Six

It's been six weeks since I left home: the longest I've ever been away. I was away for six weeks both when I was in Chengdu on the NSLI-Y summer program in 2011 and this past spring while doing my senior research project in Philadelphia with the U.S. Forest Service Urban Field Station and grassroots revitalization organizations. Anyway, this 1/6 mark allows me a little bit of a framework in which to reflect more on my (emotional) experience... 

The passing of time feels immensely strange. Time is flying by, but the time here has been so rich and full that it feels like it's been ages since I came to China. Then it also feels like it was just yesterday that I first stepped off the airplane in the Shanghai airport. It's difficult to explain, but it's all a little like a dream. 

In general though, I feel wonderful: happy, healthy, and confident. I was a tad bit surprised how effortless it felt to adapt to the culture here and the past weeks have been extremely fulfilling. I don't feel homesick, but I am glad for the modern technology that allows me to stay in regular touch with people back home. It's also really great to take advantage of China Post! I love sending and receiving letters/post cards. I've started decorating the wall above the desk in my dorm with little tidbits from the letters I receive. My mom has been sending me articles from magazines I like but can't get here. I have yet to put up a picture on LA communal living from the Feminist magazine Bust, but I  have a cut-out from a Rolling Stone article on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (above my Tucson desert landscape mug):

Although I don't really feel any culture shock and would argue I am much less nostalgic for American food, holidays, conveniences, etc. than some of my American peers, being away from home in a foreign country does make me appreciate the delicious food my family cooks in Tucson. I also already miss Mexican food a lot (burritos! quesadillas! tamales!) but I must say I am so grateful to have these nine months to expose myself to delicious authentic Chinese food (I know I'll miss it dearly when I return to the states)! 

As for language abilities, I can tell I've improved greatly, but being here also makes me realize how much I still don't know! So sometimes it's frustratingly hard to accurately gauge my progress. When I take practice AP/HSK tests, I do see how far I've come just in these past weeks though. I also have to remember to rejoice in the little successes such as holding my own in a coherent conversation on a complicated subject or having someone (especially one with fabulous English) who starts out speaking English to me when we first meet change to Mandarin when I respond in my Chinese. Additionally, I didn't really think about it until a friend from back home asked me about it, but I have started dreaming in Mandarin! At least partly! 

Sometimes I worry that I should be constantly finding more ways to challenge myself linguistically, but then I also have to remind myself that keeping a good level of mental health is important as well. For example, after a week of being with my host family and not speaking a sentence of English the whole time, I have to remind myself that it's okay for me to listen to radio podcasts or read a book in English instead of studying more Chinese. Because almost all our classes focus on Chinese language learning, I try to keep a balance and stimulate myself intellectually with podcasts like Radiolab, TED Radio hour, and CBC's Q as well as books on astrophysics, neurology, and anthropological examinations of post-Socialist China's culture around food, medicine, and sexuality.   

I also have a playlist of pick-me-up songs that I listen to if I'm ever feeling down (which is fortunately not very often)! 

I'll share it here:  

1. Postcard from a Dream (Toast and Jelly) - Poi Dog Pondering 

2. Grateful - Au Revoir Simone 

3. Ghost of a Corporate Future - Regina Spektor 

4. My Girls - Animal Collective 

5. California - Joni Mitchell 

6. Elle Me Dit - MIKA 

7. Facing East - Thievery Corporation  

8. Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush 

9. Un Dia - Juana Molina 

10. Innocent Bones - Iron & Wine 

11. The Park - Feist 

12. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips

13. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - The Talking heads 

14. Give Love - MC Yogi 

15. This Is The Way - Devendra Banhart 

16. Meetings Along the Edge - Ravi Shankar & Philip Glass 

17. Let Go - Frou Frou 

18. In a Foreign Tongue - Rainbow Chan 

Now a little about this past week: 

Our dorm received a couple "improvements" this week, the first of which my roommate Megan and I are pretty happy about: our water heater was finally fixed. Megan and I are pretty compatible in general and were both pretty chill (no pun intended) about taking cold showers but as the weather is getting colder and colder, the prospect of hopping into freezing water was getting less and less attractive, so we're pretty glad. 

The second addition was the installment of speaker phones in the hallways. These speakers blare screeching wake-up call music in the morning and say in a harsh and ominous voice in Chinese and English "Classmates, you must be very tired. It is time to go to sleep!" at night. They also randomly blare obnoxious music throughout the day. Not so stoked on them, but they are also kind of hilarious...

On Tuesday, Tilden and I gave our presentation in music class on Xin Jiang's traditional music. Because we have a large population of Uyghur students at our school on a diplomatic scholarship from the Chinese government, we got to borrow some of their instruments for the presentation. Such beautiful instruments, history, and melodies! Here's a cool video that exemplifies Xin Jiang instruments in the performance of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". 

This week in our PE class we started also started learning Kung fu, which is something I am also psyched about. 

On Friday we had our all-day monthly test （月考）on writing/reading, listening, and speaking. The the proctor gave me the wrong essay prompt (I was supposed to get a more complicated one than the others in my class) and didn't realize it until I had finished the test so it was a little nerve-wracking having only having a little time to write the second essay. But other than that, I feel everything went well! 

This week Paris, Keiondre, Maike, Johanna and I all auditioned for the choir! I'm so excited to start this upcoming Monday! I brought my guitar to China and I have been playing / singing almost everyday but it'll be sweet to sing in a group! And it's a fantastic way to bond with Chinese IB students (who plan on going abroad for college). I also found out that the model UN club in which I participate is actually not part of the IB program, but a club in the normal Chinese curriculum. Some IB students participate in that one, but I guess I should have know since it's mostly conducted in Chinese. Anyway, I'm glad to share activities with all kinds of Chinese students! 

At first it was a little frustrating to make Chinese friends because we are separated in language-specific classes and they are so busy (as am I)! But participating in these clubs has really given me so many opportunities to befriend people. 

In terms of friendships, I feel so happy to have become close with so many wonderful people! My host family is simply superb; my American, International, and Chinese friends are all stellar, and my teachers are all splendid! 

This Saturday, I rode the subway and met up with 多多 (Duoduo), a 29-year-old family friend / yoga teacher / actor-comedian in Shanghai. 

I took Duoduo's yoga class at the Y+ studio in the fancy French concession neighborhood and afterward we went out for some delicious fresh-squeezed orange juice. I feel so honored to have made the acquaintance of such a kind and generous person! Even though his English is impeccable, he speaks rapid Chinese with me and helps correct me to make my grammar more natural. He also said he'd take me to more yoga classes, his stand-up comedy performances, and some amazing vegetarian restaurants (he's Buddhist and thus doesn't eat meat). I am so stoked to get to know him and to get acquainted with the yoga community here! 

The outlines for our first semester NSLI-Y research projects are due this upcoming Monday, so this week I finished up some initial work for that. Again, I'll be examining the role of public green space in Shanghai. I've found some really interesting secondary resources, but I'm also excited to go out and take some more pointed observational data, visit the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, and interview interview interview! The final projects are due in December: consisting of a written and oral presentation of my findings in the target language (Chinese). I'm also writing a paper of sorts in English, which I think will really come in handy as a jumping off point later if/when I want to tackle an Urban Studies topic in University. 

Finally, this upcoming Wednesday, our school is holding a track meet. I've never participated in track sports of any kind, but our mantra has become "This Is China, Might As Well (TIC, MAW" and thus I decided to compete in the 100m sprint and the long jump. So I spent this week training for that as well as practicing our class's performance for the opening ceremony. My classmates are going to sing a famous love song "Wo He Ni" (Me and You) while I do a short yoga sequence of arm balances, splits, etc in front of them and then some other classmates do a martial arts performance. It'll certainly be interesting!