Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Last Post

Well, this is my last post. I've been back in the U.S. for about a week and a half, and still miss everything about China. Since I hate wrapping things up in a cliched fashion, I'll just include my essay that I was required to write about CET and how they helped me to "realize my goals." It's more on the academic side, but interesting nonetheless. Thank you all for reading and adventuring along with me for the past few months, I really appreciate you taking out a few minutes from your day to listen to my antics in China. 

~Kevin


Summarizing the eight weeks of a life-changing trip to China is nearly impossible -- in English. Speak to me in Chinese, however, and you’ll realize exactly how much my Chinese skills have improved. While most travelers to China spend a couple weeks flitting in and out of popular and overcrowded tourist destinations, some choose to enrich their historical knowledge and cultural understanding, and others devote their days to mastering new Chinese grammar and qvocabulary. As a CET student, I had the opportunity for all three at once. 

My one goal in China was to dramatically increase my Chinese language skills, which is exactly why I selected CET. After spending just one week at the surprisingly comfortable BIE campus, I could feel my listening comprehension skills improving considerably. And after three weeks, I noticed amazing progress in both my speaking efficiency, tonal accuracy, and grammar/vocabulary usage. With each passing day, the effort I had to put into thinking about and phrasing sentences in Chinese gradually decreased, and by the end of only eight short weeks, I was able express myself almost perfectly with relatively no trouble.

How did such a remarkable improvement come about? Allow me to take you through an average day at CET. After waking up at the fairly early hour of 7 am, you head off to the building next door for four hours of intense but highly entertaining Chinese language courses. The first two hours consists of meeting in “Big Class,” where you participate in dictation exercises and learn all of the new grammar and vocabulary for the day. During the last two hours, we split into “Small Classes” where another teacher would drill you on the materials you just learned. Sometimes we would even watch classic Chinese films relevant to the day’s lesson, or use our new words by singing along to Chinese pop music. I still remember the lyrics to all of the karaoke songs we belted out with our teachers.

After class, we would all head over to the CET cafeteria together, and enjoy a tasty and free lunch together with our teachers. If you wanted to sit with the teachers and discuss the day’s lesson or their likes/dislikes about China, you could. If you felt like planning a weekend trip with your classmates, you could. Don’t forget, every conversation must, and did, take place in Chinese, and nothing but. Once finished eating, we would each attend individual 1-on-1 sessions with our teachers, where we had the unique opportunity to spend 30 minutes discussing either the lesson material or a topic of our choice. These short gatherings quickly became many students’ favorite part of CET, and personally I would’ve skipped three full meals for the opportunity to have another 1-on-1 session. To wrap up the day, I would spend a few hours finishing up my homework, and quickly preview the next day’s lesson. At night, we would go out on the town with our roommates and fellow classmates, where Chinese is a must, since most roommates thankfully cannot speak English. 

By now, the motif of CET is clearly obvious: from learning new material in the classroom to practicing with your teachers at lunch, from working alongside fellow classmates to chatting with Chinese roommates, repetition is key. While so much repetition might seem boring and tedious, the variety of methods makes it seem as if you’re not even practicing the language, but simply “living” it. After a few weeks of this pattern, I felt as if using new grammar and vocabulary wasn’t even a conscious decision, it just flowed naturally, mixed in among my other speaking patterns. Before I knew it, using Chinese became so natural that practicing the day’s lesson wasn’t so much of a chore as it was a fun pastime.

Between the language pledge, the non-English-speaking roommates and teachers, the Chinese-only lectures, the very low student to teacher ratio, and the multitude of language levels custom-tailored to each student, it’s obvious that no other institution has the unique structure and learning possibilities. While such language learning opportunities are enough to admire the program’s qualities, the real value of CET lies outside of the classroom. With such small classes, and every student living in the same building, developing close friendships with your classmates is inevitable. I formed closer friendships in two weeks at CET than I have back home in a full semester. The weekend trips/activities further cemented these relationships; nothing builds a friendship like being stuck on a 17-hour train together in the heart of China’s countryside. In 20 years, my memories of China might be faded and fuzzy, but the strongest and clearest ones will stand out -- the ones of the friends I made at CET, friendships that will last a lifetime.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

From Qingdao to Dallas - Without Sleep

When I just arrived in Dallas, the last 47 consecutive hours of my life had been travel, starting with the 12-hour bus from Qingdao back to Beijing, then directly to the airport for my hours of travel back to the U.S., finally ending with a comparatively short leg back to Dallas. As I blankly stared out of the airplane window on my last leg of this hellacious two-day travel ordeal, I was struck with a strange feeling, being back in the United States. Before I went to China, I thought that only having two months there wasn't going to do anything. Now I’ve realized just how long two months can be. Don't get me wrong, I loved every moment of it (okay, some parts were less good than others). All of a sudden I don't have to actively listen just to understand things, I don't have to spend a full minute reading a sign, and I don't even get to hear Chinese being spoken anymore. It's all over, so quickly. 
That's how I felt about a few of my fellow CET classmates, the ones I became close friends with. For two months, you spend five hours everyday in a classroom together, and then even more time doing stuff on weekends, and then one day, you realize you'll probably never see each other again. It's just a humbling feeling, to realize how quickly and easily a friendship you cherish can be ended. And I know that some of you will say that's why Facebook and Skype exist. True, but no amount of online chatting could ever amount to aimlessly wandering the streets of China together. 
Anyway, my experiences in China will be impossible to forget, which is stating the obvious. What's less obvious is the effect that observing Chinese culture and daily life has had on my views of foreigners and all other human beings in general. I never expected to fully and truly understand why people so badly thirst for the opportunity to come to America. Sure, everyone realizes that the American standard of living is comparatively higher, but until I saw some things that literally made me stop and feel guilty for having even the clothes on my back, I didn't fully understand the perils of these people's lifestyles. I'm going to refrain from specific examples, because it's just one of those things that any amount of complex phrasing I could use will never, ever do it justice. 
I’m also not going to attempt to describe my overall opinion of China, or do any kind of wrap-up. I’m far too lazy, plus I believe that sort of thing is unnecessary. What I will do is publish my final essay that I must write for CET about how the trip affected me, so I think that will do just fine. Now, for my last week. 
After arriving in Qingdao at 5:30 am last Wednesday morning, I headed to my hostel to try and sleep for a few hours before meeting my class. Unfortunately, at 6 am every single old person and middle-aged person woke up, started jogging, and resumed a construction project next door. Also, the room lacked air-conditioning. So I just headed out to the beach, where I met up with my classmates for breakfast. We spent most of the day on the beaches, which are absolutely beautiful with decently clear water, so we went swimming too. Being the only foreigners on the beach, we attracted plenty of attention. Then in the mid-afternoon we went for a fresh seafood lunch, which gave us a little surprise the next weekend. But the seafood for dinner was amazing, just delicious and not too expensive. Then we headed out to “Beer Street” to find the beer festival, since Qingdao is the city where Tsingtao beer is produced (the pronunciation is the same, just the westernized spelling differs). After failing to find more than restaurants that served beer, we ended up searching for clubs with live music. The one we ended up at had a highly-talented band of 6 asians that covered everything from Queen to Chinese pop -- and did so pretty well. 
The next morning, after waking up at 6 am yet again, I promptly threw up most of the seafood we had the previous day for lunch. So instead of heading back to beach, I spent four hours of my morning half-conscious on the floor of my friends’ hostel. Thankfully, I felt better by noon, so my friend that wasn’t throwing up and I headed to the Qingdao beer museum, and got some souvenirs before I had to head to the bus station for my 12-hour trip back to Beijing. After saying our tearful goodbyes, I boarded the bus and began my 50 hours of travel experience. Despite all the travel and food poisoning, being in Qingdao was one of the most fun times I’ve had in China, and I can’t wait to go back there, or really anywhere else in a country with 5000+ years of history.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

A Chinese Lifestyle: Pros and Cons



As my last week here in China comes to a close, I think the time has come to publish a list of likes and dislikes that I've been compiling for quite some time. At least from here on out, I won't have school work to worry about. Last week was our final written test and oral test. No problem at all. I'm heading up to Qingdao via an 8-hour bus to see the sights with some friends, and then back to the States on Friday. Enjoy!


Things I Like About China: 


  1. the weather. It hasn't been too hot yet, and it doesn't rain too much (in Beijing)
  2. the food, of course.
  3. the people. There are so few fat people here, and most people are reasonably attractive, so I don't have to worry about losing my lunch just by watching passersby. 
  4. the lack of rules. no enforceable drinking age, no open container law, no frilly, stupid rules about drinking, smoking, clubbing, or anything fun. 
  5. the prices. finally, the price is right. everywhere. 
  6. the shopping. opportunities galore, buy this for under $1, but that for under $3. hell, i'll take it all
  7. the beautiful landscapes and scenery
  8. being white allows you to essentially do anything you want
  9. being white, again. when I speak to Chinese people (in Chinese), they are immediately very interested in me, and also very polite about helping me converse.


Things I Don't Like About China


  1. the lack of rules. yes, i realize this is in both categories. it's freakin' dangerous, no traffic laws are enforced.
  2. the noise. CONSTANT @#$% horns. people use the horn so often, it's not even a warning anymore. it's just a notification, such as "Honk. I exist."
  3. cash only. credit cards are rarely accepted, and I hate carrying around so much cash.
  4. non-potable water. every time i just want a quick sip of water, I have to go find my special bottled water so I don't end up with some form of botulism. just a minor inconvenience….
  5. the toilet paper situation. you usually can't flush it, you have to wipe and then stash it in an undoubtedly disgusting trash can right next to the toilet. Also, absolutely no one (save the fanciest hotels) stocks toilet paper in the bathroom; it's your responsibility to bring it with you everywhere you go. 
  6. men, usually fat, sometimes practically anorexic, love to lift up their shirts like it's some kind of summer beach party. it's ubiquitous, and pretty gross if you pass some guy with a nice ol' beer belly (this somewhat refutes #3 in the top section)
  7. the air quality. I play basketball for 10 minutes outside, and subsequently feel as if I just smoked a pack of cigarettes.
  8. CAR HORNS AGAIN! OMFG SO OBNOXIOUS
  9. transportation. sometimes, I'll get a taxi right away, sometimes they're non-existent. and sometimes I get stuck on a 17-hour train ride after already enduring a 13-hour delay. 
  10. normal daytime hours. everyone starts everything at 6-7am, which I am no fan of. this means they close by 8 or 9, before I even get a chance to finish my work for the day. society works too early here.
  11. KIWIS THAT MAKE ME VOMIT


If you have anything to add, or disagree with, post a comment and we can have a healthy one-sided discussion. 

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Only Two Weeks Left

I am definitely sad to have less than two weeks left in China. I really cannot express how I would love to stay here much longer, but at the same time come back home to the American lifestyle. Thankfully, classes are about to end, so I'll finally have some free time to just wander around the city. Yesterday we had an in-class debate about whether or not preserving China's traditions and cultural relics slowed economic development. However, due my speech (described below), I was simply the debate's moderator. But it's better than our usual double tests on Fridays.  

The past week or so I focused a lot of time and effort on a speech that I must memorize for a Beijing city-wide foreign students speech competition. Unfortunately, since the competition is tomorrow morning at 7 am, I'm not able to go out tonight, I'm sitting here "memorizing my speech." My speech is 4-5 minutes long, the written version is approximately 700 characters, and is judged on tonal naturalness, grammar usage, and accuracy of pronunciation. While I personally don't care about it, since I'm representing my teachers and all of CET, I figure I'll try a bit harder than usual, even though I didn't get a say in choosing whether or not I wanted to compete. While it's "an honor" to be chosen, I don't like spending my limited time in China memorizing stuff in my dorm. 

Even though I was spending a lot of time on my speech, I did get a chance to make it to Tiantan (Temple of Heaven), and the Olympic Park, featuring the Bird's Nest and the Watercube, which you all probably saw on television in '08. We also stopped by Beijing University, the most prestigious university in China, to see the campus and library, but it wasn't too impressive.

Man at Tiantan playing a type of mouth organ, 
sounded like a flawless synthesizer

Bird's Nest

Water Cube

Giant Olympic Tower

Tonight CET held a "China Night" performance, where each class performed a short skit to demonstrate our new Chinese skills. Our class's skit was about the bad habits that Beijingers have, and was actually quite amusing. We showed how Beijing people don't like to line up, be polite, and in general show consideration for others. And of course, me and my newly-befriended taxi driver singing a rousing chorus of the cheesiest Chinese pop song I know.

Instead of describing our actual skit, I'll simply leave you with my thoughts of China, the pros and cons of Beijing life in my next post.