My First Month in Beijing

I wrote this blog post after the first month, and forgot to post it. So, here it is. Have things changed? A little, perhaps. But this is a very accurate picture of how I felt after the first month.

I could never have predicted what life in Beijing is like. It's incredible to know that I am going to live in this chaotic and wonderful city for an entire year. My host family's house is finally beginning to seem like home. But in all honesty, I still can't believe that I now bike to school every morning, wearing a blue and white tracksuit, to start my day off with two hours of Chinese class. I'm mindblown by the fact that breakfast can cost me less than a dollar, I'm allowed to explore this city on my own, and I return home to be greeted in a language that often feels to foreign to even begin to understand. Yet despite the adjustments to my lifestyle, I am absolutely having the experience of a lifetime.

The Chinese teachers I have here are the best Chinese teachers I've ever had; we use the words we learn in class in such that we learn to use them in real life. History, math, and English are similar to what I'm used to at my home school. But Chinese homework occupies most of my studying time. SYA China is the first time I have really, truly loved studying a language. Being able to use what I learn in the real world is an absolutely invaluable experience. 

The people I most often use my Chinese with are my host parents. I have an older sister who is fluent in English, but she lives at the school she teaches at. So at my house, Chinese is the only language we speak. My parents have had twelve host students in the past, so they most likely understand a substantial amount of English; they occasionally drop hints that they understand more than they let on. Yet for learning purposes or just for convenience's sake, they only speak in Chinese. I'm in Chinese 3 out of a potential 5 levels after studying the language for three years (in reality, I studied it for five, but I had a bad teacher for the first two years). I can talk about most basic things, but interesting conversation topics often elude me. Therefore, there's a significant amount of discussion about the weather, food, and school. I love conversing with my parents; they're honestly some of the nicest people I've ever met. I feel incredibly lucky to have been placed with them.

One of the most amazing things about this experience is the city itself. I've been here in Beijing a month, and I still haven't run out of things to do or places to see. So far, some of my favorite places in the city are 798 Art District, Sanlitun, Houhai, Ghost Street, Jingshan Park, and a coffee shop near my house. Honestly, I'm not sure you could be bored by this city. There's always something to do.

I can't imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't come to China; so far, I feel that coming here is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Actually, that's not true. I could imagine exactly how my life would be if I hadn't chosen to do SYA - I've been attending the same school for eleven years, and as much as I love my school, I was ready for something new. I've undoubtedly found what I was looking for in Beijing - a new experience - and I can't wait to see what else the city has in store for me.