Who Am I Kidding?

Well...the new blog is established...5 days and counting...

Here's the Link:

MFJinParis.blogspot.com

(and for those who asked earlier and who I never responded to, "F" is for Francesca)

The Time Has Come to Say Good-Bye...

I have to say thank you to all those who have helped me get to this point.

Firstly, to Debra, for suggesting IES. When I admitted that I might not spend my entire junior year abroad in France, Amberle suggested I speak to you about IES ‘cause you had a great experience. Even though I sometimes regret choosing IES, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Next, Amberle. Thanks for telling me that my Chinese doesn’t suck massively…even when it did. Mostly, thanks for the encouragement while here. You can tell all the embarrassing stories you want at my wedding.

To the MHC’ers, esp. Caty, Sarah and Julie. I cannot Baaahhh enough. Your encouragement and gossip have kept me going! And don’t worry Caty, you will always be my number 1 roomie!

To Zach, my favorite “pseudo cousin” ever, and most frequent comment-leaver. I’ll see you soon enough…just lock up Chico beforehand!

To Lynn. Your constant “non-support” has made me smile for the past 2.5 years, and you haven’t let me down in the past 4 months either. Thanks for the calls/emails…bring in Lucy this week!

Most importantly, to my parents, thank you for accepting my decision to come here. Throughout the times that I’ve wanted to give up Chinese (or anything else for that matter), you both have been there reassuring me that I’m doing a fine job, and then giving me the extra kick in the pants that I need. I love you both so much (...though would love you even more if you bought me a puppy...)and am happy to becoming home to you.

And to everyone else, just because I don’t mention you doesn’t mean I don’t think of you every day. Thanks for reading, writing, and supporting me throughout this journey. I can’t wait to see you, and tell you all of the stories that didn’t make the cut in person.

I am undecided if I will update this blog again. It’s been fun, but I’m not sure where my life will lead me. No matter where it does, I’ll be sure to keep in touch.

Thank you all so much. I will definitely miss this.

Affectionately,

michelle

I spend 4 hours a day with these kids...

...and I will miss them very much.

(No, I don't have class with the 23 of them everyday...our biggest class (appropriately named "big class") of the day has 12, then the rest of the day is spent with a total of 6 of us in small class.)

Starting to stroll down memory lane...even though I haven't left yet. Sigh.

Hello There: (A Brief) Photo Collection

Hello There, Prawn Head. Sorry about this. You tasted good though!
Hello there, Mr. Duck. I'm not quite sure why you have a Bindi.
Hello There, Nan. I like you more than your cousin, Mr. Pizza.
Hello There, Mr. Famous Chinese Authors. Thanks for playing along with Jackie and I.

Less than a week to go...AAHHH!!!

It's the Final Countdown

So in 1 week and 1 day from now, I will be en route to New Jersey.

How does this make me feel? Sad.

It's hard, I really came into this just expecting to be OK being here for 1 semester. I thought China was still going to suck, I wouldn't really be into it, but I'd learn the language, make some friends, and be able to come back for business.

Well, uh, I guess things didn't really turn out like that. Of course I made friends, and I learned the language (to the best of my ability - hey, I bet I can speak Chinese better than the majority of you reading this blog). But put it this way: I don't want to come back for business, I want to live here and do business. I love China.

I know. It's a shocker.

I don't want to live in China forever. But I really think I want to live here in Beijing, at least for a couple of years. Going to Shanghai really made me grateful for choosing to study in Beijing, and as much as I gripe about the pollution or the toilets, I really like living here. I enjoy being able to speak Chinese; to most people, it comes to no surprise that I speak French. But Chinese, that is a skill. And I love surprising people when I speak it.

I love surprising myself when I speak it. It is becoming more and more often that I can eavesdrop on people's conversations on the bus, overhear teachers in the hallways, listen to my roommate on the phone and actually get the gist of what they are saying. I surprise myself when I can berate a cabbie for taking me the long way back to campus, or when I can speak to a vendor about the benefits of speaking Chinese (haggling is the number 1 benefit, obvi).

I am going to France next semester, as most of you know. Am I looking forward to it? I guess so. I'll continue to take Chinese - in French, that'll be fun...- and get my French back to fluency that I once had (China's kinda taken my French to shit). And I'll get to travel and see Amberle and Ali and just have a great time, without being scared of saying something in the wrong tone.

There will never be another time abroad like the one I am having right now. Even if I came back next semester to IES, it wouldn't be the same as this semester. But as I finally hit my stride, as I finally look around my classroom and realize how much I enjoy my Chinese class, and how our Chinese has finally gotten good enough to let our personalities show through, it is now time to pack up and leave.

I'm happy I've had this experience here; I'm happy I let myself admit that I did want to study here and not just in France; I'm happy I'm happy.

I will be ready to leave China next week. But after a month at home, I'll be ready to come back here. And knowing that that isn't an option for atleast another 5 months will be a hard to swallow.

The Newer, Better Model

So after my first roommate left, I got Nini, who has been a joy to live with (even if only for 3 weeks). Today I spent time with her and her family. She is an only child (like everyone else my age in China - thanks 1 Child Act!), but her cousin (who she calls MeiMei - younger sister) was there too, along with Nini's parents.
This was the view from the temple we went to - very pretty. The sky was blue, the birds were singing...so maybe not that last part, but it was very pretty and peaceful. If the weather was better, we would've seen Beijing down in the valley.Happy Buddha! Many Buddhas are not as happy as this one - and not many of they are this fat, either. Behind him are good wishes from visitors - you write your name on one of the prayer flags, then tie it behind him.

Oh please, don't tell me you're surprised.MeiMei got into it too. Side Note: MeiMei was a lot of fun - speaking to kids is the best way to know if you are speaking the language properly or not, because they will honestly tell you if they don't understand. Yes - we ran into a few bumps, but all went well. MeiMei also told me that I looked like Snow White. Hey, who doesn't like being compared to a Disney princess? ...although my hair is totally the wrong color...)

After the temple we went to lunch (hot pot) and then after lunch we went back to Nini's house (they live in suburb-Beijing - I didn't know it existed either) where they promptly told me to take a nap. And I did.

In the evening, we went to NiuNiu and YeYe's house (that's Nini's father's parents - the names for grandparents change depending on whose side they are on. It's the biggest pain EVER.) where we made jiaozi (dumplings). Below is the video.

The ugly, misshapen ones are mine...

But as my grandmother says (My LaoLao - she is my mother's mother): they all come out the same end!

Finally!

So yesterday, while Skyping with everyone at the Thanksgiving table, I read my Chinese essay that was the basis for yesterday's oral examination. (It was about how technology doesn't always bring people closer together.) While I was reading, I realized how much better I sounded.

So, after speaking to everyone, I went back upstairs to complete the oral and debate w/ Emily about technology.

At the end of the debate, Lu Laoshi turns to me and goes (in Chinese, obvi) "Mingxin (my Chinese name) your pronounciation has made so much progress!"

I swear to God I came out of that room feeling sooo much lighter and happier and just thrilled! It's so nice that the time I spend wanting to die in pronounciation class actually pays off!!