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Guess who slept in my room Monday night? Hyun Zhong! She and Janus came back to Beijing and she left for Korea on Tuesday. Janus stays behind, heartbroken. From what she's told me, she was sick during most of the trip and didn't have a marvelous time. She's told Janus she wants to be "just friends" because she wants a Korean boyfriend, not a foreigner. She hadn't told Janus that she was leaving on Tuesday because she didn't want to see him cry. She brought me roses and a gift from Yunnan. The day after she left, Janus came by for her mailing address in Korea. It worries me that she didn't give it to him, so I hope I did the right thing by giving it to him.
Went back to the Uigher restaurant Monday night with a German, a Brit, an American, and four Italians. I enjoyed watching the Italians eat their pasta with chopsticks. And I love the Uighers.
No joke--I witnessed a "Chinese fire drill" (the car version--if you don't know what it is, ask the person sitting nearest you) on the highway last week. No joke.
My tests? Went pretty well. The written test started out deceptively easy--multiple-choice questions and everything transliterated into pinyin. But it grew increasingly difficult until the last question which was simply, "Write an essay about a day in Beijing"--at least 10 sentences. On the oral test, I cheated a bit. I chose to speak about "my family" and I brought in photographs. The teacher was so distracted by the photos of my family and cats she really couldn't pay attention to how awful my pronunciation was. My scores? Good. You'll see my certificate when I return home.
We had wonton soup for breakfast today. It wasn't bad--and surprisingly similar to what we get in the States. The only thing was we thought we'd ordered jiao zi--dumplings--not soup. Oops.
For us 5-week students, it's all over now. Many people have already left. The five-month and one-year people, though, are just beginning their stays here. Most of the five-weekers are ready to go, myself included. We're very glad we came and we have memories that will last forever and gifts that should last about 3 weeks, given Chinese craftsmanship, but China is very wearing. I'll be happy to come home to all of you, to cleaner air, and to real cheese.
I'll leave you with my last three homework assignments: my three essays.
Every day, I get up at around 7:15. At 7:50 I go to the classroom. Often I am the third student to arrive.
After class ends, my friends and I go eat. From 3 to 5, my Chinese friend and I study. She helps me study Chinese; I help her study English. I speak Chinese very slowly.
In the evening, I write a letter to my husband. In Beijing, the days go by very quickly.
MY FAMILY
My family [my home] has two people, my husband and me. My family also has two cats.
We live in San Francisco [literally, "Old Gold Mountain"]. My mother and father live very far away. We don't go to see them very often. Last year, in October, we saw them once.
My husband and I are both writers. We work together. We often throw parties. I like to cook. Mark (my husband) sings songs very well. Our friends like to come to our parties. There's good food and good songs.
MY FRIEND
My friend's name is Liu Wei. She is a Chinese student. She studies at Beijing Language and Culture University. We often study together.
On Saturday, I will go with Liu Wei to Tianjin. We will go to see her mother, father, and little sister. In Tianjin I will certainly have a good time.
I would like to see her often but we are both very busy. Next week, I return to the United States. I don't know when we can see each other again. Our new friendship is too short. These few weeks have been fun.
And that's all she wrote. By the time you go to sleep on Thursday night (except you,
Iva and Emily--I can't be bothered to do the time math necessary to figure out what
time it is in Germany!), I'll be at the Beijing airport.
Love you all. Thanks for all your messages. They were a true treat.
Debra.
P.S. Did I mention I got a haircut in China? You're going to love it!
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