It’s hard to believe midterms and spring break are already behind us, and there are only 4 more weeks of class ahead. I got so used to my routine at school, made friends I enjoy working with at my internship, and really built something I could call a home in the chaos that is this city. As I was flying back to Beijing after my recent trip to Vietnam, I decided to make the best of the next month and meet new friends outside of my established circles.
Luckily, an opportunity arrived fast when my Chinese marketing professor decided to invite a couple of his foreign students to audit his Chinese marketing class (which is more like an English class for Chinese business students). After overcoming the awkwardness of standing in front of 50 students who greeted us with an unnecessarily long applause, we sat down and answered all the questions they had about America and our lives abroad. It was clear that most of their knowledge about the states came from government propaganda or movies (even though there is a quota on the number of Western films legally allowed in the country), and questions ranged from “do you have huge backyards?” to “do you go clubbing every night and eat pizza for every meal?” At the end of the session, we got to ask them a few questions of our own. Apparently, taking a girl out to Pizza Hut is considered a decent date option (Pizza Hut is actually quite fancy in China), most students would prefer going abroad for grad school, and none of them misses their days of studying for the Chinese college entrance exam (the infamous Gaokao高考). After the session, we all exchanged WeChats (the app that does practically everything in this country), and I immediately received 10 messages from students who just want to hang out and practice their English. This impromptu cultural exchange got me thinking about the preconceptions I had about China before coming here, and how ridiculous some of them seem to me now. Students at my university have been nothing but kind and helpful, and it is amazing how easily you can make friends here.
In other news, spring is finally here, which means we’ve officially survived one of Beijing’s coldest winters. I didn’t even have time to miss spring in DC because just when everyone was posting photos of the cherry blossoms, the cherry and apricot trees began to blossom here too. It might not be the Tidal Basin, but celebrating spring in the Forbidden City is pretty awesome too. The first week of spring is also when Qingming 清明节 festival, or the Tomb Sweeping Day takes place. It is the second largest festival after the Chinese New Year, and one of the most interesting traditions China has managed to preserve. It is a time of both joy and mourning, and you are meant to both enjoy walks in the park and flying kites, as well as commemorate those who have passed away by sweeping their tomb, burning (fake) money and bringing offerings to the cemetery. As modern days change the way people perceive wealth, some also burn paper models of houses and cars to ensure their loved ones won’t miss a thing in the afterlife. It was an interesting time to be in China and experience first-hand a festival I’ve heard so much about.
That’s it for this month’s adventures, but there is more to come from our visit to the Great Wall, my weekend of solo traveling in South Korea, and our final week of class.
