I have had an amazing few days! Yesterday - Monday - we had the Opening Ceremony
for our Study China programme. It was lovely, and everyone from the university
was so kind and welcoming.
We posed for a group photo, then we had a tour of the university campus.
According to our tour guide, the campus of Beijing Normal University is smaller
than those of some other Beijing universities, as we are near the centre of the
city and land is expensive. However, the campus seems massive to me! Hopefully I
will learn my way around soon.
We then had a welcome dinner at a restaurant; this was very nice and
helped me to get to know some members of the group who I hadn't known that well
before. We then retired to bed for the night, ready for our first day of
lessons.
So Tuesday - today - we had three hours of classes in Mandarin Chinese,
and a two hour lecture which was an introduction to China and the Chinese
economy.
I had studied Mandarin before this trip; however I still found that I
learnt a lot during the lessons, and they helped in cementing what I already
knew. We had two different teachers, who each had their own teaching style but
were both really good. We learnt greetings, conversation, numbers and Chinese
pronunciation.
In our lecture in the afternoon we learnt all about China: about its
geography, the different provinces and regions, and the Chinese economy. It was
fascinating and I learnt a huge amount.
We were free for the rest of the day, and a group of us decided to visit
the Silk Market, a large shopping mall-type place, with lots of stalls selling
all sorts of products, from clothes to bags to jewellery to toys to tea. It was
an interesting experience and I got to know some more really nice people on the
trip.
We then went and ate at a restaurant together. We ended up in the heart of
Beijing, and it is amazing, with huge buildings and bright lights and a general
aura of power and magnificence. I don't know whose idea the Silk Market
excursion was, but I'm really grateful as I had a great evening.
So, that is the last two days summed up! I will post photos when I
can.
Thanks for reading,
Liz x
No comments:
Post a Comment