Earlier this week I had already registered, and another red stamp was added to my student card (which actually looks more like a passport). Monday will be the first class, and today the class schedules were posted, and I met most of my other classmates and one of my new teachers. About half of my former classmates showed up. I'm not exactly sure if some of them will be in another class now (maybe as a result of the past semester's exam), or just returned home. I know some of them did.
Besides my old classmates, there were seven new faces. Almost all people who showed up today in my class are Asian (from Uzbekistan to Japan, and many countries in between), except for Kerstin from Germany, and me. I wonder what happened to the other Europeans.
We will also have three new teachers, and will be using different books, which I had to buy. A bit of a waste of money, since I had already bought the entire series for a full year. Ah well, maybe the new series will help me learn faster, who knows.
Our schedule for the spring semester has morning classes only, instead of all afternoon in the previous term. I will have to get used to getting up early everyday, as classes start at 8:00. The up-side is that we will have all afternoons off, with the last class ending at 11:30. It remains to be seen if I will be diligent enough to do my homework in the afternoons or evenings. In Nanning, where I also had a morning schedule, that proved to be quite a challenge...
Friday, February 17, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Spring is coming
Winter is definitely on the way out. It was 18 degrees today, and the balmy weather attracted thousands of people to the sandy shores of Xiamen island. I took my bike out for a ride up and down the coast. Despite it's low-cost Chinese manufacturing and seven months of outdoor parking, it still rolls smoothly and as silent as a butterfly. It's remarkable how undeveloped the coastal area still is, with almost no commercial activity, other than some snack vendors operating from mobile kitchens hoisted on a electric bicycle, or just a couple of styrofoam boxes hanging from both ends of a bamboo stick over the shoulder.
The infra-structure is well developed though, with well-maintained roads, bike lanes, and an uninterrupted boardwalk along the 10 km stretch from Xiamen University in the South-West to the Convention Center on the East coast, with plenty of public toilets and park benches in between for relief.
I had spent Saturday afternoon at the first opening of the Chinese European Art Center in the year of the dragon, with an exhibition of paintings by German born, but Dutch resident Andrea Weigert, showing her somewhat predictable first impressions of China: dragons and braids, using both sides of large canvases. I was invited to join a group of mostly German and Dutch guests to a nearby restaurant to enjoy an extensive dinner with more food than we could manage. Just as I was about to return to Zeng Cuo An, I received a message from my new Chinese female friend Xiao Bai, who asked me to join her for a drink at the recently opened bar where we had first met just over a month ago (this being the second time I would see her). I was there a bit earlier, and shortly after I finished a well-brewed espresso, my Canadian friend David stepped inside with his American buddy Tom to play some pool. We had already started when Xiao Bai arrived, so she joined us for the next game.
The reason she wanted to see me was to talk about the ins-and-outs of relationships with foreigners, and in particular her recent experience with a Swede, and Sino-European encounters in general. Not that I'm such an expert on this, but I do have some experience in the matter. It wasn't the first time I got myself into the slightly ambiguous position of trying my best to be a supportive friend, while at the same time hardly able to suppress tender feelings towards this rather charming girl. It was already well after midnight when I brought her home on my bicycle, and subsequently turned around to find my own bed, but it definitely won't be the last time I see her.
The infra-structure is well developed though, with well-maintained roads, bike lanes, and an uninterrupted boardwalk along the 10 km stretch from Xiamen University in the South-West to the Convention Center on the East coast, with plenty of public toilets and park benches in between for relief.
I had spent Saturday afternoon at the first opening of the Chinese European Art Center in the year of the dragon, with an exhibition of paintings by German born, but Dutch resident Andrea Weigert, showing her somewhat predictable first impressions of China: dragons and braids, using both sides of large canvases. I was invited to join a group of mostly German and Dutch guests to a nearby restaurant to enjoy an extensive dinner with more food than we could manage. Just as I was about to return to Zeng Cuo An, I received a message from my new Chinese female friend Xiao Bai, who asked me to join her for a drink at the recently opened bar where we had first met just over a month ago (this being the second time I would see her). I was there a bit earlier, and shortly after I finished a well-brewed espresso, my Canadian friend David stepped inside with his American buddy Tom to play some pool. We had already started when Xiao Bai arrived, so she joined us for the next game.
The reason she wanted to see me was to talk about the ins-and-outs of relationships with foreigners, and in particular her recent experience with a Swede, and Sino-European encounters in general. Not that I'm such an expert on this, but I do have some experience in the matter. It wasn't the first time I got myself into the slightly ambiguous position of trying my best to be a supportive friend, while at the same time hardly able to suppress tender feelings towards this rather charming girl. It was already well after midnight when I brought her home on my bicycle, and subsequently turned around to find my own bed, but it definitely won't be the last time I see her.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Back in China
I met Ling Ling at Bangkok airport for our flight back to Macao. I had arrived in Bangkok the previous evening after a long but quite comfortable bus ride from Trat, after leaving Koh Kood in the morning. This time I had booked a room at the epicenter of the Bangkok tourist industry, near Khao San road. Just to get a glimpse of what I tried to avoid earlier. I was right, it is best to stay away from this area, unless you want to spend your time in Bangkok among hordes of loud tourists hanging out at beer gardens and Western restaurants, showing off their freshly set tattoos. Quite a culture shock coming from the serene tranquility of Koh Kood. Hopefully it can hold on to the peace for several years to come, until it almost unavoidably will also be run over by the tourist flood.
Upon arrival in Macao in the early evening we immediately headed for the border, and entered mainland China within the hour. There was no more bus to Nanning, so I had to spend the night in Zhuhai, to catch a daytime bus the following day. Time to say goodbye to Ling Ling, my lovely travel companion.
After 3 days of traveling since departing from Koh Kood, I arrived in Nanning in cold and wet weather, and checked in at the same hotel as last time, just outside the East gate of Guangxi University. It was already too late to meet Xiao An, but the next 5 days were well spent in her presence.
Now I'm in Xiamen again, and it feels good to be home. I still have a week to get organized before re-registering at Xiamen University on the 14th, and then on Monday the 20th classes will start again.
Upon arrival in Macao in the early evening we immediately headed for the border, and entered mainland China within the hour. There was no more bus to Nanning, so I had to spend the night in Zhuhai, to catch a daytime bus the following day. Time to say goodbye to Ling Ling, my lovely travel companion.
After 3 days of traveling since departing from Koh Kood, I arrived in Nanning in cold and wet weather, and checked in at the same hotel as last time, just outside the East gate of Guangxi University. It was already too late to meet Xiao An, but the next 5 days were well spent in her presence.
Now I'm in Xiamen again, and it feels good to be home. I still have a week to get organized before re-registering at Xiamen University on the 14th, and then on Monday the 20th classes will start again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)