Beijing

Welcome back to China Time everyone! It's been about two weeks since I've last updated you on what's been going on over on the other side of the world so there is a lot to say. I started my program two weeks ago (hence the stoppage of posts) and it has been going quite well so far. We have a language pledge that lasts all the way to  the end of the program, so I can't speak English for two whole months (unless I'm talking to my parents or helping lost tourists in Beijing)! My classes start at 8 am and go until noon which I find to be quite a marathon of repeating grammar patterns and vocabulary. The last hour is a one-on-one session where I can talk freely about the text, or anything I chose with my teacher which I really enjoy because it is a great break from the recitation and drilling in the previous three hours. After class I usually eat lunch in the Chinese student cafeteria (there is a international student cafeteria as well) and play cards with a few of my friends. The homework load in my level is surprisingly lite (five hours a day) compared to other levels, but I guess the teachers expect high quality out of us. The school that the my program is hosted in is really small with only 300 actual students. The location is great for getting a ten minute cab ride to some of Beijing's most fun destinations and is only a ten minute walk away from the subway which will take you almost anywhere in the city.
The weekends I think are what keep everyone's heads screwed on right because if we didn't get any time off with such a heavy schedule we would all be going crazy by now. The usual weekend activities include heading out to some of Beijing's more international districts to meet up with other friends studying at other universities and eating out at a few of the western restaurants (which have very authentic food). If my friends and I are not out in the more international areas we will go to Gui Street and eat hot pot, fresh seafood, or some just plain weird stuff. Later in the evening we might go to KTV (karaoke) for a few hours and sing Chinese and English songs. Going to KTV in China is like going to an upscale restaurant because each one is just so incredibly high tech and high class. The English songs selection is about ten years out of date but that just makes singing the Backstreet Boys justifiable...
The food in China is nothing short of amazing. This morning I ate a square, pizza like flat bread and three beef kebabs, all for eight RMB (so about $1.30). The western restaurants in Beijing also come with western prices, but if you're on a budget you can't beat the street food. There are all kinds of really cool night markets, food streets, and small food karts scattered across the city making finding food in Beijing just as easy as actually eating it.
So I've got another six weeks here in Beijing before heading to Taiwan for a week then back to the US. I'll try to keep everyone more up-to-date on my adventures and such so expect more reglar blog posts from here on out!