And class goes on

Sorry for the infrequent posting - classes are both keeping me very busy and keeping my content rather boring.

After a weekend spent relaxing and finally reviving completely, I am back in Chinese full throttle. I am now in Chinese 311, a small step up from my previous class, after I found 310 interesting, but slow moving and not challenging enough. Now I am in a class that certainly challenges me, which I like a lot, and that also importantly has very talented students, which makes me feel like I am learning from my classmates rather than being held back or thrown off by them (hearing the incorrect tones again and again can really have an effect on you). After five short days that felt very long and full of classes, I can already see an improvement in my Chinese fluency, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Just wait and see how it will be after a semester!

Days are quite packed, starting for me with a breakfast of cereal or oatmeal (I'm not a big fan of most Chinese breakfasts). If I am lucky, I get a seat on the long (depending on traffic) bus ride to Peking University. Class starts for me with one-on-one followed by class after class with small breaks for food (and homework). Eight o'clock comes, and a bus ride later I am home, wanting to plop down and read or play Chinese chess, but with homework and the new vocabulary ever beckoning. By the time I am home, the rest of the family has usually gone up to their apartment, leaving the grandma watching tv and/or smoking. When I get back, I often feel like the grandma is rather lonely, and I want to talk with her and interact, but difficulty communicating and homework have left that just a dream right now. After I finish studying and relaxing a bit, I go to sleep.

That is my average, and in my mind very busy, day. I am still looking for a good time to throw exercise in there, but I have yet to find a reliable time. Other than that, I am simply busy with school and trying to get to know people without the wonderful, simple, elegant tool that is the English language.