Opportunities, Goals, and Disappointments

So this week was Golden Week,which is a national holiday in China. I like to think of this week as similar to the US spring break; a week long period of time to travel to other places, or to stay at home and rest/do homework for the next week when your teachers have planned multiple exams and presentations. And sometimes go out to have some fun.

Before I came to China, I planned to go to an Irish music session here in Beijing at a place called James Joyce. For those of you who don’t know, Irish music sessions are when a bunch of musicians who play Irish music go to a pub and spend several hours playing Irish music together, playing instruments such as the violin, accordion, flute, and other instruments associated with Irish music. My dad and I had searched where this place was, and even found a subway route to get there. Unfortunately, when I tried searching for the place, I couldn't find it. I asked ten different people for help, and none of them had even heard of the road I was looking for. So, after an hour of being lost, I gave up and headed home. I asked my roommate for help, and she said that the directions I had were wrong, and gave me some new ones. I also called the James Joyce phone number provided online, but a recording said the line was out of service. In short, this place might no longer exist, and I have no Irish session to go to while in Beijing. Oh woe is me!

At least I have a violin I can play while I’m here.

Even though that didn't work out, I did have some fun this week. I went to Wangfujing, the largest shopping district in Beijing, with my friends Teresa and Kim Yong bum. Kim is from South Korea, but he’s not studying in the same department as we are. He’s here to take regular classes instead of language classes like the ones I take. We went to Wangfujing to buy some books because there are two bookstores there, one foreign bookstore, and one gigantic Chinese bookstore. I bought several children’s’ books to help me review some basic Chinese characters, and a Chinese version of Shakespeare’s plays for kids. I thought it was pretty cool to see how Shakespeare would be translated, especially for children, and I can’t wait to start reading it! After shopping we ate at a Cold Stone shop, and it was nice to have ice cream for the first time in a month..

Here’s a picture of Teresa and Kim in front of a toy store in Wangfujing:

Moving on, I also have an interesting opportunity this week. I met a woman named Leilei, who wanted me to teach Chinese children how to speak English. I’m even being paid! So every week, I am going to teach three little kids for two hours. It’s actually pretty fun, but I’m not sure if I want to have a career teaching little kids (it can wear you out sometimes). Basically what I do is I teach them a dialogue (today we studied how to say “Hello, my name is _____. What is your name?”), then we take a short break, and then I read them a story, and help them read it out loud (we read The Fat Cat on the Mat today). It’s a good opportunity for me to get better at teaching people, particularly children, which is a useful skill even if I don’t become a full time teacher.

There was something disappointing that happened though. The US government decided to shut down, which is really going to hurt a lot of people. My mom was very worried because with the value of the US dollar going down, the exchange rate between China and the US is getting worse for Americans.

Also, I was planning on visiting some places in Beijing, but the pollution was just so bad on some days (once it went to about 350), it seemed like staying inside would be better for my health. Also, when the pollution gets really bad, you can’t see the tops of buildings, let alone out your own window at times! That was a bit of a disappointment.

Speaking of pollution, here are some pictures to illustrate just how bad it is right now (and it’s going to get much worse during winter, trust me). Also, sorry in advance about my reflection showing up in these pictures, but our window is just so squeaky clean.

These are from my dorm window, at 12pm each day:

Last Tuesday (26) 

Last Wednesday (171) 

And this is today, Sunday (202)

(Although last night at 1am it was 411!) 

For a real time update of what pollution is like in Beijing (and other cities in China), I recommend the following websites:

http://bjair.info/

http://aqicn.org/city/beijing/

One really great thing happened this week though; I rode a bike all by myself for the first time! YIPPEE! But seriously, this was a goal I set for myself the first week I came to Beijing. My friend Jule helped me learn a lot, and for the first time I rode around my dorm building in a circle twice! But then I started having trouble keeping balance and used the break to stop because I was worried I’d fall over. But I still rode around my building in a circle twice all by myself, it’s a good start!

Not much else to talk about, just teaching, being disappointed in my US government, and otherwise taking time to enjoy the finer things in life. Here’s a picture of a pretty flower I saw which you can enjoy after seeing the pollution pictures:

Also, before Golden Week started I went out with my German friends to a bakery where I ate a Totoro pastry, which was quite tasty. Here’s a picture: