Friday 10/9/08

Yesterday was the Midterm exam. It is very hard to cram 200 words/idioms into your head for a test. It is also very hard to memorize a bunch of grammar based solely on the 1 example in the book and quickly jotted down notes in Chinese that are often illegible and almost always unintelligible 2.5 weeks later. I’ve heard various things about the levels 1&2 tests. Most people said they were very reasonable and many said easy. I can say with only a little bit of exaggeration, however, that if I am not put on immediate academic probation after that test they’re not grading it properly. No that’s a lot of exaggeration-- I think. But it was tough, very tough. We were given 2 hours to do the test and 3 hours later I handed in my paper with the rest of the class and was still not done. I tend to feel a calm relief after tests and a sharp anxiety when they are being handed back. Realizing that I could conceivably get everything on a test wrong filled me with a strange elation. I think I should do that more often.

Interesting side note: There are access holes to the sewage system here everywhere. I think that the infrastructure of Nankai University is very old and can’t handle the current population. This is the only explanation I can come up with for why I see men everyday ladling sewage from multiple holes in the street in buckets. Sometimes you don’t see them you just see where they spilled on the street. (No, Mom, I am not barefoot.) This occurred to me just a little bit ago. I suspected that they were just transporting sewage to fill the University pond but I think old infrastructure is more likely. How the sewage gets in the pond remains a mystery…I suspect leprechauns.

Today in class we watched a movie called 活着 (To Live.) I was very impressed. It was funny, sad, well acted, well directed. I highly recommend it. Lydia and the most vertically challenged of the teachers (not one of my teachers) cried. I think, twice. It wasn’t really all that sad. It was, I thought, very similar in style and message to “Life is Beautiful.” It was nice though to rest a little. It’s been a while since I’ve felt well rested. The people on this trip are all very good academically. There is no competition but I feel like there is an unspoken standard of work that just weighs on you. Also, although the homework load is very manageable our days are always very full and the amount of information we are supposed to understand, retain, and use in conversation is very overwhelming. (This is probably just true for me.)