning to open the window. I really don’t want her to see my underwear drying in the wrong spot.