I thought waking up at 6 was bad, but today I woke up at 5:30. I’m starting to think it’s probably because the bed is not very soft. Most beds in China feel like someone gave you a bed without a mattress, which I guess is essentially what the beds here are.
Today’s breakfast was noodles, and they were super tasty. My host mom kept putting things on my noodles like some kind of spice and an egg. Personally I was fine without either, but it was nice to have something to shake things up.
My host sister took me to school today. She showed me how to get from the house to the subway station and then to school. The subway station is about a five to ten minute walk away from the house, which is nice. I’m excited to try and navigate everything by myself, because it means I don’t have to feel guilty about not saying anything on the ride over.
Classes were a lot better today. I understood a lot more than yesterday, and while I was still confused in the third and fourth classes, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
We had a two hour lunch break today, so after accidentally getting vegetarian dumplings (how does this keep happening?), me, Jessica, and Emma made a 25 minute walk to a stationary store. And oh my god this place is heaven on earth! Everything was super cute and cheap (compared to America). Like there was this massive box set of 36 markers (nice markers, similar to copic) for only 20 USD.
I honestly could have spent so long in there, but we were on a time limit. I ended up dropping 155 yuan on a notebook, colored pens, puzzle erasers, pencils, and pencil led. And while I do realize I already got all that stuff for the price of like 10 yuan elsewhere, this stuff was too cute to pass up. Why do I need a boring blue eraser when I can have sushi??
Our cultural class today was to go to a silk museum. I couldn’t really understand anything our tour guide was saying, but my friend told me that basic jist of the museum was about silk and the importance of color and embellishment. The more embellishments your clothes had, the wealthier you were.
I got home around 5:00, but my host sister forgot her house key and her parents weren’t home. We ended up sitting outside the house for a good half hour, but I didn’t mind. I got her to help me with my oral presentation while we waited, which was super helpful. It was nice to have someone fix my writing and tell me how to make it more fluid.
Dinner that night was tofu, cucumber (which tasted like pickles, yum), and beef. I don’t really eat tofu, so I only put a small amount on my plate, but then my host dad said I didn’t have enough food. I tried to tell him that I had enough, but he insisted that I didn’t.
I’m still not a fan of tofu, but it wasn’t bad either. I was actually able to finish all my dinner tonight and that made me happy. After dinner, I worked some more on learning vocab, and then we went to the supermarket.
Things I’m still struggling with include listening comprehension and communication. There’s so much I want to say and so few words to say them in. I usually try and use circumlocution, but doing so requires some prior thinking. I didn’t realize I made a face when I think, but on the walk to the store, my host mom called me and out told me to “stop making that face” because it “didn’t look pretty on me.” I laughed but on the inside I was crying.
The grocery store was weird because there was a mall at the bottom and the actual grocery store was at the top. Everything else seemed like an American grocery store except for the seafood section. Everything was alive… except for the things that weren’t. There was a frog just hanging out in a tub of water without a lid. I’m surprised it wasn’t trying to escape its watery death.
My host family ended up buying a lot of food that I think I’ll really like. They also bought ingredients for pico de gallo because at dinner my host mom mentioned tomatoes and I told her how I usually eat them. Long story short, I volunteered myself to make my host family pico this weekend. I really hope they like it, and I hope it turns out because there aren’t any limes in China, so we ended up buying a lemon instead. All I gotta do now is find some corn chips and I’ll be set.
On the way home, we picked up a watermelon and had that for dessert. The slices were massive and I really only wanted one. My dad and sister at their watermelon down to the rind, and I did mostly, but I think my host dad said I was being wasteful for not eating every single piece of melon. I thought he wanted me to take back the watermelon and finish it, but he mistook my action and told me to grab another piece of melon. I’ve never felt so shook in my life. I did not want to eat ¼ of a watermelon, but here we are.
I ended up staying up later than usual. I try and go to bed around 10:30, but I ended up going to bed at 12:30. It’s mainly because of the late night shopping trip, but also because I’ve discovered the best wifi connection is in my bathroom.