Loooooong Day

Oh my god, my feet are killing me.
So today I had my first Chinese quiz. The highlight was that our teacher spelled four "fore." Other than that it was a lengthy, god-awful test. We had two hours and I finished with 3 minutes to spare. It wasn't hard really (although my grade may say otherwise once I get my test back) it was just really long and had a lot of writing. I definitely need to freshen up on my Chinese and study more.
Especially since today I got my internship! My interview was at 3pm and it took us an hour by subway to get there. I was wearing heels and a jacket to look professional but (thankfully) was overdressed. We talked a little bit about what I'm going to do but we decided to discuss this more in  detail on Tuesday. It looks like I'm going to interview people in English and perhaps record my experiences travelling to tourist places? I'm not entirely sure. Again, we're going to discuss it on Tuesday. Marketus said I did well so that's good! When I got back I was so hungry I went straight to the cafeteria which sucked only because it meant more walking.
I have my abstract due for my 20 page paper due Monday and I'm pretty sure I'm going to write something about the study of English here in China. It just amazes me how these people can be forced to study English at a young age and yet they can't speak it at all! I'm a little worried however because the paper is due in a month which means writing 5 pages a week.
Also my shoulder is finally healing so I don't need to go back to the hospital. I think I'd want to just to talk to the doctor and converse with Chinese people but it's 12 kuai and I need every penny I can get- especially if I want to go somewhere during my independent travel week!

Study Session

Let's see, so much happened today (I know! That never happens!) So today we reviewed in class for our first test tomorrow. It doesn't sound too bad but at the same time I'm still worried. Afterward I went to the dining hall for lunch and got bao zi again. I would eat something else but this I know will be warm whereas everything else is cold by the time I get it. And cold broccoli just isn't good. Afterward I watched Snow White and the Huntsman which was pretty good. They definitely didn't explain well enough why Snow White was the key. I get that she was the fairest but like... it seemed like her mom performed the same spell as the Queen's mother did without realizing it. And then the huntsman is her true love? I read a review that said after the fairyland thing happened the movie just didn't make as much sense anymore and I totally agree.
Anyway, afterward I had to meet with my language partner at the dining hall so I went there to eat beforehand. It was just starting to rain when I left and, of course, I didn't pack my umbrella. One more thing I have to buy here. We ended up going over the words mostly because I knew I struggled with that far more than the grammar. I didn't find it incredibly helpful- especially since she speaks English most of the time. I really need to perfect my Chinese so she won't feel the need to do that.
An hour later I was walking back to the dorms when I walked past Adam, Theo, and Theo's girlfriend Vicky. They invited me to join them and study and I figured I might as well study more. Besides, both Theo and Adam are in my class so basically our entire class would be studying together. We went to the 4th floor of the dining hall which has this awesome cafe that has expensive but awesome food. I ended up getting a caramel frappe.

It wasn't my custom Starbucks frappe with more caramel than coffee but still really good. Especially for China considering my Chinese teacher didn't even know what a frappe was. It was super expensive though- more than $5 and it's not even a big brand. Ironically the food costs about the same so I'll just get that now whenever I go there. Anyway, Theo's girlfriend is Chinese so she read off the words for us and then corrected us. That was actually super helpful and it was nice to study with others. Adam (who's in the picture) actually came up with a story about one word that has now made it possible for me to remember how to write it! Hopefully we'll make studying together a common thing because I feel like we're all going to do better now on the test.
So tomorrow is the test but I might also have an interview for that radio internship! They said I could perform English interviews instead and work my way up to interviews in Chinese so hopefully that will workout. I also have an abstract due for my internship paper which I am worried about. I basically have one month to write 20 pages. That's 5 pages a week which doesn't sound bad except that I have to find all of the research as well! Also, this Saturday a trip to the hutongs (which apparently means alleys) of Beijing is scheduled and Theo said there's a place I could buy clothes at nearby so that should be fun on multiple levels. Basically things are starting to pick up and get busy and I really need to stay on track.

School Clinic/Hospital Part 2

So today I was supposed to go to the school hospital to have my bandage changed but first I had a lunch on the Alliance with a woman who is going to recruit students back in the states. We ate on the 5th floor of the dining hall which was great! The higher you go in the dining hall, the more expensive the meal becomes and the 5th floor is the highest. It was really good! Marketus joined myself, Cheyenne, and Andrew because we were supposed to have another person but whoever it was forgot. At first we stayed on topic and talked about our experiences in China, what we thought students coming should know, and what we thought of the program. Eventually we got off topic and at the very end she asked Marketus something that was very interesting. Apparently, right after our first vacation with our group we're going to be expected to speak mostly Chinese. I suppose I should have seen this coming but since we rarely see Marketus I'm not sure how they can enforce this. We're already expected to speak on Chinese in our Chinese classes and our Contemporary Chinese class has an English instructor so I'm pretty sure we'll be speaking English in there. It will be interesting to see what happens. Not that I really mind speaking Chinese it's just it takes me a long time to come up with how to answer some questions and so sometimes, if the other person speaks English, it's just easier for them if they speak English.
This kind of leads me to my experience at the hospital. So I had to go to the ATM to get money first, just in case they had me pay, and then went straight to the cashier's, showing my receipt. I've become a little braver now and not so afraid of saying something wrong. Now I just give it my best shot. So I went over and said "医生告诉你也来这儿” [doctor told me again come here]
The lady starts talking to me in very quick Chinese (why on Earth they speak so fast to a foreigner is beyond me) to which I reply my Chinese isn't good and repeat what I said before.
She keeps asking me something and I figure I'll show her my shoulder. When I do it becomes clear to me she was asking what was wrong with me as she tells me it's going to be 3 kuai again.
I head upstairs and the same doctor is there. There's a little bit of a wait and everyone looks at me at first but when I catch their eyes they go back to the business. While waiting I notice a man go in and he takes out an x-ray that he and the doctor study. I started wondering if he had just gotten that x-ray done, I mean, it's been a while, but I'm sure it took a couple weeks for my doctor to schedule the x-ray and then me have the x-ray done and then go back to the doctor to talk about it. I ponder this a bit as I realize he's not a student. Neither is the old man who goes in after him, nor the lady who seems to have pulled a muscle in her leg. So I guess it's not much of a school clinic really. I guess it's like Emory Hospital in GA? Don't they have a hospital that regular people go to? Anyway, I go in and he prints the receipt thing for me to take back down to the cashier. I do and then go back up to wait. While up there I notice the woman with the bad leg return with a bag. She pulls something out of it and it's an x-ray! She freakin' just had her leg x-rayed! I have to say that is some quick service that I would certainly appreciate if I had a bad leg. Certainly would have liked it when I was a sophomore in high school suffering from the worst hip pain ever that was apparently caused by Mono.
I finally go in and he takes me in the dressing room again but this time the nurse isn't around. He fixes my wound and tries to talk to me in Chinese. Once again he speaks way too fast (seriously, it doesn't occur to anyone to try speaking slower) and then attempts to speak in English. Eventually I get out that his son wants to go to the states for his bachelor degree and he wants to know what college I recommend. Luckily someone comes so I have time to think of a college. I don't think foreigners realize how many colleges there are in the U.S. I eventually say Northwestern since they have the linguistics program I was interested in getting my masters in. Plus I figure that means they have a good language program and can help his son with his English.
He then asks me about "Creem." He stumbles over his words, clearly not very comfortable and I get "Creem..somewhere..."
"Cream?"
I'm thinking maybe I need something for my shoulder and he's wondering if I know a place I can get it from but then I ask "美国？” [America?]
"Yes, yes."
Now I'm thinking he means something like ice cream for his son.... Actually, I don't have a clue what he's trying to ask me so I say "吃？ [to eat?]  or-" and point to my shoulder.
"Nooo! No no. Creem." and he spells it for me and I repeat it out loud to get the image of the word in my brain.
"C-R-I-M-E."
I slap my hand over my mouth "Ohhhhhh!!!! No no! 不多！" [not much]
Of course he wants to know if there's crime near the school where he might be sending his son! Duh, Courtney.
He explained that he practices English with a lot of reading but he seldom has the opportunity to speak.
I go back next Monday :)

First Meeting

Today was my first meeting with my language partner. We basically just reviewed stuff. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because we met with the same couple that we ate lunch with when we first met and they sat near us. While she and I were staying with the book and we were going over what I had learned the other couple was just talking. They had a paper that they would sometimes write things on but mostly they just talked. God, I can't wait until I can do that.
In other news, my aunt is disputing a payment. Unfortunately this payment was for my VPN and so my account has been suspended and I don't have Facebook. Hopefully she fixes this soon because I don't know how long I can last without Facebook. I mean, I know I lasted a month last year but I (meaning Aunt Joy is taking an advance for work I will do eventually) paid for this!

School Clinic/Hospital

So I really needed bandages for my shoulder. I had borrowed from Cheyenne twice and I really didn't want to anymore. So yesterday I went to the grocery store to discover they don't sell first aid stuff at the grocery store. So as I was walking back I met up with them and asked them if they had any idea where I could get some. Dillon suggests the hospital, which has a pharmacy, which is also like... a two minute walk. I had actually passed it in order to get to the grocery store.
So I walk up and I can see why I passed it so many times. It looks nothing like a western hospital. There's no place for the ambulance to park, there's no ramp for a wheelchair, there's no ginormous cross to advertise that this building is, in fact, a hospital. In little tiny words on the doors it says "BLCU Hospital."
I go inside and it's closed. I mean, it is Sunday but the whole thing looks shut down. The pharmacy is on the first floor, right when you walk in, so I look through the windows trying to see if I can see if they even carry bandages. I decide to come back Monday after Chinese class (aka, today).
So I go in after class and the place is bustling so I go over to the pharmacy and (very badly) ask if they have bandages- pointing to the bandage I have and also taking it off to show them the wound. They direct me across the hall/other side of building to the cashiers. I manage to make out she wants to know where I'm a student and thank god I have my student ID booklet on me. I giver her that and show her my wound and say I want bandages which she cuts off with an "I know, I know" sorta reply. She gives me this slip of paper and keeps saying three something. I figure she's saying I'm a third year student so I'm like "Dui (correct)" even though I'm not. I'm just trying to move the process along. Luckily, there's a Chinese student waiting behind me who speaks some English and informs me I have to pay 3 kuai (dollars). So I pay it and the cashier instructs me to do something, what I don't have a clue. She's speaking too fast for me to even grab a word. I say I don't understand and she sighs in that way that says she doesn't have time for me and my lack of language skills. The student translates and says I'm being sent to surgery (?!?) which is on the second floor.
Surgery!? Are you serious?!
I go upstairs anyway and think "Well, they do have to bandage stuff up there so... maybe they're going to give me the bandages I already paid for." There are two rooms labelled "surgery" that appear to be consultation offices. I go into one where the man directs me to sit as he looks at the slip and asks for my Chinese name. I tell him and show him the wound and point to it which makes him nod a lot. He then gives me another piece of paper and directs me to the first floor.
So now I'm thinking "of course! They wanted me to get a prescription... go figure." I wait in line at the pharmacy (which by the way, "line" is a foreign concept here) and actually ram my paper in front of an old lady because I was there before her. He directs me across the hall/other side of building again to the cashiers! So I walk over there and hand them my slip of paper, totally confused and inform me I now owe 12 kuai! I pay the money and she stamps my paper which reads "Outpatient Invoice" and returns it. I go over to the pharmacy and the guy sees me and yells at me to go to the second floor again.
This is when I call Marketus.
I tell him everything I've done and he tells me to go where they first sent me. So I wait in front of the surgery room until I see the doctor again and hand him my invoice. He calls me in and I follow him to a little patient room. The nurse instructs me to sit in a chair and I wait. In my head I'm thinking "all I want are some freakin' bandages" but I was starting to wonder whether or not I was bandaging this thing properly anyway so it might be good to have it looked over. The nurse comes back after, I think, chatting with another patient/friend/whatever and starts to dress my wound. She puts on a mask and puts about four different types of stuff on it. None burn nearly as bad as the alcohol swabs Cheyenne used when we first bandaged it which surprises me. Then she puts this cloth that's been marinating (that's the best way I can describe it) in this yellow liquid and sets it on top of the part of the wound that hasn't scabbed over yet. As she's doing this the doctor comes in and asks in broken English what happened.
I say "I fell" and make the motion as best as I can while sitting down.
"bicycle? orr-"
I cut him off and say "No, just walking"
"Walk?" He's clearly stunned as seems to be the nurse as she applies stuff to my face as well. "Where?"
At first, I think he's asking where it happened and then I realize he's asking my nationality. "Mei Guo (America)."
The nurse says something and he laughs a little. He sees me watching and says "She thinks you look [totally expecting him to say French] Russian."
"Ohhh? Really??" Russia's close to Poland and Lithuania... certainly closer than France which is what I usually get.
They talk a little more and she says "Ok!"
I have a nice clean bandage on my shoulder with that bit of yellow whatever showing through. I have real gauze tape instead of the band aids I was using before. My shoulder doesn't hurt when I move it now which makes me think this time I won't pull off the new scab when I pull off the bandage. I tell them both thanks and he says "Come Wednesday." And that's when I realize they aren't going to give me bandages but bandage the wound for me again in two days. As long as I don't have to pay again this is ten times better than what I originally had in mind.
And that was my experience at the school hospital.

A Clear Day

我被混凝土的护栏绊倒了！I think that's right. I plan on being able to tell my teacher what happened because you know she's going to ask. I mean, it's on my face (unfortunately not written otherwise that would be far more hilarious)- she has to see it.
In other news, eleven people in the Alliance group ordered pizza from a place called Pyros. They actually answered the phone in English and the girl who called never had to use Chinese and the pizza arrived on time and correct and delicious. Ok, not La Gondala delicious but for China it was pretty darn delicious. I mean, I thought for sure it'd taste like a knock-off version of Pizza Hut but they managed to pull it off. One guy, Josh, has been in China for a while and was seriously enjoying his piece of pizza. Apparently, he hadn't had pizza in two months.
Oh! It rained yesterday and today so you can see some blue in the sky! I've officially decided that if China could get their air clean this would be a far more beautiful place to live and I wouldn't mind the fact the entire city is under construction and actually live here. With the sun out and the ability to see into the distance, China's really not so bad. Cheyenne discovered we have mountains today because she could finally see them!
By the way, I've noticed no one complaining of really long notes (which I've been purposely trying not to do) so where's my thank you? ;)

Scavenger Hunt

Today it was mandatory that everyone participate in a scavenger hunt. We met in the lobby of the dorms at 9am and were given our list of things to find/accomplish. Basically, we couldn't use google for anything. We had until 2:30 to get to the Summer Palace and the group with the most points got some type of reward. I was in a group with Allegra, Nich, and Cheyenne. Allegra basically did the talking because she was the best at Chinese. Cheyenne started taking pictures for the group because sometimes you had to provide proof but then her batteries died so I took over. We were doing pretty well actually. I was taking pictures of all the ATMs because each were worth some points as well as coffee shops that sold lattes and restaurants. We also had to take a picture of a sign that apparently said all the countries the study abroad students were from. We looked around for a while, even asking women working in the foreign students admissions office but they said it would take a week for them to get us that information (which basically means they didn't understand us). I did find this really cool magazine with articles in English about Chinese culture. It also had a detailed map of the northern part of Beijing, including the Summer Palace. I couldn't find our school though no matter how hard I tried. And I tried for a while! Even after Allegra said she could get us to the palace without a problem.

And that's when I fell.

I was so busy trying to find our school on this map that I tripped over this traffic concrete block as wide as my shoulders and as high as my knees. It was quite a magnificent fall I must say. And it hurt like crazy. Lets just say my scratch-resistant glasses were totally scratched. I'm sure I'll look worse tomorrow since everything still hurts- bruises are starting to form on my shoulder and knees. My face got nicely scratched up as well. Unfortunately, I had to turn in my camera for the hunt so I don't have my pictures so this webcam one will have to do.

Like I said, I'll probably look better tomorrow and it will look as bad as it felt (I sure as heck hope so 'cause it really hurt!).

In any case, we returned to the dorms to clean me up and rest and then we went out for lunch. After that it started raining and so I called Marketus to see if we were still meeting at the Summer Palace. Instead, he said we could meet in the lobby of the dorms. So Allegra and I watched the first half of Sherlock Holmes and then we all met Marketus in the lobby. As I said I had to turn in my camera and then he said (I think) that we'd know by Monday who won. We never found out what the prize was but all of us were pretty tired and gave up before the end anyway.

Next weekend is a tour of Hutong and some other place... I don't know either of them so it will certainly be an interesting experience! Hopefully less painful. :p