I can’t believe I just took my midterm for Chinese. While it makes me 
happy to see all the progress I have accomplished, I also feel sad that in a few weeks I will be heading back home. China has been a great experience and I have learned so much from it
As a part of our program, we are encouraged to participate in a Chinese speech contest. In it, we write a small speech on “China through my eyes.” After that, we are asked a series of random questions. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a part of it because I thought I wasn’t going to do very well. Fortunately, my professor encouraged me to participate. I still can’t believe it, but I ended up getting first place! It was a great feeling to see how far I’ve come with Chinese.
Another great aspect of this trip has been all the different types of food I’ve been able to try! I’ve tried so many noodles, each one with a unique aspect to it.
My favorite one so far has been beef noddles of the
Sichuan region. It has a little spicy kick to it, and it’s delicious! I’ve also been trying all sorts of dumplings, and as of right now I still can’t decide which one is my favorite one. I even had the opportunity to make my own dumplings!
I also had the opportunity to take a weekend trip to Beijing. It was a 5 hour trip in the bullet train from Shanghai. In Beijing, I got to visit Tiananmen square, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Olympic Park, and the Great Wall! Going to the Great Wall was one of those things I couldn’t leave without doing. Despite the troubles we had getting there (we almost missed our bus), seeing the great wall was truly an amazing experience. As a part of my Beijing trip, I also tried one of their traditional plates, Pekin Duck or 北京烤鸭 in Chinese!! It was also very delicious, and it is defiantly something I would like to eat again before I leave.