The school that Regan and I are attending in Guangzhou is a lovely
little university just 15 minutes drive from my Aunt's house. Although
it now seems to be a pretty cool place, initially I was pretty shocked
and a little disapointed at my surroundings.
I guess that the first major discrepancy between my expectations and
reality was the fact that no, I wouldn't be chilling with fellow
highschoolers on summer break, I was entering an ongoing college
course (shocker). The first few days went down from there. I couldn't
really understand everything my teachers were saying, since they spoke
in Chinese all the time (:P), couldn't really identify with my
classmates, and the cafeteria food was packed with all these gristly
carteliage and fatty bits. Ew! After two days, though, I switched to
A3, a higher level course and now I'm loving it. Still don't
understand everything my teachers say (but one guy is really good with
acting out what he says; he does a pretty funny 'hot girl'
impression), and though it's still hard to communicate with my
classmates, it definitely feels more like a community than it
previously did. The cafeteria food still sucks, though, but Regan and
I are trying different dishes every day in hope of finding good ones,
and so far, the breaded spicy chicken is not half bad.
Cons:
The Teachers All Speak in Chinese:
Funny, because you think we're going there to learn Chinese, but
nevertheless all the instructions are in Chinese, so...yeah. I pick up
about 80-90% roughly of what the teachers are saying, but it makes it
difficult to figure out what the homework is, or what exactly we're
doing. Luckily, like I mentioned before, all the teachers make efforts
to get the message across. One is good with talking with his hands,
and the other talks really, really slowly to us.
My Classmates All Speak Chinese (or other languages):
Which kind of makes it hard to make friends, but luckily everyone
speaks a little English, so we usually have stab at Mandarin first and
if it doesn't work out we try English. I'm glad to find that I'm not
the only young 'un there; two of my friends are 16 and 19, though
everyone else looks to be in their early 20s. It was nice to be
welcomed by this class, and as the time goes by, I find that Regan and
I know more and more people on campus.
People Still Stare:
Despite being 'Guandong FOREIGN LANGUAGE University', people still
stare at Regan as we walk to class (more on this later, it's a heated
topic for us both)! It's kind of funny, and also kind of annoying to
get so many stares from the one place you'd think people wouldn't
stare. I mean, come on, there's a whole building and a dorm devoted to
foreign studedents! Get used to it, people!
Cafeteria Food is Pretty Sucky:
Desipite the fact that the Cafeteria food is really cheap Chinese
stuff (which should endear it to anyone), the veggies and rice are
kind of soggy, and the meat is pretty gross as well. Probably because
I'm a picky eater, though, and I've certainly been spoiled with all
the resteraunts we've been taken to so far.
Guandong Foreign Language Universtiy is in Guangzhou:
Which is nothing more than me trying to say that
a) It's really hot. I sweat like a hog here all the time, and forget
running to class or having the teacher call on me. Whenever engaged in
physically strenuous exercise, or nervous, I'm instantly drenched in
sweat.
b) This is mosquito territory. I've been bitten over 22 times, and
they all swell around the size of a quarter. Ever since I've started
applying bug spray, though, they've begun biting my hands!
Pros:
The Teachers All Speak Chinese:
The fact that pretty much all dialogue in the classroom must be in
Chinese really means that your Chinese skills are sharpened pretty
quickly. Although I'm not sure if I've ever learned anything definite
from the constant Chinese, I feel much more confident with the
language and at any rate, it forces me to practice it every day.
My Classmates are People From All Around the World:
There's a guy from France, one from Brazil, one from Japan, two girls
from Thailand, and who else knows where. The classroom is truly a
multicultural place, but it's also super cool to see how well everyone
meshes together, and how welcoming everyone is. The fact that everyone
in the class speaks Chinese, and sparse English means that we each get
practice over the break between classes, speaking to each other.
My Classmates are College Students:
Meaning that while they are certainly more mature, we also spend time
discussing subjects such as how to say 'sexy' or 'hi hot girl' in
Mandarin during class. But it's still a fun time, I like the maturity
level of the classroom.
Guandong Foreign Language University is Located in Guangzhou:
Which means that the campus, though it feels like the inside of a
boiling pot of water, is also pretty darn gorgeous. Guangzhou is a
semi tropical (or so mom says. Heck, I think this place is all the way
darn tropical) climate, so there's all sorts of rainforesty trees and
plants growing here (lots of palms and mangoes), and it's really
beautiful. White cloud mountain is also very close to the campus, and
it's a lovely mountain.
All in all, I found that my veiw on the campus changed drastically
when I switched classes, and started making friends. Though I really
didn't like the campus when I first arrived, as the days pass by and I
become more and more familiar with it, it's starting to seem like a
really good enviornment. The school work is pretty OK, and though I
certainly don't know a third of the stuff that's going on, the good
thing is that I'll be constantly challenged. Even so, I'm not sure how
much I can learn during 4 weeks, though I certainly know that
experience has made me learn much more than just a language.
