The Final Countdown

Hey guys, 

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S HERE: my last week in China!

Yup, that's right. We're approaching the 9th week of the program, which means that this will be the last week I'll be a student at 北京语言大学, the last week I'll be in Beijing, and the last week I'll be with my fellow HBA students.

How do I feel? I...don't know.

The week before (which I forgot to write a blog post for...whoops. I'll just make this one longer), I was feeling very melancholy and a little bit homesick. I guess 8 weeks in China was my limit before I started to feel the dip in the "Emotions Graph" that the Light people told us about in our pre-departure orientation. I started worrying about my next semester at Yale...about classes, about future grades, about applications...basically worrying about EVERYTHING that I got overwhelmed and just wanted to go home, sleep in my own bed, and let my parents take care of me like I was 5 years old again. I suppose this is when you know that you're growing up, because you're torn between wanting to crawl back to your parents and letting them take care of you and taking charge of your own responsibility and your own life. That feeling of melancholy quickly passed though, as I spent these past few days and this weekend soaking up as much of Beijing as I could.

Here's what my last two weeks were like:

Last Friday we went to another art district to shop for/look at art. It was a lovely way to spend a Friday afternoon, and I picked up some really cool art supplies and materials!

The name of the district! 

Afterwards, I visited 体育大学 (Training/Sport University) and the surrounding area and bought our team some really awesome wushu outfits!

This is the one I picked out! :)

On Saturday, we visited 天意新商城, which is a HUGE shopping area that has everything from Chinese souvenirs to bags, clothing, and toys. I've spent several hours there buying everyone back home gifts, so I hope all you guys like them! :)

That evening was spent at a lovely tea house - 老舍茶馆。We had some amazing tea and snacks and enjoyed several awesome performances that ranged from Beijing opera to performing wushu with tea. Afterwards, we wandered along down Tiananmen Square and appreciated the sights at night.

On Sunday, I spent the morning and afternoon with my 中国家庭 (Chinese Family), who took us to climb 香山 (Fragrant Mountain). It was fun, and WAY less painful than the mountains at Shaolin. ;) The view was pretty rad too!

The path on the right is the easier one (read: less stairs, but it takes longer to go up). We took the left because we like challenges ;)

Cheesin' with our 中国 siblings! We took a group picture at the summit, but I keep forgetting to ask them to email me that picture (I'll work on it). 

The following Monday we had our last 课外活动 - Beijing Opera Face Painting. I painted my friend Alan's face (thank you for trusting me), and my teacher painted my face. The result? ....Interesting.

With my beautiful model (also before, when my face was clean and still human looking)

I had no idea what my teacher did to my face, but at least it's unique

That Friday we had our 北京之夜 (Beijing Night), where all the 社会调查 (social study) groups and different level years performed skits for everyone. I was in two - Shaolin and 四年级 (Fourth Years). Shaolin's skit basically showed our experience at Shaolin, from climbing mountains to training and learning wushu. 四年级 skit was about a Chinese folk tale called "The Butterfly Lovers" which is a romantic tragedy. I played the lead female role (which is hilarious, because I make the worst actress in the world look like a prodigy). It was INCREDIBLY fun, and although the week of was exhausting in terms of workload (having to write the script on top of other homework) and stress, being able to perform with my friends and watching other really good performances was a blast.

After the performance, cheesin' with friends :) We also took lots of group pictures, but all the teachers have them. I'll post them in the next blog! Also A+ to whoever took this picture, sorry Ian for only having half your face :(

Today (Sunday) a couple of friends and I went to the 北京动物园 Beijing Zoo and saw PANDAS as well as other animals. All in all, today was a perfect way to end my last weekend in Beijing, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend it.

My last week is here! I'm going to use every chance I get this week to go out into Beijing and enjoy the city before I leave. The next blog you hear from me will probably be when I'm back in America, and it'll be a summary of my experience, including my final thoughts on HBA, Beijing, and more. I'll also upload my Shaolin video and pictures that my teachers have -secretly- taken.

Until next time! :)