From Brie Katzianer

May 18, 2010

Thirteen-hour flight, check. Conquering China’s capital (and the Great Wall), check. Seeing the pandas, check. Tim capturing awkwardly candid moments on video, check. China has been a blast so far. I had the time of my life in Beijing, and visiting the Panda Reserve in Chengdu and exploring the Chinese nightlife there was incredible. Everyone enjoyed our short adventures in Beijing and Chengdu, I’m sure; but the activities that have been keeping us so busy in Chongqing are equally refreshing. I have loved interacting with my CTBU partner, and she has been more than accommodating. I’ve also been enjoying the food, believe it or not. I’m addicted to the greens, ask Kaitlyn. And spending virtually no money on dinner, I could get used to that. The only thing that has been difficult is communicating with people who are outside of the university. Although it doesn’t pose a huge problem, it’s a strange feeling being on the opposite end of a language barrier. It also doesn’t help that I keep responding to Mandarin with Spanish. Being out of my comfort zone is uncomfortable sometimes, as I’m sure it is for everyone, but it’s also been a hugely liberating experience. I feel like I’m on a never-ending adventure, literally. I feel like we’ve already been here for a month and it’s only been 12 days. The students here are so sweet and they really do love being around us, which is an awesome thing. One student, William, even said I look like Beyonce. And with so many Chinese staring and pointing at me, then whispering to each other (I’m certain it’s about my height), I really do feel like Beyonce. The whole rock star thing is pretty cool.

Even though the driving here is terrifying, the city is beautiful and I’m enjoying every minute of it. The walk along the river downtown the other night was awesome, the skyline was gorgeous. I am looking forward to the next 2 weeks and the only unsettling thing looming (quite literally) in front of us is the trek through this hilly campus. I am loving my time in China and I know that I’m going to go home wanting to use chopsticks and eat the chrysanthemums out of my tea. I think I’m going to return to the States having left my heart in Beijing.