Today was my first day in Beijing. Today was our first of two days of orientation, so we were up bright and early, despite everyone being pretty tired from travel. Around 8, we split up into groups and walked around Bei Wai, short for Beijing Foreign Studies University, where the IES program is housed. The campus itself actually isn't that large, though you do have to trek quite a bit from one end to the other because a huge freeway goes right through the middle. Our main order of business was to go to the supermarket to purchase some basic goods. The store itself had several different floors, but for the most part was pretty organized. I was surprised that there were so many American brands available, especially when it came to daily household necessities. But for the most part, I was pretty stingy and just bought whatever was cheapest. The difference in price was staggering. I bought two towels, toilet paper (more on this later), soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent all for around $25. Considering that this will probably last me the entire summer, it is quite a bargain. However, packaged goods are still far more expensive in comparison to items sold by street vendors. For instance, for breakfast we each bought a bag of jiaozi (dumplings) for around 70 cents. My first real encounter with culture shock came when I was at the checkout line at the supermarket. I put my basket on the counter and was pulling out some cash when the woman working the register quickly asked me something in Chinese. Up to this point, everyone who I had come in contact with assumed that I couldn't speak Chinese, so I was a little thrown off by the simple question: do you want to buy a bag for this? It's not a complicated question, obviously, but not only was I assuming the person would speak English, I assumed that supermarkets in Beijing would provide you with a bag free of charge. I guess one of the first things you learn when you're thrown into a completely different culture is that some of your most basic assumptions and habits don't necessarily apply. Almost subconsciously, I had made two separate assumptions, both of which turned out to be wrong. Anyway, after giving her a look of sheer confusion for a few seconds she did her best to point at the bag and hold up one finger, and I quickly threw out some Chinese to at least try and show I wasn't completely incompetent.

When I got back to my room, my Chinese roommate had finally arrived and was studying quietly at his desk. All the students at Bei Wai have finals next week, and thus are diligently studying most of the day. I was amazed when he told me how much studying he had to get through. He seems really nice, but the cultural gap between us is extremely large and was immediately evident upon meeting him. He is from a relatively small (300,000 population) town which is several hours by train from Beijing. His English was pretty good (much better than my Chinese) but he said he didn't speak it very often, though most of his classes were conducted in English. I explained in Chinese how I was very tired from my flight and how the plane was pretty old and that the Beijing airport was extremely impressive. I asked him if he had ever been to the United States and he simply answered, "no, I have never been on a plane before". I realized that I had made another assumption when talking about my flight and griping about a few features of the plane. In the United States, everyone has been on a plane. It had not crossed my mind that he would have not had that experience. Nevertheless, he was genuinely interested in everything I had to say and we had a good conversation that wove in and out of Chinese based on the complexity of the topics.

Later, we went around the block to a convenience store so I could buy some water. To that point, the weather had been fairly hot and muggy, and I was getting used to not ever being able to see blue sky. But as we walked out of the shop, the skies opened and there was a massive downpour. I was startled, as just a few minutes ago it had probably been 90 degrees outside. I was ready to just run through the rain back to the dorm; it was only half a minute away. Rain was nothing special back home. He, on the other hand, would have no part of it. He ushered me inside a neighboring dorm and we sat in the lobby until it stopped raining, nearly 15 minutes later. He wanted no part of walking in the rain. It actually was quite pleasant in the lobby, and we continued our conversation. I was surprised at how he didn't seem to be in a hurry, despite being extremely busy (though he wouldn't admit it). This is one thing I have discovered about Chinese people that I wouldn't have guessed. Despite having a strict government and being crammed into a massive city like Beijing,  the people are very laid-back and patient. I have not met one person yet who has become impatient with my lack of Chinese, and everyone has been very friendly and helpful. It is certainly quite different than America.

For lunch all the IES students and teachers went to a Chinese restaurant for a prototypical Chinese family dinner. This means that all the food is in the center and everyone has a little of everything. This really promotes a sense of community, even in the simplicity of a meal. Not to mention you are able to try a wide array of foods, rather than being trapped by the dish you order at a normal American restaurant. After lunch we had quick individual oral tests, and some people had to take a written test. I had already completed the test online, so I was exempt. This is probably a good thing, because I'm sure my character writing is a little rusty after a month without Chinese class. Later that afternoon, I went with two other guys to check out the Bei Wai gym. Despite being students of the university, you don't have free access to the gym. The building itself is a pretty impressive structure, with a huge lobby that overlooks an Olympic-sized swimming pool (built in preparation for the 2008 games). However, the weight room was pretty lackluster. It was a little like the plane I flew on to Beijing. It got the job done, but it definitely wasn't luxurious. It was after about 15 minutes of exercise that I realized how exhausted I really was. Until then I hadn't really felt the effects of jet lag, but it soon caught up to me. I managed to get a decent work out in. I found it a little annoying that all of the weights were measured in kilograms instead of pounds.

The rest of the day was more orientation stuff. Nothing too exciting. Day 1 is over. Tomorrow is another day of orientation, and finally classes on Monday. Hopefully my next post will be written while not under the effects of jet lag. Until then, 再见。