Tomorrow marks exactly two weeks until I leave for China (and Domenic moves into his dorm at Drake!). I decided that I better actually do something to prepare myself for leaving, and D and I took a lovely trip to Barnes and Noble where I bought the items pictured above: Lonely Planet’s guide to China (complete with a section in Shijiazhuang), a learning guide to the “basics of Mandarin”, and a phrasebook and dictionary. The dictionary includes how to say things like, “No, I don’t want to eat pigeon/dog/blood sausage”…but I don’t see myself saying I don’t want to eat many things. In fact, trying bizarre things that most people in the U.S. would find disgusting is on the very top of my to-do list.
I’ve uploaded all of the language lesson plans to my iPod…whether or not I actually listen to them in my car is yet to be determined. (Note: who came up with Pinyin? I feel like they had a very cruel sense of humor.)
What I’ve found interesting is that I’ve had emotional meltdowns about moving to China throughout the summer (well, meltdowns for me – normal reactions for regular people), but for some reason, the two week mark has just served to kick my butt into gear over my anxiety. Although, I guess that is true to form…. Anyone remember my senior-year-long breakdown about not wanting to graduate until the last three weeks before when I was like, “Eh, I’m ready to be done with this already”?
My goals for the rest of the week include getting familiar with the highly confusing (for me, at least) pinyin pronunciations and dragging myself through a “practice pack” to see what I can fit in my suitcases and what I should think about leaving behind or having my parents FedEx. I can’t wait to use my new purple luggage!
(Note: I'm trying out this blog instead of my other one.. I think I like this layout better.)
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