So considering the actual date I wrote the last post was a couple weeks earlier than the date it was actually posted, this will actually have been quite a while since last I posted. The reason for the delay was that first of all I had a few circumstances that were keeping me from actually posting, and second of all I wanted to step away from the blog for a bit to give myself some time to figure things out here. I will get into the basics of what’s been going on, and then talk about the people I’ve met.
So…not long after I wrote that last post I got really REALLY sick with the stomach flu. They say that in Kunming it’s very easy to get sick. At the time, that was not what I needed to hear. I couldn’t leave my room for three days because I was dizzy and nauseous the entire time. Ugh. Thank God for antibiotics. If you’re going to a foreign country…BRING THEM. I really don’t know what I would’ve done without them…well, I know what I would have done (go to a hospital)…but that would have just made things ridiculously complicated and no one wants that, especially in a country whose main language you are not fluent in. So I got better…then kept on getting sick on and off for the next couple weeks (but I didn’t need medicine those times). Blah.
CLASSES. The placement test that I took required me to use new vocabulary and grammar that I hadn’t been acquainted with in the past…maybe one or two of them I knew, and maybe one or two I was able to reasonably guess…but ultimately I didn’t do too well on it. So I got put in a lower level class. Mmmmm. -__- (for those who don’t know, -__- is the facial expression of a person that’s frustrated) I thought…well, maybe it’s not that bad because the class levels in China, especially at a university like this one (who has a main focus on teaching Mandarin to international students), will certainly be different from those in America…and the lower levels will probably harder than the lower levels in America. WELL…I went to those classes and though it could be possible that those lower levels are harder, they were still not my level of Chinese. I knew pretty much every answer the teacher asked, and followed about 95% of everything going on in the class. I am absolutely certain that my most recent Chinese class in America (Studies in Chinese Traditions), as well as watching lots of Chinese movies and studying their dialogue, prepared me extremely well for these classes which were done entirely in Chinese.
So anyway, this class was too easy and it would have been wrong to stay in that class. Not to mention the fact that the workload was so simple that I was ACTUALLY GETTING RESTLESS and ready to die of boredom. Can you believe it? The workload was no easier than the homework I’d get in Intermediate Chinese, but considering my current level, it’s just not enough anymore. I was ACTUALLY getting bored. Ha! The reason I’m saying this right now is because I’m actually really surprised at how far I’ve come with Chinese…and I’m happy about it…there was a time when I really didn’t think I was going to get this far. So YAY for me! Win.
So ultimately, I ended up switching classes to the next level up and I must say, this was definitely the perfect fit…very much like the level of classes I’ve been currently taking at CMU. I was with other kids that were dedicated to learning the language and that would certainly challenge me to step up my game, and that’s actually what I wanted. NOT TO MENTION THE WORK LOAD WAS SUPER INTENSE. I just switched into the classes this week, and I have been given three essays to do for next Monday. Not to mention we had a 听写 (vocabulary test where we have to memorize the Chinese characters) pretty much every day. Yikes. But the good thing about it is that it gives me something to do each day because otherwise I would be bored out of my mind (on school days, there’s not much time to do anything else but work…just like it is in America). And it’s not like I have Facebook or Youtube to pass the time away. J HAHAHA. So the main things I have to look forward to after classes is homework and eating dinner (which I’ve come to realize that being away from home has made me appreciate good food WAY MORE). Then of course, when my friends have time, we’ll hang out a bit. (I’ll get into this a little later.) Maybe I’ll try and look for some kung-fu classes. That would be a lot of fun.
What else? People still stare at me. (DISCLAIMER: Now for this next part, I mean absolutely no disrespect, but I want the audience I’m writing to to hear this because I think it’s important that I don’t just write things that are “safe” all the time. I really do want to express my full experience here in the best way I can, not just the nice stuff. And I certainly don’t want to lie about things.) So anyway: I’m not the only black person in Kunming (though those are still few), but it’s possible that I may be the only black female in Kunming…hehe. At first I was a little scared, then I thought it was funny, then I got frustrated. But ultimately something I had to understand is that I really am a rarity. So now when people stare, I’m thinking in my mind, “Congratulations! You’ve found the only black woman in Kunming!” I feel like people could do a scavenger hunt and put me on the list (Find: a hot pink motorcycle, a picture of Jay Chou, one black woman, haha). That’s my way of putting a bold face on things. What can I say? I think the best thing that I’ve done to deal with it is to keep a few particular things in mind:
1. I look different from the typical people that live in Kunming. Not just a little different, VERY different. My hair is different, my skin is darker, and my eyes are bigger (in fact, my eyes are considered fairly big even in America).
2. Kunming is a modern city, but it most certainly isn’t catering to the Western world in the ways that Shanghai, Beijing, and other big commercial cities in China do. That’s why I chose this place, I wanted a different world experience and boy I got it. I’m still adjusting even now. Some things that are important to American culture aren’t the same in other cultures, and you better believe it’s true here in Kunming. Because it isn’t catering to Westerners, the culture of the residents is very strong…which means staring at people who are different is just what’s going to happen. No avoiding it. And it will happen until the day I leave. But the good thing about it is I really can gain a perspective of Chinese people in a far clearer way than in Shanghai or Beijing. I can really see how history and tradition have had their effect on the lifestyle and habits of Chinese people…you know, all that stuff they try to teach you in school, haha.
3. This one they tell you at the study abroad pre-departure program all the time, haha. But it’s true. YOU ARE PRETTY MUCH LIKE AN AMBASSADOR TO WHATEVER COMMUNITY YOU REPRESENT. That could be country, race, heritage, etc. Whatever community you identify yourself with, you are representing them. And if you’re around people that are unacquainted with the community you represent, YOU HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE OR BREAK A PERSON’S OPINION OF THAT COMMUNITY. Now it’s up to each individual to use this information to their discretion, but just be aware that smiling back at a person who stares at you will give them a different impression of you than if you snap at them and say, “What are you looking at?!” So that’s what I keep in mind. I don’t always smile with everyone I see (because there’s a lot and it looks weird if you’re just smiling smiling smiling all the time), but I just try to keep a pleasant-ish look on my face and just not make eye contact…unless they talk to me, and then I smile and try to be as polite as I can.
But yeah…so anyway, I’ve met a few friends here at the school now. But though I know there are Americans somewhere around the campus, I’ve not actually personally met any of them. Hmmm. I’m slightly curious to see what type of people they are and why they chose to come to Kunming. I mean, cuz Kunming is not exactly on the beaten path. There’s always some interesting reason as to why a person ended up in Kunming or how they’re adjusting to the city. Some of the people I met chose Kunming for the same reason as me- they wanted a different experience from a big commercial city. Others kind of got placed here as a result of their scholarship program. Some people (like my Korean roommate, Youya) have really embraced the culture of Kunming and try to make an effort to stay away from things that remind them of home. (The mentality is this: after all, I didn’t leave my country only to find it here in Kunming. I came to understand Kunming/Chinese culture.) Others have a different mentality…they spend a good amount of time around the foreigner districts and talk to foreigners (in their native language) and blah blah blah. Actually, in their case I don’t think it as bad as if it were done in Shanghai, because as I said before, Kunming is not a city that focuses on catering to foreigners. Even if you try, it’s pretty difficult to escape being affected by its culture. You’d have to try ridiculously hard (or just have a whole lot of money) if you wanted to live how you were accustomed to living in your own country (in this case I’m referring to if you’re from a western country).
But all the friends I’ve met are all different from each other, but all pretty awesome. I’ve met people from Russia, Spain, Czech Republic, Latvia, Switzerland, Holland, Korea, and of course China. There are a ridiculous amount of Thai people here too, but I haven’t exactly talked to them…they tend to keep to their own community from what I’ve seen so far. A lot of them chose Kunming to study because there already was a big community of Thai students there. More about them I can’t really say.
So…now this has been interesting. I told Youya and Shujuan (Chinese pen-pal, in case you forgot) that I could play the guitar. About a couple weeks later, they both got guitars and asked me to teach them how to play! Hahaha. Now I’m teaching them how to play from time to time, and that’s been a lot of fun. Another friend also asked me just yesterday if I could teach her how to play as well. I guess I have my work cut out for me!
Shujuan has been really great with helping me with Chinese. We’ve made this kind of pact that if any of us says something wrong in the language we’re studying (Shujuan is studying English and I’m studying Chinese), we have to correct them. And not just correct them, but explain why it is wrong and break the sentence up so we can see the grammar structure properly. I definitely think we’ve become better friends because of it, because before a million things would get lost in translation.
Anyway, that’s all for now. Yikes I wrote a lot.
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