China Day 6

Hayley Bell
Jun 30, 2017
3 min read

Long story short:

Wake up time: 6:45! I actually slept all the way to my alarm which means I’m finally getting used to a firm bed!
Breakfast: some kind of thick soup (not bad, but not a fan), salad with thousand island, green tea bean cakes (I think?) and some kind of rice thing. So as previously stated, I don’t eat breakfast, but today, I finally figured a way out. I eat the main meal I like and then ask my host mom for a plastic bag so I can take the leftovers to school with me. It’s a perfect system because now I have a snack, and I don’t have to eat a huge breakfast.
Class: apparently 糖爹爹 has spread among the teachers… also I have another 听学
Lunch: our class walked down to some restaurant to get 小笼包 and HOLY SHIT IT WAS THE BEST THING I’VE EVER EATEN. So here’s the thing: I hate talking to waiters even in English, so I’m absolute rubbish when speaking to them in Chinese; therefore I have no idea what I ordered. But holy hell was it good. I think it was called 汤鸡小笼包 or something. Basically, it’s a steamed dumpling with chicken soup inside. You bit a hole in the dumpling, drink the soup, and then dip the dumping in sauce, and eat. I’ve finally found heaven on earth.
I need to stop spending money: So there’s this cute AF stationary store and I’ve already dropped $60 in there so I need to stay away. I honestly wasn’t planning on buying anything, but then I saw these backpacks on the wall and I had to buy one. I’m in love and I don’t care if everyone keeps saying I paid too much; it was worth it. (Also I’m down to 68 US so I think it’s time to chill oops)
Why does the schedule keep changing?? Our lunch break ended up being 3 hours so I spent part of it doing homework, and the other part of it singing with Justin, Jessica, and Hannah. We did the national anthem in harmony which was fun. (Side note: it's probably not a good idea to be screaming the American National anthem in China. Don't.)
Culture class: We went to a building on campus that teaches kids English. The kids are soooo cute; we sang the national anthem (again, why?) to them and one kid understood and told everyone they needed to stand (lol). We also met this one girl whose English name is "彩虹" which literally means rainbow, and I think that’s the cutest thing ever. Also America needs to chill because we ended up teaching these 6 and 7-year-olds how to whip, dab, neigh neigh , and juju. I hate us too.
Going home: I used the subway by myself! (Hannah was with me, but I got home by myself). It’s a really nice feeling being able to navigate a city.
Home: I was home for like ten seconds before being whisked away to dinner and KTV.
Friday Night, Party Night: we walked to the mall by the house and had some AMAZING food at the mall with some of my host sister’s friends and parents. I wish people would stop laughing every time I say 你好, but I guess it is kind of funny hearing a Chinese person with a really bad American accent. The kids finished eating before the adults, so we went to an arcade and played basketball and tried our luck at a claw machine. Fun fact: claw machines in China are called “catch dolls” which threw me off guard because my host sister and friend kept asking me if America had “catch dolls”, which did not make any sense at first lol. KTV was so much fun!!! The building was fancy AF and had all kinds of mood lights. Everything about the room was amazing and they had tons of American songs to choose from. I had a blast and highly recommend that everyone try and experience KTV at least once.