I can’t believe it’s been three weeks and I haven’t posted yet! A lot has happened, and all of it good!
On June 18th, at around 7 PM I deplaned in the Beijing (PEK) Airport after a nearly 20 hours of travelling. First, a plane from BOI to Seatac, then a ridiculously long layover, and finally the final flight to Beijing! I’d been excited for days and though it is a bit embarrassing to admit, I was almost entirely packed several days before I actually left!
At the Seattle Airport, I was lucky enough to meet up with a fellow CSI program student, Kela (a rising Sophomore at Smith). We were able to spend a good part of the layover and then a decent part of the plane ride nerding out over fencing (she’s a sabre and I’m an epee!), movies, TV, our amazing colleges, and the trip.
When we finally got to the airport, one of our amazing professors picked us up with two other students. Two other girls had arrived in Beijing earlier that day, at around 2pm so I didn’t actually get to meet them until the next day.
That night the five of us were able to get a taste of PKU’s campus though. We picked up basics (toilet paper, towels, snacks, water) at WuMei, this massive shopping center that is housed almost entirely underground. It was quite a surprise to realize that it extends to be probably as long as Chapin Auditorium at Mount Holyoke! When we got back, I definitely crashed.
The next day, Katherine (a rising Junior in the same Chinese class as me) and I experienced crossing the street (still scary, even at 7 am), explored campus and more importantly, found food before returning to Shaoyun, our dorm, for a tour of PKU. PKU’s Campus is easily as large as, if not a fair bit larger than UMass Amherst’s campus! It takes fifteen minutes if you walk fast to walk the almost-mile from our dorm, Shaoyun, to the classrooms, and probably thirty minutes to actually walk one way across the campus. Thankfully, all of the other important places are much closer. There are several fresh fruit stands, food stands, and dining halls as well as two grocers and the bank within a five minute walk of Shaoyun and the campus is surrounded by a bustling downtown with dozens of restaurants, shops, and even a video game arcade. Definitely a change from South Hadley, which is composed of about a block’s worth of restaurants and other buildings.
We packed an unbelievable amount of activities into a single day; that evening the our professors took us to try famous Beijing Duck and other foods at a local, family-style restaurant. We also got a chance to really get to know everyone in the group. Although Katherine and I knew of each other because we shared Chinese class, we hadn’t really known each other before the trip. Our shared interests and our shared class (we were the only students in the 200 level class for the first week) ensured we became fast friends.
I also got to know Ellie (a rising Sophomore Smithie) and I (re)met Bianca and Ani, both rising Juniors at MHC–all three of whom are in the 300 level class. Classes didn’t stay this small though! My roommate, Sarah, arrived late to the 300 level class, while Katherine’s roommate, Corina, arrived even later to join our class but for the first (challenging) week Katherine and I were the only two people in our Chinese class. Kela, one of the Smithies is light-years ahead of the rest of us and actually sharing classes with students from other universities who are also doing the immersion program.
The first week was challenging. Katherine and I got an intense amount of one on one attention, and finished the last four lessons (and workbooks) of Integrated Chinese Level 1 Part 2 in four days and tested for it on that Friday. Since that trial by fire, however, we have definitely fallen into the rhythm of things, learned amazing time management skills, and I have definitely become for effective at studying. I’m hoping I’ll be able to apply these new/ improved skills at Mount Holyoke next semester!