Carve Your Heart Out Yourself

Let's start...with my roommate...in our room...after shaving.


6 of the most important tips you need for China, below.

It's weird. Weird weird weird weird. I'm back in the states right now, the good 'ol states, like my comrades like to call it, except that being back here has a disconcerting effect on me. I'm thirsty right now, because my house doesn't have any bottled water or filters. "Drink from the tap," my mother says. "You've done it for 18 years before, I don't see why you can't now." So just 20 minutes ago, I did it. I put my mouth to the faucet and swallowed the deluge of clean, refreshing, tasteless (and colorless) water that spouted from the metal tube. I'm still half expecting to get sick. Going to the bathroom has been an issue as well--I can't get over the habit of actually throwing the toilet paper into the toilet itself. Hasn't clogged up yet.

I went back to my high school today, wanted to go swimming. As luck would have it, it had been open all week but now was locked shut, the metal gates leering at me. I sat down instead in the quad and looked up. The most beautiful sight was above--a blue sky, an azure sky, a sky that was deep and cooling, capacious and visceral. The leaves in view of my peripheral vision lighted up; the sky framing the vivid leaf green was an even deeper shade of blue. It was probably the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. Last, and probably least, blogger worked perfectly fine. I typed in the URL, and miraculously the site opened up, just how it was supposed to.



I miss China. I miss the people there, I miss the food, I miss sweating (My mom: "that's why your acne is all gone! You sweated out your pores in China!"), I miss the public transportation system. I guess part of it is knowing that I'll never have the same type of summer again, that I'll never be able to be in the thick of Chinese preparation for the Olympics while stumbling upon some of the coolest people that I've ever had the honor to call my friends. It's hard to look back and evaluate the program when I was in it just 48 hours ago, but I'll try my best, and leave some tips for the incoming Fellowship winners to take away:


1. Use the teachers to the fullest advantage. Towards the end of the program, all the teachers started to realize, and if not realize, I mean started to act upon their friendships with the students. I never thought it was possible, but the teachers wanted to hang out with us, whether it was a day at TianTan, getting dinner at a nice restaurant, or going clubbing. Make friends with the teachers as soon as you get into the program, and don't hesitate inviting them to dinner or excursions. They want to get to know you better and besides, with them all being between 23 and 28, they're pretty cool too. Moreover, 95% of the teachers were women, and they weren't bad looking either (heh, heh.....just kidding!).


2. The number one best thing that Duke has compared to HBA and PIB is this: Free time to actually go out into Beijing. My roommate at Yale next year confirmed that the students at HBA study nonstop all week, and only have opportunities to go out on the weekends. Duke? Not so much. Buy a guide book, and take at least 4 of the 7 days every week to go somewhere different. Though classes take up alot of time, Yale is pass/fail, which means that you can definitely spare an afternoon here or there to go to the Olympic Green, eat pizza in a local hutong, or check out the ice skating facilities. Eat out, away from the school, as much as you can, because it adds a sense of accomplishment to a normal meal; there are so many amazing restaurants for dirt cheap prices that you can afford to spend extra time and money. For more on this point, I want to give a shout out to Roland Reimers and Arjun Singh for going out literally every single day of this program to a different location in Beijing; check out their blogs if you really want to find out what Beijing has to offer.


3. Shop. As much as you can. I'm not a very big spender--before college started, I went on my biggest spending spree, going to Mervyns and buying 100 dollars worth of clothes (it accounted for about 6 items). In China? I had to buy an entirely new suitcase to pack everything that I bargained for. The final tally consists of 11 new t-shirts, 7 hoodies, 1 nice sweater, 7 polos, 5 pairs of shorts, 4 pairs of jeans, 5 hats, 2 pairs of sunglasses, a watch, and 4 pairs of shoes. In total, I spent around 2000 kuai, which, if you add it up, is only 300. Actually, that's alot of money. Regardless, the clothes here are about 2.5 - 5 times cheaper than in America. My favorite places of all time, in order of most frequented:

1. The underground clothing shop next to the Beijing Zoo. Sells all manner of American clothing, from Converse (30 kuai) to Ecko hoodies (70 kuai) to Timberland jeans (100 kuai). Perfect for the ghetto fabulous style that I like pulling off, because while American stores sell them in all XXL's, the sizes here actually fit normal people. There isn't any bargaining here, which is a relief, as they sell everything at the lowest possible price to start. You can get away with cutting 5 kuai off sometimes, 10 if you're lucky.

2. Hongqiao Market. It's a ways away, not like the quick 10 minute ride to the Zoo, but worth it if you want name brand shoes (think Jordans), dress shirts, pearls, and sweaters. The bargaining is fierce, so don't back down from anything. Lots of foreigners. Get off at TianTanDongMen subway stop.

3. Silk Street. The piece da resistance of all foreign shoppers. The 7 floor building has everything imaginable, workers who can speak enough english, and more than just clothes. A little too touristy for me, but you could go there and get everything you need.

4. YaShow. Located in San Li Tun, this market is a mix of the former 2; a decent sized store selling mainly women's clothes and one store specializing in shady dvd sales, it's a place to check out once or twice if you want to mix it up.


4. Find a rhythm to do your work. Everybody does it differently. My roommate did his homework with his language tutor and studied at night before he slept. There are people who go to office hours to get it done. Some try to accomplish it right after classes are over, when the text is still fresh in their heads. I tried to wake up early and study before class, with mixed results (basically depending on if I could actually get up). Breakfast, which I need to function, is a bit of a problem, especially when the dining hall closes mid-July. Yogurt and crackers seem like the best bet, but our fridge didn't work the entire time. Internet cafes and cafes in general are a good place to get away from the dormitories. Taking a walk when you feel like it does the body good too. The gym about 10 minutes away is very modern, and has everything you could ask for. I started going this summer, they test your body fat and water weight content for free, and help you with the machines if you need it. Classes (yoga, kickboxing, cycling) are included too.


5. Find some method to remember and utilize everything you learn. At the end of it all, I've learned about 1500 new words, and 800 new grammar structures. Of it all, I would say about 400 words and 50 structures have actually had sticking power in terms of being able to insert them into everyday conversation. Some come more naturally than others, some are forgotten as soon as the day is over, but when in China, make an effort to use classroom material in everyday conversation.

6. Take lots of pictures. You'll want to remember summer.

-Peter Lu