Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Family

I moved in with my Chinese family on Saturday and I couldn't be happier. My shushu (homestay dad) and ayi (homestay mother) are an older couple, my guess is they're in their early 50's. They're daughter is 20 years old, and lives in an apartment elsewhere in Beijing. They've had five study abroad students live with them, and they have a room really well suited to the purpose. A bed, dresser, clothesline (Chinese people don't use dryers), desk, and filing cabinet/storage unit. In a way, it feels just like home; small-ish, with plain decorations, good lighting, and a rock-hard bed :-).

Their apartment is pretty small, about 50-some square meters. They've got a bathroom, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a family room that doubles as the master bedroom. It suits me perfectly, though. Lots of opportunities to chat, a quite reasonably sized room to myself, a Western-style toilet, and a small but very servicable kitchen.

One great thing about the apartment is that it is really conveniently located. Whereas some of my friends have to ride the bus for twenty minutes to get to class, I literally walk down the stairs, hang a right, walk 100 feet, and I'm at the courtyard in front of the IES building where all my classes are.

Shushu is a seriously cool guy. From what I can tell, he manages all of the handimen on campus. Conveniently, his office is 25 feet from the IES building, so I often say hello to him on the way to class. He speaks barely a word of English, so that's made deep conversation a bit... difficult. But he's one of the most patient and joyful people I've met. He's glad to spend a full five minutes trying to explain the verb "to lose" in Chinese to me. Once I figure it out, he erupts in huge laughter. I can't describe how much I lucked out getting this homestay.

I haven't gotten to know Ayi as well. She works as an accountant off campus, and tends to work kind of late. She often doesn't get home until about 8:00, and by that point, Shushu and I have already made dinner, and I've got my nose in the books. But from what little I've talked to her, she seems just as friendly and warm as Shushu, if a bit less exuberant.

Ah, and I almost forgot Ding Ding. Yes, he's the dog. About one foot high, and a bit skittish, but very soft. He's even starting to get used to me. He barks less now when I walk into a room, and when I say his name, he trots on over to get pets.

While the homestay situation has been great, school, eh, not so much. I'm learning a lot, there's no doubt. But, God, this program is rigorous. Around thirty new characters a day, a dictation quiz first thing every morning, followed by four hours of Chinese study until noon. Needless to say that I'm not the only one who's having trouble adjusting to such a fast-paced curiculum. It's just going to take a bit more studying on my part, (and more flashcards) to get back on my feet. But it'll happen :-)

4 comments:

  1. This sounds great, Charlie. So you even have a dog! Rex, BTW, is doing great. Hang in there on the school work (it really sounds hard)...you can do it!

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  2. And...you're off and running! There's nothing like immersion, to be sure, but this does sound extreme. Hey, maybe you're onto something there - extreme language learning. You're buff, you can do it!

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  3. 好运 Charlie! (I used babel fish, so I hope that really means good luck) I'm so amazed that you're working so hard on the Chinese! I'm sure that you'll be a star student in the class in no time! I wish you the best of luck with your host family, though it sounds like you're getting along famously, and don't need it! :)

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  4. I know you work hard. You will do just fine. Don't forget to have fun while learning the material. Skype me if you need help with your homework or just to chat.

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