Flying Time

And so week five draws to a close. And I have noo idea how five weeks have gone by so quickly. I still have a vivid memory of the first time we got to campus, the first time I met everyone. Some events, when I think about them, feel so long ago, but most of the time I just can't believe it's gone by so fast. I guess when you're really busy and having fun, time tends to speed past.

Week 5 classes-wise was nice because, since we had our midterm break over the weekend, we didn't have class on Monday. So our test on Friday only covered three lessons, and the week felt lighter than most. On Wednesday after class I decided to go on a little adventure to this vintage store that my guidebook talked about. It was called Mega Mega Vintage and the name says it all. You walked in and it was all this vintage Western clothing, and they were playing oldies, and the fitting room in the back of the small store was a british phone booth. It was very cool indeed, though not really a place to go see Chinese culture. However, the street that it is on is. The walk from the subway stop to the store was pretty lengthy, but it was also really interesting. I was clearly in an area of the city that doesn't have too many foreigners, which was cool. It was fun to see this area of the city on a regular working day at around the time that everyone goes home. I also passed a lot of hutongs along the way that were very interesting.

Other than that the week was pretty much like every other, except I think this week I had some pretty interesting conversations with my language partner. One day we talked about our views on marriage, we talked about going to grad school vs. getting a job right after graduating, american TV shows (it is nice to know 24 year old Chinese men know more about Gossip Girl than I do), Chinese universities and their students (apparently there is a rift between the male population of UIBE and Qinghua University because the guys at Qinghua like to come over to UIBE and "steal" their girls), and then there was this one day where he ranted for an hour about China's wealth disparity problems and lack of good job opportunities. It was nice to know we could have conversations about things like this in Chinese!

cutest little girl at the temple

Friday, as always, was nice because it felt great to finish with our test and go to lunch with all of our teachers (this week's restaurant was especially exquisite, with its million kinds of dumplings and other yummy things), and then we just relaxed. Today we went to 红螺寺 Hongluosi or the Red-Snail temple. It is in Beijing's vicinity and is a very pretty temple, which makes it a popular attraction. Some of the highlights at the place were:

fountain near the entrance of the temple

- these male and female gingko trees that are extremely old and have these beautiful heart locks tied all around.

- an area that had (I think) around 400 statues of Buddha, all wearing these velvet red capes, and no 2 statues are alike. They are all doing different things with their hands, or are in different positions, or have different facial expressions. It was a little eerie and Twilight-esque, but very cool.

- steps and steps and steps that you climb to get to the temple on top of the mountain. Because it was a very hot day we did not make it all the way to the top. We were sweating like pigs and it was very uncomfortable. However, it was a nice workout.

Tomorrow will be busy but also exciting. In the morning, Kat and I are thinking about going to the 798 Art district, which I've heard is really cool and have been wanting to see for a while (more on that later!) Then I will spend the afternoon preparing for Monday's class and hopefully planning some adventures for during the week. Oh, and for now, a shoutout to my roommate Jenny for her birthday! Its time to eat some 蛋糕 (cake). :)