On Technology and Life

Oh technology, thou art a double edged sword.

On the one hand, the technological advances have been fantastic. When I was in Germany a couple years ago, the only contact I had with home is a once-weekly phone call. Looking back, I'm not entirely sure how I managed 8 weeks without email, but back then I didn't really use it, I guess (Besides, I should be able to survive w/o email for 8 weeks even now...but with school, it's kind of impossible). Nowadays, between Skype and Facebook, I'm not missing anything more at home than I would if I was in Chicago. Especially Skype is really convenient - first because it's free, but also because I can make my sister show me my room, to ensure that she hasn't taken over it or turned it into a storage facility.

Of course, the downside to knowing what's going on at home also means I know what's going on in Chicago. I've gotten so many Facebook invites to cool events that I would love to go to, save for the fact that I'm about 10,000 miles away right now. Realizing that life goes on without you is a weird feeling, though I hope that doesn't sound too arrogant. I had a RSO committee meeting that was in the Reynolds club, and I was on skype. Getting to see such a familiar landmark, and realizing that all my friends were having a normal school quarter in Chicago was kind of weird. Cognitively, we know life continues regardless of whether you're their or not. But actually seeing it going on is kind of weird...makes you realize that you're pretty expendable, and life won't stop when you die. This post kind of veered off topic from what I was planning, but I guess these musings could lead to a bold statement - studying abroad is like dying? :)

Irony

The other night, I dreamed about the Seattle Airport (the point of departure/arrival in the US for me on this trip, a point that will make sense in a moment). I was standing in the middle of their food court, trying to decide what to eat in celebration of my return to the US. I glanced at Pizza Hut, but it was really crowded, so I decided against it. I turned to my right, and there was a Panda Express, and I thought "Woah! Don't want that my first day back!". I distinctly remember they had kung pao chicken on the menu, as well as beef with green peppers. I then stood in front of Wendy's, debating whether I wanted a frosty or a piece of chocolate cake from the place across the food court.

I woke up, and the first thought that came to my head was how ironic it was that I was dreaming about being in the Seattle airport eating, when the name of my blog is Dreaming in Chinese, and I'm supposed to be dreaming about China, right?

Halfway Point!

Today marks the halfway point between my arrival in China and my departure, which is simultaneously exciting and sad. It's hard to believe how far I've come since the first few days when I was so homesick I made this countdown, how many experiences I've had and unexpected encounters, and how fast it's gone!

One one hand, I'm really, really excited to go home. I'm loving China, but I miss the quiet of Montana and Chicago, the lack of people, and especially the food. I'm looking forward to being back in a place where I don't have to carefully consider my interactions with people; living in a foreign country can be tiring, because you have to think and be aware so much more than at home. On the other hand, I'm really going to be sad to leave China. I've loved getting to see a culture so completely different than my own, and I've had a ton of experiences I never could have had in the States. I've gotten to meet so many people, even some other UChicago students that I might not have met otherwise. I've loved getting to try authentic Chinese food, and I love that Chinese is beginning to roll off my tongue a little bit easier.

I think it's safe to say my departure will be bittersweet- I'm so looking forward to being home, both Montana and Chicago. But leaving will mean saying goodbye to Beijing Roast Duck and Hot Pot, too, and will mean my study abroad experience is over. Though at this point, I'm still only halfway, and talking about saying goodbye might be putting the cart in front of the horse. I've had a lot of great experiences, but a lot more still to come. What's that poem about miles to go before I sleep? :)

It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Finals...

Because my classes here are back to back for three weeks each, not running simultaneously, I have a final paper due tomorrow.

Prior to now, it hasn't really felt like being at school/UChicago - more just a vacation where I'm having fun and messing around taking a class on ancient China for the heck of it.

The language, the city, and the class itself may change, but the feeling doesn't. It's that choking feeling of the stress mounting, realizing that you are utterly and completely out of ideas for the final paper due tomorrow. It's the rushing to scarf down lunch so you can get back to work, though it's a little more difficult when you're eating rice with chopsticks. It's buying dinner now so you don't actually have to stop work to eat, and it's the feeling that if you can just make it until Thursday night you'll be okay. It's only compounded by the fact that I have another project for one of my extracurriculars due on Friday, so I definitely feel like I'm at UChicago, just with slightly poorer air quality. Oh UChicago, how I've missed you. :)

We leave for Xi'an tomorrow night, so between that and the final paper/other project, I likely won't update again until next Monday. Now, about that paper...

3 Days Until China!

Well, technically four. But I leave for China in three days, even though I don't get there for 4 more days. I figured before I leave, it would be wise to do a background post on this blog, so anybody who discovers it years from now in a google search has a hazy idea of who I am and what I'm doing.

This blog is intended to catalog my adventures (hopefully not misadventures!) abroad in Beijing, while I'm there studying abroad. I started the blog for several reasons:
1. It's an easy way to keep a journal of my experiences abroad, and keep my friends and family updated while I'm gone.
2. I've scoured the internet looking for blogs about living in China so I'd have a better idea about what it will be like, so hopefully this will be useful for other students thinking about going to China, or just studying abroad in general.
3. I'm a Gilman Scholarship Recipient, which is helping to fund my study abroad. As part of our requirements, we have to complete a follow-on project, which involved sharing our experience abroad w/ others after we get back. This blog is part of it - I'll also give a presentation at school during Winter quarter.

Finally, as to the name of this blog: The night before my Chinese 102 spoken final during Winter quarter last year, I dreamed in Chinese. Seriously. It's never happened since, although it would be pretty cool if it was a common occurrence, but it only happened once. It served as the inspiration for my Gilman essay, so it seemed logical (and pretty cool) to name my blog Dreaming in Chinese, too. I was going to post that Gilman essay, but unfortunately, it seems to have disappeared from my computer, so this slightly less dramatic and eloquent (at least, I like to think) explanation will have to do. (Funnily enough, my brilliant idea was not original. There's already another Dreaming in Chinese blog on blogspot [dreaminginchinese.blogspot.com], so I had to insert dashes in my title. Nothing new under the sun, I suppose)

Also, please leave comments/questions for me. I'd love to know that people are actually reading this. :)

~Karissa