The Saint

Issue date: 4/23/10 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Michael Finn

"Are you ready for this?"

As if stuck on repeat, that question flitted through my mind thousands of times as I sat awaiting the first of my two flights to Beijing. After all, who would not be anxious about living 7,000 miles from home on another continent for a semester?

Two months I've lived here since that day, and I finally have my answer: I have never been more ready.

I suppose I should have checked to see if dormitories provided toilet paper, or bought a voltage adapter before leaving. But annoying as they might have been at the time, those slight stumbles only added to the experience of living here.

There are bits of daily Chinese life that a tourist will never encounter.

Beijing is huge. That much is readily apparent 10 seconds off the plane. But only after taking a taxi through heavily congested roads, wandering through countless open air markets and gardens, and traveling tens of square miles on the light rail/subway system do you fully understand its immensity.

The campus of Tsinghua University, our host university, is easily large enough to accommodate two Dahlonegas inside it with room left over for several sports fields. The undergraduate population alone numbers approximately 40,000.

Thankfully, I'm joined by three other North Georgia students: Cadet Adam Fisk, a sophomore International Affairs major; Cadet Jeremiah Mitchell, a junior Business major; and Ricky Jackson, a sophomore Political Science major.

All of us decided to stay over there at the same time to fulfill the study abroad requirement for a minor in Chinese. Living here would be tough without friends whose native language is English.

In order to discover our Chinese proficiency, we were given an aptitude examination and then placed in leveled classes based on relative skill. Several students came knowing zero Chinese. They signed their names on the test and left.

The food here in Beijing eclipses the attempts at Chinese in America. Since the exchange rate is roughly 6.85 Yuan to 1 U.S. dollar, it's easy and cheap to fill up on delicious and authentic Chinese food.

Unfortunately, there are some unsavory items that pop up in Chinese food with alarming frequency, namely bones, cartilage and fat. A few days ago, I even ate a heart. It would seem that anything that appears even remotely edible will make an appearance in one dish or another.

Travel in Beijing, whether on foot, bicycle, or scooter, is inordinately hazardous to life and limb. Traffic laws seem to be almost suggestions or jokes, and it's not heartening when the police are too afraid to venture into traffic to issue citations.

Oddly enough, there are very few traffic accidents. I think traffic in Beijing has evolved to the point where it has become a hive-mind entity. Either that or in order to get a Chinese driving license, you must successfully navigate Beijing traffic without flattening any pedestrians or cyclists.

Beijing is rich in culture, with historic sites such as the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the ancient Silk Market.

The first landmark we explored was the Forbidden City, a Chinese architectural masterpiece. The main attractions of the Forbidden City are the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the exact center of Beijing, it contains 980 surviving buildings constructed from 1406-1420.

Soon after visiting the Forbidden City, we decided to venture into the Xidan Commercial District, the major shopping area of Beijing.

Shopping in Beijing is vastly different from shopping in America. In most of the open-air markets and small shops, shopkeepers use the haggling system. And they will try to gouge the wealth right out of you, especially if you are foreign.

I couldn't go more than two steps without someone accosting me in broken English, trying to get me to buy something. By now, we've all become somewhat adept at negotiating the prices down to comfortable levels. Or maybe the Chinese shopkeepers are all laughing at the foolish foreigners.

The social niceties and etiquette here require a bit of adaptation. The Chinese are unfailingly polite people, but Chinese politeness is vastly different from American politeness.

Because there are so many people living so close together, privacy is nigh unknown. To counter this, Chinese people don't make eye contact and typically keep their gaze on the ground.

On the whole, the Chinese have no concept of personal space. They will pack into subways, elevators and queues. This can be unnerving for people used to a measure of elbow room.

The thing that bothered us was the staring. Because of our pale skin, lighter hair, and round eyes, the four of us have been gawked at, eyed, watched and scoped out.

Chinese curiosity is obvious and forthright. The best counter I have is to stare right back until they feel self-conscious and look away.

Education is taken far more seriously here than in the States, and the competition for the coveted China Government Scholarships is fierce.

Though the reason for our exchange is to learn Chinese, the experience of living here for six months is much more valuable than merely studying. I am absolutely certain that this is an experience the four of us will remember and cherish for the rest of our lives.

And it isn't over yet.

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