ACC, what do you want from me?

Needless to say, my grades haven't been as rosy as they were at the beginning of the program. I've almost given up all hope of getting an A in my "changing faces of modern china" class, but I've still got a shot in my Media class (it's not a media class by our standards; we really just read old, formal essays etc...). I've become a bit disillusioned, but I'm still enjoying myself. My tones are improving a ton, and that's one of the main reasons that I came here.

David and I met up with our host family yesterday. They cooked a feast. Our papa took us to the antique market afterward, and it was glorious. I wanted to buy everything, but there would be no way for me to get it all home-- not to mention the fact that I have five more months in China. Also, my host mom is a total badass (see the second picture) and
easily one of the coolest people I've ever met. The only problem is that our host family isn't particularly skilled when it comes to striking up conversation, so we sit in silence a lot of the time.

Amy and I found the Beijing Sanrio store last night. I've come to terms with the fact that the sole reason I am a Chinese major is because people over here don't think it's weird when I wear hello kitty clips in my hair or use a hello kitty wallet etc... I was probably born on the wrong continent, but whatevs.

On Friday after our test, the fourth year students went to the Lu Xun museum. It was so awesome! I'm so happy that I had a pretty good background from East Asian studies with Howard and Frost because I'm not quite as lost when we read his short stories. The Lu Xun museum is built around where he lived with his mother and wife in Beijing for a while in the 1920s. I might go back some time if I ever have any free time.

Speaking of free time, I'm going on vacation next weekend! http://wikitravel.org/en/Datong Super excited! We are taking over night trains there and back, and that frightens me a tiny bit. I've done the overnight train thing in Europe, but something tells me China will be a bit different. This vacation marks the halfway point of my summer program. Crazy. After ACC finishes, I'm planning on taking a trip to Nanjing to see Cooper and Richard before heading to Kunming for the fall semester. I'm ridiculously lucky and spoiled.

Love you all!