As I continue to study for my midterm, I become increasingly frustrated with the fact that my only time to go out into Beijing and experience the culture comes on the weekends. Every day, I'm trapped in my little room studying, studying, studying. It's such a confining feeling.
At Yale, I'd normally go to Starbucks, a library, or some other interesting location where there are people around, but 北语, our university, doesn't have many nearby 咖啡馆 kafeiguan (cafés). The closest ones are at Wudaokou, which is a 15 minute walk at the very least, and require the purchase of relatively expensive drinks.
It's more than just location, though. I'm trapped by the limitations on my time: time to prepare for class, time to explore the far-flung corners of Beijing, time to see the people I want to see. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I've been putting too much stock into trying to get an A, and not enough in just seeing Beijing. The Light Fellowship staff made a point to tell us that the Light Fellowship experience is not just about coming back to Yale with the grammatical precision of Confucius, but to understand the culture behind the language as well.
I have my big weekly test tomorrow. I haven't yet memorized my passage for the spoken part of the test, I didn't study Tuesday's characters very well (or at all), and I still have to meet with my Chinese friend this evening.
So I think I'm going to go for a walk... maybe to Wudaokou... to buy a Rubik's cube.
I'm so productive.
"...but I think I've been putting too much stock into trying to get an A..."
ReplyDeleteThis is a natural inclination and one that is very hard to avoid, particularly at a program like HBA. But at least you're keeping this issue in mind!