23:41, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013
0655: I slept in, wake up like meh. There's only so many 6 hour sleep nights I can take. Get a text from Karmen 5 min later saying she slept in too. Kevin calls about lateness along with Clara and Shirley. Whoops. Me and Karmen meet for breakfast on the go.
0800: I start the easier class, the textbook is pretty similar to ours but a tad simplier. The teachers are definitely not as good. The pace is slow, and even though I guess its better, I feel impatient because I'm used to being rushed past what I am capable of. The class is a bit boring too, a tad unmotivating. I re-meet Jessica, whom I met at Sydney one time.
1200: Karmen and co. ditch me because we finish at different times. I tag along with Perline and her friends for lunch: Sherry, Alex(2), Evelyn and Grace. Her friends are kind of boring, in an asian way. I stick around for the tour given by Perline's buddy. I don't know whether I should be taking photos (because I'm not) because I don't really feel like a tourist, yet I also want to remember everything. Hence this daily diary.
1400: I officially decide to move back to my old class, after a lot of self-reflecting. A lot. But I have decided to work a bit harder, just a tad, and I'll probably be able to catch up. It's a good thing, for my study habits. I ditch the asian crew and go home to rest in warmth and study.
1800: It's Natalie's birthday today, and she invites everyone out for dinner to celebrate. I debate over going a lot while doing homework. After talking to Pim, I decide to go, but I arrive late-ish (half-intentionally) and I just go to buy dumplings for dinner. I see Vanessa and Elaine at the store (also not at Natalie's thing) and I feel relieved.
1900: As soon as a get home and eat a dumpling, Henry calls and invites for dinner. Great timing, but I still go. Katie, Alise, Clara and Shirley are there and they eat canteen food and I eat my dumplings.
2000: We go to Wumei again and see this super awesome cap, but it borders on super fob so I'm not sure if I'll wear it outside beijing. Plus its $9AUD which is meh. But I'll consider it.
2100: I go back to the dorm, learning that Kevin is apparently poison i.e. bitch queen.
2200: My roommate invites me for tea and chatting. I learn that she's actually from England (but born in China, raised until high school). We chat about various cultural things. It's quite fun actually, there are so many Chinese things I don't actually know.
2300: I'm diligently studying hard for tomorrow. My language partner texts me and we plan to meet on Saturday night at some really historical/cultural-looking place.
Oh, so Karmen's been with her parents all day, which is why I'm so lonely today, even though it feels wonderful how she's doing that. It's great just getting closer with everyone else in my Chinese class, because we now have this understanding that we're the only people we have. And they're more willing to reveal more about themselves. It's great.
I'm definitely chatting more to white people so it's pretty awesome. Not fully, as I still prefer asians, but I'm actually surprised about how many people I actually know on this trip. It's a good thing I went out those first few nights.
I still feel super insecure and shy and shit, especially about speaking Chinese to Chinese people, but I've really decided today to just go ahead and try new stuff. I don't have forever, and there are so many others who are probably shittier than me, yet they have no shame. I need to make the most of things.
In fact, the shittiest parts of this trip so far have been when I've stayed 'safe' and hung around 'safe' people and done old things. There is no such thing as new things and activities that suck, I've discovered.
It's cool.