Right now, it’s Friday about 2:30 PM at Beijing. My first week here has been super hectic even though we haven’t started school! I’m glad we didn’t have classes this week because there’s a lot of time needed to get adjusted to our new environment. Some of the things I’ve been doing my first week are attending orientation, registration, taking placement exams, buying sim cards, and exploring!
During the day of orientation, I met 6 other students from other UCs and our program coordinators. We had lunch together Chinese family style with many different, delicious dishes! Later on, one of our coordinators, Wang Laoshi, (Laoshi means Teacher in Chinese) took us on a campus tour.
What I really like about Beijing Normal University is that the streets are integrated within our school! I’ve never encountered a campus like this before. This campus small compared to my home University, but it has so much more within the campus. For example, there are supermarkets, many restaurants, banks, a hotel, a bar, a phone store, and more within the campus!
Something I found very interesting also was housing situation of Chinese students. Our Laoshi told us that it was common for students to have 4 roommates. In comparison, many international students have single rooms or a shared room. Knowing this, we realized how privileged we actually are. Although we were all comparing how our rooms were smaller and different than rooms in the States, I am definitely thankful for my room. :)
Also, if you take a look at the picture of the exterior of the students’ dorms, you will notice clothes drying outside! This is something we wouldn’t see back in the States. Many students here line dry their clothes, and I think I might be doing that also!
