As I sat down to write this post, I started how I always do: looking through my physical documentation of the week- pictures. Where did I go? What did I eat? What was the highlight of my week? What was the most impactful experience I had? Looking through pictures of tea I drank, a hutong I walked through, a cute dog I saw outside of 7-11, and an obscure picture of a stuffed Kermit the Frog lying lifelessly on my friend’s floor I thought to myself, “How in the world am I going to connect these things?” But as I sit in the lively campus café writing this, I think about how out of the ordinary this is. I usually write my blogs in the comfort of my quiet bedroom where I can look out the window for inspiration. Instead, two friends and I are working together in the bright café’s book room, the sound of popular Western music clashing with chaotic Chinese chatter and the clank of the coffee machine.

I have yet to feel fully comfortable in many public places in China, as my existence in and of itself feels as though it’s a performance. The moment I walk into the cafeteria, the curtains come up and the spotlight shines down. I choke on my first few lines, stuttering my way through my order and smiling and nodding when the worker asks me a question I don’t understand. The audience is intrigued, all eyes are on me. What are they thinking? What did the foreigner choose to eat today? What did she decide to wear? And no matter how far you think the stage is from the audience, they all still gawk as you begin to eat. Are they laughing at my mediocre chopstick skills? They’re on the edge of their seats as I bring the first bite of rice to my mouth. A single piece drops, and it’s like the sound of it alone shatters the silence of the theater.

Despite this though, I’ve felt as though I’ve considerably branched out since I first got here. As I purchased a small ice cream bar at the café, the friendly worker and I stroke up a conversation in Chinese. She complimented my hairstyle today (it’s finally cool enough here to wear it down), and as I walked into the back of the café, I thought maybe everyone else was staring because they thought my hair looked nice, too.

It started last weekend when a group of my friends, my roommate, and I all went to dinner at the small restaurant across from our dorm. With little help from my roommate, we (almost) successfully ordered, then chatted over a large Chinese-style meal consisting of all of our favorite dishes. Afterwards, we took a group trip to the neighborhood convenience store to buy late-night snacks and cold drinks. The first few weeks I was here, this sort of thing made me feel nervous. I wasn’t yet acclimated to the area, the language, the way of life. I wouldn’t say I’ve fully acclimated yet, but I feel considerably more comfortable in these situations.

I also branched out of campus this week. On Wednesday, oddly enough, it seemed like all students’ homework was relatively little. Knowing this, we made plans to go to a small tea shop on another campus. It was about a ten-minute walk from our classroom building, and we sat in the shop for a while drinking our tea and chatting about the past few weeks and the weeks to come.

On Thursday, my class went on a field trip of sorts. This week, our topic of study was gender equality, so it only seemed fitting that our class go to one of Beijing’s national museums, the China National Museum of Women and Children (中国妇女儿童博物馆 in Chinese). It took us about 30 minutes by subway and a short walk through a hutong to get there. The weather and scenery were beautiful that day, and it was really exciting to be able to get off campus. The museum itself was beautiful inside and out. The architecture was very modern, the inside of the building very clean and open. We went early in the morning, so there weren’t many people there, meaning we could take our time and enjoy the museum at our own pace. It was really exciting for me, as it mentioned a lot of topics and history I learned back in my classes at K College (I even saw artifacts that I had studied in classes!).

My favorite portion of the museum was the hall of women in ancient China. I was surprised by this since my favorite period of Chinese history is the modern era, but I was most impressed by all of the real, ancient artifacts this museum had. I’ve taken about three ancient Chinese history classes, none of which ever really intrigued me, but being able to see the real things we studied in class completely changed my perspective. I have such great appreciation for China’s deep, impactful history.

That same evening, I went to (finally!) open my Chinese bank account. While I haven’t been able to fully appreciate the convenience of this yet, it’s still exciting. I guess you could say I’ve branched out from using cash? Maybe one of these days I’ll try ordering some stuff on Taobao! 😆 That night, we all gathered in a classroom and studied together for our test the next day. We joked around in Chinese, and we were even able to work together and help each other understand different vocab terms and sentence structures. One of my classmates ordered a giant pizza and we all snacked on a slice.

Yesterday, I went far out in Beijing, the furthest I’ve been yet. One of my friends had an appointment at the international hospital in Beijing, which is about an hour and a half by subway from where we live. I accompanied her so that she wouldn’t have to go on her own. Even though the trip there was long and tiring (we had to stand on the ride there) I was glad I went because not only do I now have a handle on going there in case I need to but also her and I got to know each other better. We even walked around the area while we waited for some test results to come back. It was a beautiful area!

That night, she and another friend of ours all went out to eat at my favorite restaurant on campus (even though the cafeteria has endless options, you sometimes need a change of scenery). This is the first time we’ve ever gone out to eat on our own. It was a lot easier and a lot less scary than I thought it would be. We ate delicious pork wraps, potatoes, broccoli, and sweet steamed buns.

I wasn’t able to go on the hiking trip this weekend to the Great Wall (intense inclines that I wouldn’t have been able to hike due to my knees). Part of me feels saddened by this, especially after seeing pictures taken there, but I hope that one day I can come back to China and choose what part of the Wall I visit and go at my own pace. This may not stick true to “branching out” during my time here, but I know that I made the right choice.

A few of my friends stayed on campus, so we have plans to do stuff together. We’re planning to go to a popular mall in Beijing to look around and hopefully buy some souvenirs (more on that next week)!