As the end of the school year approaches, I find myself daydreaming more and more about my experiences to come in Beijing. I seem to alternate between excitement and anxiety about the summer--excitement about finally visiting the country whose language I have been studying for the past year, and anxiety about how quickly and fully I'll be able to adjust to the Chinese way of life. Certainly, everything we were told at the predeparture orientation meeting about thinking and not just reacting to differences in culture sounds reasonable in theory, but it's just starting to hit me that I've never actually visited a completely foreign country before. Even when I visit Korea, my "motherland," it's sometimes hard for me to deal with the little changes such as stricter table manners and higher emphasis on physical appearance. In the end though, I always manage to adapt; and having spoken with former Light Fellows, it seems as though I'll definitely enjoy this experience immensely, as long as I go in with an open mind (and an empty stomach).
Before I get too ahead of myself though, some acknowledgments are in order. I give many thanks to the Light Fellowship and Yale for financing this opportunity to immerse myself in the language and culture of China. I also thank the Duke Study in China Program for accepting me--all of my Light money would have been of no use, otherwise. And finally, I thank my Chinese 115 teachers for their excellent instruction over the course of the past two semesters and for encouraging me to apply for the fellowship.
I am still amazed at how smoothly everything came together to allow me to go to Beijing and study Chinese this summer.
Some logistical details: I'm leaving LAX at 1:40 am (!!) on June 12 for a nonstop flight to PEK. Duke Study in China Program starts on June 14 and ends on August 8. I'm flying to Seoul on August 11 and returning to Beijing on August 22, then immediately flying back to LAX. I get to spend two more days with my family before flying to New Haven for Camp Yale. It's all rather convoluted, but I think/hope things will work out when the time comes.
This will probably be my last post until I'm in China. For now, I must finish off freshman year with a bang. 加油！
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