Day 9: Getting Into a Routine

Photo: no further explanation needed

Today was a pretty busy day, but I think many of us are finally getting into a routine here at Nan Da: we wake up, get breakfast from a stand, go to class from 8:00 to 12:00, eat lunch, try and squeeze in a nap, then class again from 2:00 to 4:00, and finally, free time at the end of the day (during which I am currently writing this blog). The classes here are going at a pretty fast pace, which is understandable given the amount of material we have to cover in such a short time. Because of this, a lot of our free time is taken up by things like preparing for presentations, doing homework, practicing writing characters, and previewing the next day's lesson.

We have been here for almost seven days now, and the fatty, oily food is finally catching up to me. Last night, I went to Bird Flu Alley to get some dinner, and even the smell of the fried food made me a little queasy. So today, instead of the usual steamed buns and fried rice, I had a bagel for breakfast, and some fruit later in the day.

Today in between our morning and afternoon classes, Dong Laoshi took us to a nice restaurant right across from our hotel (Xiyuan). We ordered braised beef (hong shao niu rou), chinese vegetables (xian cai), Japanese style tofu (ri ben dou fu), and fried rice (chao mian). It was nice to eat at a restaurant for a change instead of a small stand in Bird Flu Alley!

When I was little, my two sisters and I would always do an “Edamame Challenge” when we went out to eat at Japanese restaurants. This challenge involved seeing who could pick up the most edamame beans with their chopsticks, of course without letting the beans fall. Today at lunch was a fitting time to practice these edamame chopstick skills (attached is a picture).

After lunch, we met with our Nan Da Peng You (language partners), as we do every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They were extremely helpful today in terms of going over vocabulary and helping us with our presentations. We had learned so much new material in class that we had to review with them, that we didn't even have time to do our field work today!

Today was of course also the language pledge day. I think it keeps getting easier each day, but today I got especially frustrated during class when I could not understand what the teacher was trying to say. It is hard when you are so eager to learn, but not able to communicate clearly. I am sure this will get better each day as my language skills improve, but today, this was definitely a barrier.

Oh, and one more thing that happened today that I really enjoyed. As I was in the elevator going up to my room, I suddenly heard a very familiar language being spoken – German! This really delighted me, since I had been speaking Chinese all day (my German is just as good as my English), so of course I began talking to the two students, who happened to be from Austria. It can sometimes be surprisingly comforting to find familiar things in a foreign place.

Tonight we have a speaker from 7:00 to 8:00, which I am really looking forward to. The speakers we have are so interesting and always have such unique stories to tell (well, most of them).

I am also really looking forward to the weekend. This weekend will finally give me the free time I need to explore Nanjing and its surroundings, instead of staying so close to the school all the time (which is somewhat inevitable during the week because of our busy class schedule). We also might go on a bike ride, so this weekend should be really fun.

Overall, today and this week in general I have just been settling into the routine here at Nan Da, and have been trying to become more comfortable and familiar with Nanjing in and outside of the classroom.

- Molly