ABROAD IN
Saturday, July 8th: Today I was supposed to sleep in but because my sisters woke up at 6:30 am and there was noise, I couldn't get back to sleep so I just woke up at 7:15 am to say good bye to them. I was home alone after because my sisters both had tutoring and my mom had work. My mom was super sweet and ordered me breakfast from the market down the street and they delivered it right up to our apartment! She ordered me 4 huge 馒头s (Chinese bread - its fluffy) and two 包子s (Chinese bread filled with meat/vegetables, etc.). She also got be this black/red rice drink? It was really sweet and it had a weird taste. She also got me a bottled water. Anyway, it was an ok tasting breakfast but it was really nice of her that she ordered it all for me. During breakfast I skyped my family and my sisters in Seattle. I miss my fam and friends back in America. I miss traveling and going to the beaches, but it's normal to miss home, and China is fun too. I also video called Alexandra because the night before we planned on going to NJU (Nanjing University) to run, eat lunch, and explore the city. We decided to meet at the campus we study at. The night before YuChen (my sister) told me what bus stop to take to get to NJU. I probably should've just taken the subway but the bus is more direct so I thought bus would be better. So that morning, I left the house at 10ish and headed to the bus stop. I was debating whether to walk across the busy road or walk 300 meters to the cross walk, because everyone was crossing the busy road, but I decided to play it safe and walk to the cross walk (you're welcome Dad and Mom). As I was walking back to the bus stop, I saw two of my buses come but I was too far away and I didn't feel like running to catch the bus so I just took the next one which came around 6 minutes later. Also the buses here are stick shift so if you stand up (like I did) you will jolt around a lot. I got off at the stop my sister told me to get off at but it was the wrong part of Nanjing University and not really close to where I was going to meet Alexandra. Also the stop I was on wasn't actually on the campus of NJU but it was on this huge busy street, so there were shops all around me and tons of people walking by. I recognized the area from looking out the window from driving to school every day but I was lost so I ended up calling my mom and asking her for directions, then realizing that Baidu maps is more efficient for me to get the directions. So with the help of Baidu maps I walked 20 minutes (and over a mile) to my campus where I met Alexandra. I wasn't really nervous/stressed that I was lost because I knew the area I was in, and my phone was fully charged. It was also a little rainy and here in Nanjing even if it's rainy you still sweat a lot. After finding Alex (I was 15 minutes late) we went running at the track nearby, where a Chinese student in college gave us a thumbs up while we were running our last few laps haha. It started raining a little again, so it was kind of refreshing. After running we headed back to the campus where we did some core workouts. I was kind of lazy/not motivated to workout again but with the help of Alexandra's Spotify we were able to make some progress. After changing back into our clothes we went straight to lunch at the cafeteria. Third and second floor cafeteria were closed, but luckily first floor was still open so we grabbed some 水饺 (I got the beef ones this time!!) which were delicious, and headed to the store to buy some snacks. During the majority of lunch these older ladies maybe late 50s were smiling/staring at us as they sat next to us. I think I'm getting used to people looking at me, I kind of expect it when I walk on the streets now. Most of the people who stare are people who don't often see foreigners and most are people who think we are pretty/unique looking so it's kind of nice getting attention here. At the store we bought some really cheap water and some snacks! (A huggeee 1.5 bottle for 2 yuan or about 30 cents USD!!!) Of course we stopped at Coco for some boba and then walked to the subway station to get off at a random stop to explore. We ended up recognizing the name of a station called 鸡鸣寺 which is the name of a Buddhist temple, so we decided to check out that station and the temple. After buying our ticket we just missed the subway train so we waited another 10 minutes (which is kind of long for Chinese transportation) where we walked on the subway and got off at our station. We ran into these German college students on the subway who were also going to the Buddhist temple which we figured out later because we were all lost after we got off the subway train. We eventually found it with the help of some Chinese locals and then once we arrived I realized that I saw photos of this temple on the internet back in America. It's a gorgeous temple with traditional architecture and colorful flags hanging around the temple. Our tickets were 10 yuan (around a dollar and a half?) and we walked up stairs and passed praying areas to get to the top where we burned our incense and took some really nice photos. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the praying rooms but they were beautiful, with huge gold statues of deities and lit candles in beautiful rooms filled to the brim with little Buddhist statues. It's hard to describe in words but the whole temple was gorgeous. There were also tons of red decorations and little lanterns/notes hanging from the walls and ceilings. Overall, it was a really fun excursion. Alexandra had to be home by 4 so we headed back. I took the subway back home directly to my house, while she took it back to her house. I love the subway so much. I understand it, it's so much clearer, cleaner and dependable than the bus. I just got back from the subway about half an hour ago and I'm super tired so I'm going to relax and do some homework tonight. I was planning to make spaghetti for my host family but I couldn't find spaghetti sauce at the store so I think I'm going to make it another night. My mom said she'd take us out for dinner tonight instead. Anyway, I decided I'm going to post more often, maybe once everyday or every 2 days.
**I just got back from dinner - it was actually a party for me! I had no idea my host family was going to throw me a party but my mom invited her coworkers and family members to a restaurant and we all ate dinner to welcome me into the family. There was a bunch of really good food, and they ordered this huge dish of fish and tofu soup. I think it might be the biggest dish I've ever seen. It was in this huge pot. The coworkers brought me some gifts too! Everyone was really fun to be around, we had good conversations. I think they thought my Chinese was going to be bad because in the beginning my mom's coworker's baby was playing with the cupboard in the restaurant and then she was saying "Wow, he's going to go into the cupboard!" Then she turned to her friend and asked in Chinese "How do you say cupboard in English?" (because she thought I didn't know what she was saying) then I answered in English "cupboard" and she turned back and started laughing and was kind of surprised, so I was happy. They are all so sweet, I'm so thankful for my host family :) :) We also told funny stories, and I was sitting next to my mom's coworkers son who is a photographer, so we had some conversations also. Everyone is so nice, I'm so lucky and I love Nanjing. After dinner we headed back to the house, where I talked with some of the family members who came back. It was really hard to understand the Uncle who was my mom's little brother, because he kind of mumbled/spoke with accent, but it was still fun to practice my Chinese. He helped me with my homework too, so it worked out well!
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Ok, apologies for the cheesy title. Also, I haven't had a lot of time to write any posts, but I'm already finished with week two! :( Tuesday, July 4th: After class, because it was July 4th, I got myself a large boba tea at Coco with Justin, Alex and Alex. I have no regrets because it was amazing. After lunch for the culture class after school all the NSLIY students went to 中山陵 (Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum). After stepping off the charter bus at the base of the mountain everyone was already sweating. It was extremely hot and the humidity was pretty bad. I'd seen photos of 中山陵 on the internet in America but actually being at the top of this mountain was so much different and so much cooler. We had to climb up over 350 steps after the hike to get to the top of the Mausoleum but at the top the view was beautiful and you could see the whole city. It was pretty crowded at the top, and you could really see the smog of the city from the top of the mountain. At 中山陵 (which is on 紫金山 - Purple Mountain) a lot of people were looking at us foreigners, and a few people even asked for photos with us. We are normally on the campus of the International Students so we weren't quite used to all the attention, but it was kind of fun to try to spot all the people trying to take secret photos of us. ALSO, it was kind of hilarious/awkward because some teenager literally came up to Alexandra and started hitting her?! Anyway, At the mountain Zhao Laoshi also bought everyone ice cream at KFC. The ice cream at KFC in China is vanilla ice cream in strawberry flavored cones, instead of the beige ones in America. America should jump on the bandwagon and get these strawberry flavored cones, they are so good!! After 中山陵 the other NSLIY students planned on going out to dinner to celebrate Independence day but it was host dads last day in Nanjing (he's going on a business trip and coming back when I am leaving), so I decided to go out to dinner with my family instead of the other students. The NSLIY students were originally planning to do karaoke for Independence Day after dinner but everyone was super tired, so they just went out to dinner. The July 4th dinner I had was pretty good, but I feel like the food was too weird (?) for me to enjoy it a ton. We had some fish, some sweet meatballs, duck, some weird cranberry potatoes, and other dishes. Also that night I had my first cup of watermelon juice. People in china drink watermelon juice, I am not sure if I like it. It tastes ok? Also, my mom/dad/cousin offered me wine and were like oh just a little! (Moms cousin) I think it's normal for people under 18 in China to drink a little bit. But I had to gratefully refuse because I might get kicked out of the program if I drink alcohol. My host parents kept cheering their drinks because we were celebrating a lot of things: Their wedding anniversary the day after, Independence Day, my welcoming to China, and my cousin's welcoming to Nanjing. The dinner was sweet though because he dad also mentioned how I make their family happy, and that if I want to eat something to tell my mother so she can make it for me/buy it for me. I got reaalllly lucky with my host family. After dinner, I walked around with my sisters for about an hour around Xuanwu lake (the lake is next to the restaurant). It was such a lovely night, the weather was really nice and a lot of people were strolling around the lake. Xuanwu lake is a man-made lake, but it's still gorgeous and there's a great view of Nanjing's famous tower. Unfortunately, there were a ton of mosquitos so next time I go I will bring my mosquito spray. We were walking for about an hour when we called a taxi to go back home. Also taxis are really cheap here, it was only around 2.50 USD to take a taxi back home (the ride was maybe 15 minutes?) Luckily my teachers didn't give me that much homework that night but I still got home late so I went to bed late. I don't get a lot of sleep here usually. I usually get to bed at around 11 because of the homework my teachers give me and because I get home at around 6 and go running, go walking with my mom, and hang around with my sisters. I wake up at around 6:40 every morning for my mom to drive me to school so I'm tired every day. I think I should start getting to bed earlier because sleep is the most important. Wednesday, July 5th: After school for our culture class we had calligraphy and acrobatics. This is our second time doing calligraphy and I think I'm getting better? I say that because when the teacher walked past me she said 还不错 which means not bad, so I was pretty happy. For our second part of culture class we did "Chinese acrobatics" which was pretty much just doing some exercises and then some people tried it riding a unicycle. I went on it and wasn't too good at it because I've never risen a unicycle before, but it was still really fun. After school, Alexandra and I went to exchange some money where we took some photos (below). After, my mom and I stopped at the market next to our apartment to buy some dinner before heading back home. Funny story: we bought a fish, and it was "killed" (literally beaten then sliced) right in front of us, then placed in a bag. I was riding a bike back home with the fish in the bag in the bike carrier (the bin attached to the front of the bike). I put other groceries on top of the fish. I was biking back home when the fish (which was supposedly dead) started moving really aggressively, and literally flapped out of the bike carrier and all of the groceries fell on the street, along with the moving fish that was still flapping in the bag on the street. I kind of screamed/laughed a little, and my mom came running towards me, while shop owners started laughing. Luckily, my mom graciously offered to walk back with the fish while I took the other groceries. After arriving back home, I started my homework and then went running with my sisters at 紫金山. It was super hot and we were all soaked in sweat so I bought them some ice water and there on the counter in the store was an adorable cat. It started rubbing against me and it made me miss my cat. Especially because July 5th is her bday (happy bday Nala). After running I finished up some work then went to bed. Thursday, July 6th: After eating lunch on third floor, our culture class was to wrap 饺子 (dumplings). It was actually rather simple, but I'm pretty bad at crimping the dumplings. We were each given some dough, which we had to knead until it was ready. After, we shaped the dough into little balls and then we rolled them out, where we put meat in it, then crimped the dumpling. After cooking them, we were able to eat them! They were definitely sub-par, and kind of tasted a little gross? I think we made our balls too big, so we ended up having a lot of dough in our dumpling. Culture class ended class earlier than usual so I went with Alexandra, Helena, Ines, Josie and Camilla to the gym after school. I didn't have my running clothes with me but I went on the bike for 20 minutes ish and did some core. After coming home I spent the majority of the night preparing for this speaking presentation I had the day after. Everyone has to present something about Chinese history and all 23 of us have to listen to each other present. I decided to write about 秦始皇, who was China's first emperor, mainly because I remembered my notes from A.P. Chinese. I was still working on my speech but my sisters asked me the night before if I could run with them so I stopped my homework to run with my sisters at 紫金山. It was really humid when running, I feel like the weather has been starting to shift to being more hot and more humid. I ran a solid 2 milesish? (sky was pitch black so I didn't want to run too long) Then I went back home, showered, and finished up my speech then went to bed.
Friday, July 7th: I ate spicy 馄炖汤 (wonton soup) for breakfast and skyped my mom this morning. After arriving at school on time this time (my sisters normally wake up so late after their alarm) we watched a "movie" in class for the speaking part of class. We watched the Beijing Olympics Ceremony in 2008 which was actually a little fun watch in the beginning but after 50 minutes I was tired. The other classes, beginner and intermediate, both had parties, so during break, we went over and ate some of their food. After class, we went to first floor of cafeteria and I ordered some 水饺, which are a type of dumpling, for lunch. They were pretty good but I accidentally ordered vegetable dumplings instead of meat dumplings. But technically it was free because of my lunch card. Also a plate of these dumplings was only 6 yuan which is less than 1 dollar USD. After lunch, we had our Chinese history presentations. The night before everyone prepared a little presentation on an aspect of Chinese history. The presentation could've been on anything, I researched mine on China's first emperor. We all presented and it took a total of 2 hours, I believe, but it was relaxed and everyone presented fairly well. After presentations, we were scheduled to do some community service, but it was cancelled, so class ended at 3:30 instead of 5. We all decided to go to karaoke because we ended early. Karaoke is so cheap on weekdays, especially with 15 people, so I only had to pay 7 yuan for one hour, which is just over a dollar USD. We had to take a bus there because the walk would've been 15 minutes and it was pouring rain. Karaoke in China includes some instruments in the room, so there were also tambourines that we played while we sang. After karaoke, I went home and relaxed. It's been a busy week and I haven't really been able to get a lot of sleep. Part of me feels bad because today I wasn't really talkative to my host family, I just kind of came home and jumped on my bed. But, I think it's ok to have a couple days when you just need to relax, be alone, and listen to your own music. Anyways, I just finished some really yummy curry dinner that my mom made, and my mom just went to her 古筝 (a Chinese instrument) class, so I'm just laying in my bed right now finishing up this post. I don't think I'm going to go running tonight, it's too dark and it's pouring. Tomorrow, I will though. I'm glad it's the weekend. I can sleep in tomorrow! On Saturday, I woke up at around 8 am took the subway with my sisters and her friend to 新街口 (the biggest shopping area in Nanjing), where they went to buy some books, and I went ice skating with some other NSLI-Y students (Hannah, Jessica, Alexander, Alexandra, Hayley, Naomi, Mae, Justin). Skating was kinda expensive, especially for China. It was 80 yuan, which has by far been my biggest purchase. I only skated for about 45 minutes, but it was a lot of fun to skate with everyone. The only thing was that I didn’t have long socks so my ankles chaffed a lot. The mall is really nice too, there’s so many floors with a ton of different shops in it. After skating, Alexandra and I met up with my host sisters for lunch. We went to this random 混沌 (wonton) place where I ordered 牛肉面 (beef noodles). It was pretty good, but I say that a lot and every place to order food in China is pretty good. My host sisters seemed a little annoyed(?), I think they were tired, so I told them they could go home because I wanted to go shopping with the others. So, after lunch they left to take the subway home and Alexandra and I met up with Alexander where we went shopping. We first met up with Jessica and Justin at the nail salon where Jessica was getting her nails done for cheap. Then the Alexs and I went next door to this really really adorable shop that is kind of like a Uniqlo/ikea but better? It was a small store, and didn’t sell clothing but it somehow reminded me of Uniqlo. It’s called Miniso. I bought 2 pens, and almost bought these cute fake birkenstocks, but they looked weird on my feet. After, we checked out some other stores, but I didn’t buy anything. Nothing really stood out to me as super cheap, everything was around 50 yuan which is about 7 dollars USD. I guess that’s a good price, but it’s nothing extremely cheap. Shoes were about 80 yuan which is about 11-12 dollars? I guess that’s a good price, but I think I’m reserving myself and waiting for something cheap and cute. I saw some good knockoff purses though, but they were about 40-50 dollars USD. After shopping, we met up with some other Nanjingers then went back home on the subway. I am actually very proud of myself that I walked back home alone and that I was able to find my way home. The walk back from the subway station is like 15 minutes so I’m surprised I didn’t get too lost. I made a wrong turn, but I realized my mistake and made it home. That night we went out to eat in a restaurant in this empty mall. The restaurant was aesthetically pleasing and the food was not bad. My mom’s friend came and ate with us also. During dinner, my sisters were giggling and I figured out that they thought the waiters were handsome. It was funny because our mom then told the waiter that we thought he was handsome before she asked for water. My sisters were freaking out a little but we were all laughing. Also, my mom always tells me to not say thank you, because apparently family doesn’t say thank you for meals or for buying us stuff. And it’s kind of true, her friend didn’t say thank you for paying for the meal, and my sisters never say thank you. But, I guess it’s out of American culture that I always say thank you for things. After dinner, we went home and I fell asleep and went to bed. On Sunday, July 2, I woke up and me and my mom went to her work because my sisters had tutoring class. My mom owns this really nice curtain shop. I was just going to sit there for hours and I was already a little bored in the first 10 minutes. A few days before, I was invited with 3 other NSLI-Yers to go to this museum that day with the middle school of my host siblings but I was already at my host mom’s work so I kinda felt bad and I didn’t really want to trouble her so I didn’t say anything. But then I realized that I was going to be sitting there for 5 hours if I didn’t our around with the middle school so when my mom asked if I wanted to go to the museum I didn’t hesitate to say no. I felt bad though because I was definitely troubling her. She could’ve dropped me off at the museum on her way to work. Anyway, she got me an uber (it wasn’t really an uber but it is kinda like the uber equivalent to China) and I hopped in and arrived at the museum in 10ish minutes. There I met Anushka, Josie (Ines came a few minutes later), and some middle school students who wanted to tag along. The middle school students would secretly take photos of us while we were walking around the museum. One girl, Tina, even gave me some gifts! A few of them could come up to me and give me compliments. I was really surprised because apparently Josie was telling me that before I arrived the middle school students didn’t know my name but regarded me as the “pretty one” and they all were saying how they wanted my WeChat. It’s kinda weird being an America/half-Asian in China because they treat you so nicely. I guess it’s nice when people call me beautiful, but I’m getting a little creeped out at being stared when I walk on the streets. Anyway, we coincidentally met Helena at the museum – she was with her host sisters! After the museum, we decided to go to lunch, so Anushka, Helena, Ines (Josie had to go home), their host siblings, and I all went to this yummy Chinese restaurant where I ate some xiaolongbao and some spring rolls. After, we took the subway home. The subway is sooo cheap it’s only 2 yuan no matter how far you travel. That’s about 30 cents USD. So cheap. I came home, and skyped my sister and my dad, and then skyped Alexandra. After, I took a nap with my siblings. When my host mom came home, I helped her make some dinner and finished some homework. This was the first time she handmade dinner (we normally went out to buy food) and it was soooo good. We had mango and she made some delicious dishes. I say everything is delicious here, but everything really is. Also, the sunset tonight was gorgeous!! Probably the prettiest sunset I am going to see here in China. Not often do you see a pretty sunset in the smog here. The other day, my host siblings saw a “sunset” and were so surprised. When I looked it was kinda what a normal evening in America would look like. The smog here is pretty bad, but tonight was pretty.
After dinner, my mom and I went walking up Nanjing’s 紫金山 (Purple Mountain). We live at the base of the mountain so it’s convenient to walk up. It was rather dark after sunset but it was such a beautiful night with a perfect temperature. We saw a bike parked on the side of the road, and my mom asked me if I wanted to ride it. Here, the public bikes are free to use, so I hopped on and rode the bike. It was honestly one of my favorite nights I’ve had ever. My mom and I were laughing and taking selfies and it was a memory that I will remember when I think back on my trip to Nanjing. It started to rain quite heavily so I rode back home while she walked. Even though it was raining, it was still so fun to bike down a road in the evening with shops and people alongside me. By the time we got inside the house we were wet, so I took a shower and then finished up some homework before going to bed. |
Andrea 施安雅17-year-old XC runner and boba tea lover living in Seattle but studying abroad in China. Also, I have a cat! Archives
August 2017
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