Time

     The most frustrating thing about studying at such an intensive language immersion program is that I rarely have time, even on the weekends, to get to know Beijing. I spent most of my time preparing for class or in class. Even on the weekends, I have worked so hard studying throughout the week that I occasionally prefer sleeping in my bed and don’t want to travel too far away from campus. It is frustrating having the capital of China, Beijing, at my fingertips and not having many opportunities to enjoy Beijing. It’s also quite overwhelming because there’s a lot I want to do and accomplish here aside from studying Chinese. I want to make Chinese friends, visit the museums and popular historic sites, try many kinds of Chinese dishes, etc. However, with only weekends to explore Beijing I don’t know how feasible, or even possible, such activities are during the program.

     I visited the Military Museum this past Sunday; it was awesome. I could read a lot of the information, or at least get the gist of the exhibits, which were mostly in Chinese. It was also interesting seeing the ways in which war and the military are portrayed here. And on the most fundamental level, I was introduced to revolutionary Chinese military weaponry. However, none of the exhibits provided much information about post-Cold War military affairs, which is what I am most interested in. Adam and I ran into a guy that asked us what was our impression of the museum. We didn’t know how to answer, so we just said the statues were cool. He replied that he most enjoyed every aspect of the museum, and it gave him pride in the Chinese revolutionary army (which today has expanded into the People’s Liberation Army, or the PLA), and is the fighting force that brought the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, to power. I wish I had more opportunities like these to better understand Chinese history and culture.

     For future Light Fellows, keep in mind that you can book your tickets for an early arrival before your program starts or leave China later than your program. I came earlier, so I got a chance to see Beijing before I came, but won’t have time to travel to other cities. I also only came a week early, so there’s still a lot of Beijing I have yet to see. You’ll want to get out during your programs, but unless you sacrifice studying for getting out more (which I think is fine if you feel you retain the material well. I don’t retain material unless I spend lots of time studying it). But this isn’t just a problem I have. Almost every student in ACC feels the same way. The more rigorous Light programs are quite demanding and give you limited opportunity to practice speaking Chinese and to go sightseeing, so you have to force yourself to get out on the weekends when you’re extremely exhausted. Also, one weekend is so not enough to see everything Beijing has to offer. In order to make the best use of your time here, I think it’s best to arrive earlier and/or leave later so that you have the opportunity to 了解中国文化 (understand Chinese culture). I don’t think you can successfully say you are fluent in Chinese until you thoroughly understand the culture as well.