Woohoo! No more language pledge! Finally I can unleash my real personality on you unsuspecting internets. Actually, though, it is very interesting getting to know people while speaking a foreign language. Some people can express themselves and convey their personality pretty well, but other people (like me) come across as dull, watered-down mere echoes of their true form. I think your ability to accurately portray your character in a foreign language depends mainly on two factors: your grasp of the language, and how much your personality depends on the intricacies of your native language. One outstanding aspect of my personality is my quick wit, often manifesting itself as searing quips (did you bring your aloe), and clever word play. In a foreign language, however, one lacks the finesse and mastery of subtlety required to pull this kind of performance off.

Speaking of performance, last weekend our program held a performance/talent show event. Students were encouraged to perform skits, sing, dance, or anything, really, as long as it was in Chinese. I penned a brilliant satire in which I poked fun at our head teacher and pointed out a few funny, oft-repeating situations in class. I of course played the part of Professor Zhou (who is the head of the Chinese department at Princeton). In the skit Professor Zhou is giving the new PiB teachers some instruction on how to deal with tricky situations in class. Most of the bits are inside jokes, so I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say I had to stop a few times to wait for the raucous laughter to die down. I do have a video of it though, so I can put that on Youtube or something.

Yesterday I woke up at 4:15am to start the final leg of my journey. I had a disastrous time trying to check out of the dorm, but finally got that squared away. I caught a PiB arranged shuttle bus to the airport, and in no time made it to Taibei safe and sound. Auntie Jia was at the airport to meet me (holding a sign with my Chinese name written on it). On the way back to her house we stopped to buy a few things, then made it home and got settled in. Her house is pretty sweet, especially compared to the dorms at PiB! Today we met up with a bunch of family for lunch. It was a good time meeting everyone, and I think some of them might be playing tour guide for me later this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday I'm gonna hang out with two classmates from PiB. They are the two mixed sisters I mentioned before (Kim and Sam). They are pretty familiar with Taiwan, so they are gonna drag me around to their favorite places. I think they most of all can attest to my radically different personality when speaking English.

Weeks Five and Six

這兩個星期過得不錯。上個週二打了一次網球。我找到了一個三年級的網球夥伴，他特別厲害！他非常擅長打網球，打得比我好多了。還有，他認識我大學的朋友 Atsushi，真巧。昨天我跟一個同學出去逛逛街，買些東西。她和她的妹妹都是普北班的學生，而且也是混血兒（台灣/美國，跟美麗一樣）。其實，普北班的混血兒挺多的，好像他們都在探究自己文化身份的一個方面。

我們星期五考完試以後去扔飛盤。我扔的還可以，但很多同學仍得很棒。甚至有一個同學參加過真正的大學非盤比賽，她果然扔得最好。

告訴你們一個秘密，我最進對珍珠奶茶上癮了。簡直太好喝了。差不多每天都起碼喝一杯。更危險的是他們會外送到宿舍，所以我們埋頭讀書的時候，只要打個電話，奶茶就奇跡般的突然出現。不過，不僅是奶茶，西方快餐廳也會外送。麥當勞，賽百味，肯德基都會把他們的食品送到你家裡。雖然我不常吃快餐，但住在這個又發達又便捷的城市不言而喻很容易就變得疏懶成性！

These past two weeks have been pretty good. I played tennis last Tuesday. I found a PiB 3rd year student to play with. He is very good at tennis, much better than me. And he knows my college friend Atsushi. What a coincidence! Yesterday I went shopping with a classmate. She and her sister are both PiB students, and also biracial (Taiwanese/American) like Emily. [Emily's note: I am half Chinese/half American, not half Taiwanese.] As a matter of fact, there are quite a few biracial students in PiB, as if they are searching for part of their cultural identity.

After the exam on Friday, we played frisbee. I threw ok, but quite a few classmates were great. One particular classmate even participated in an official college frisbee competition. She threw the best.

Now I'll tell you a secret: I am addicted to pearl milk tea. [Emily's note: also called "bubble tea."] It is delicious. I pretty much drink at least one cup everyday. The fact that the bubble tea shop will deliver makes it even more dangerous. When we are buried in our studies, all we need to do is to call, and the milk tea will miraculously appear. Besides delivering pearl milk tea, they also deliver western fast food. McDonald's, Subway, and KFC can all be delivered to your door. Although I don’t eat fast food often, it is easy to become lazy living in this well developed and convenient city.

Third and Fourth Weeks

這兩個星期很不錯。可以說我完全適應了普北班的學習節奏。這個週末是我們所謂的長週末，但只不過有三天而已。週三和週四有了期中考試。星期三是口試，就是說話的那個部分，然後星期四有筆試。這次筆試簡直太過分了。一共需要寫一千字的作文，最後只能以亂寫了事。

上個上個星期我們去看一出雜技，蠻好看的。表演比較像"cirque de soleil"，但規模小點。第二天我跟一位老師打乒乓球。可以說我遭到了一頓痛打，所以我們就不談這個了。還沒打過網球，但這個週末可能有機會了。這個週末我本來打算去上海看看世博會，可是聽到同學關於世博會的經歷以後，就改變了主意。他們都贊美世博會是一個排隊的好機會。必須排兩三個小時的隊才能進去一個國家的館。

我雖然決定不去上海，但還是肯定要騎馬一次離開北京。結果，我們昨天去了一趟天津。我們是坐彈速快車去的，特別快！我們達到了330公里/小時，所以只要半個小時就到了！大體上說天津有點枯燥無味，但我還是享受看中國的另外一座城市。至少天津的老外比北京少多了，討厭那些洋鬼子！吃晚飯的時候，有一對兒男女朋友跟我們一起吃。看到他們是怎麼對彼此說話什麼的讓我很想美麗:(。

今天我們有安排去盲人按摩院，應該很有意思。我也很想去看那部"inception"的電影。有人看過嗎？我聽說在科幻方面比"matrix"還厲害。好，今天就寫到這兒！

These have been two pretty good weeks. I can say that I have adapted completely to the tempo of PiB. This weekend was a “long weekend”, but it was only three days. We had midterm exams on Wednesday and Thursday, an oral exam on Wednesday and a written exam on Thursday. The written exam was excessive, requiring a composition of one thousand words. In the end, I could only scribble to get it over with.

We saw an acrobatic show the week before last. It was entertaining. The performance was much like “cirque du soleil," but on a smaller scale. I played table tennis with my teacher the next day and got defeated badly. Therefore I shall drop the topic. I haven’t played tennis yet, but I may have an opportunity to play tennis this weekend. I was going to Shanghai to see the World Expo, but changed my mind after hearing my classmate’s experience. They said the World Expo is an excellent opportunity for standing in line. You have to wait for 2-3 hours before getting into any country’s exhibit.

Even though we decided not to go to Shanghai, we still wanted to get out of Beiijng. Therefore we took a trip to Tianjin yesterday. We took the super fast bullet train. The train reached 330 km per hour. It took only half an hour. Generally speaking, Tianjin is a bit dull, but we enjoyed seeing a different city in China. There are fewer foreigners in Tianjin than Beijing. Foreigners are such a nuisance. At supper time, I saw a young couple at the restaurant. Watching how they talked to each other made me miss Emily very much. :(

Today we are going to visit a blind-massage parlor. (They trained blind people to work as massage therapists as a way of making a living.) It should be interesting. I would like to see the movie “Inception”. Has anyone seen it yet? I heard that the special effects are even better than “The Matrix”. OK, I'll stop writing here today.

Second Week

第二個星期終於結束了！工作量比第一個星期大一些，但因為學生適應了項目的節奏，所以第二個興起和第一個還是差不了多少。今天終於“打開了”我的iPhone，就可以用它打電話什麼的。我本打算不買手機或者SIM卡，轉念一想就發現跟同學保持聯系還是挺重要的。這兩天一直在下雨。雖然這種天氣不適合在外面運動，可是溫度變得很涼快，舒服多了。今天我也洗了衣服。宿舍有一些洗衣機，但只有一台乾衣機。不知道為什麼，但中國人比較喜歡掛衣服，而不用乾衣機。按照入鄉隨俗這個概念，我也掛，要不然我會冒被視為外國人的風險。

昨天晚上喝了點啤酒。宿舍裡有一個小商店，非常方便！礦泉水，洋酒，小吃都買得到。還有，你可以隨便在任何地方喝酒。在大學我習慣了把宿舍房間的門鎖上才開始偷偷地喝酒。怎麼也想不到在這對大學生那麼重要的一個方面，中國的思想比美國的開放多了。

The second week is finally over! The workload this week was greater than the first week, but because we students adapt to the pace of the program, the first week we summoned up our courage and the second week we rose to the challenge. Today I finally "opened" my iPhone and can use it to make phone calls. Originally I had not intended to buy a cell phone or SIM card. But on second thought, I think it is important to keep in touch with my classmates. The past two days have been rainy. Although it is not suitable to exercise outdoors in this weather, the temperature is much cooler and more comfortable. I also washed my laundry today. There are some washing machines in the dormitory, but only one dryer. For some reason, Chinese people prefer to line dry their laundry instead of using a dryer. Following the local custom, I line dry my laundry as well in order to avoid being seen as a foreigner.

Last night I drank some beer. There is a small store in the dormitory, which is very convenient. You can buy mineral water, alcoholic beverages, and snacks. And you can openly drink alcohol anywhere. In college, I used to lock my dormitory door before secretly drinking any alcohol. I never would have imagined that in this important aspect of college life that the Chinese are more liberal than Americans.

First Week Report

(The English translation follows.)

第一個星期忙得不可開交。每天七點半就上課。五年級只有“中班”，就是說不是小班，也不是大班。在一節課上有四五個同學，但一共有十七個五年級的學生。十點半下課，而去吃午餐。一般來講，吃飯的時候我們去北京師範大學附近的中國餐廳。校園也有食堂，但飯館提供的服務和吃的選擇好一些。吃完中飯以後，就有“個別談話”，就是一個一對一的中文課。這是學生跟老師比較自由聊天的機會。上早上的課的時候，很少學到口語方面的詞，可是單班課讓老師強調學生的興趣。單班課以後，我就馬上開始做功課。我一直做到晚餐的時間，然後休息一會兒，就繼續做到要睡覺的時間。有的同學早上兩三點鐘才睡覺，單在我看來這種睡眠習慣是不可持續的，而且一定會影響到學生課上的表現。雖然告訴別人的時候感到一點不好意思，可是我天天都九點半左右就去睡覺。

基本上迄今為止我有兩個好朋友，就是我的同物和他的朋友。來到普北班（PiB)以前他們已經是好朋友。從第一天開始，我只是跟著他們一起去吃飯，學習什麼的。他們沒有別的選擇，只好和我交朋友。他們都是IU的本科生，但中文水平跟我差不多一樣。

就我而言，普北班執行的語言誓約（無一例外學生只能講普通話）算是一個挑戰，不過我覺得對二年級的學生來說，語言誓約帶來很多溝通上的困難。聽他們盡最大的努力討論甚至最簡單的話題很有意思，就讓我的中文水平想起我跟他們一樣底的時候。

這個星期六普北班給學生安排一個去爬長城的活動。我們去的一段叫做“金山”，而離北京比較遠（兩個半小時）。我們早上八點出發了，然後爬了四五個小時，疲累死了！

The first week has been extremely busy. The classes start at 7:30 every morning. The 5th level is only a “medium-sized group,” meaning not a small group and not a large group. There are about 4-5 students in each class. There are seventeen 5th level students in total. The classes are dismissed at 10:30 a.m. for lunch. Generally speaking, we go to a Chinese restaurant near Beijing Normal University. There is food service on the campus, too, but the service and menu selection is better in the restaurants. After lunch we have “individual dialogue,” a one-on-one Chinese lesson. This is an opportunity for free conversation between the teacher and the student. Morning classes don’t teach vernacular terms, but during the individual lesson, the teacher emphasizes the student’s interest. After my individual lesson, I start my homework right away and work until dinner time. After dinner I take a short break, then continue doing homework until bedtime. Some students stay up until 2 or 3 a.m. I think this kind of sleeping habit is not sustainable and will interfere with their performance in the classroom. Even though I am a bit embarrassed to tell people, I go to bed about 9:30 every night.

So far I have made two good friends, my roommate and his friend. They were already

good friends before coming to PiB. From the first day, I have been taking my meals and going to class with them. They don’t have a choice but to be friends with me. They are Chinese

majors at IU and about the same level as me.

As for me, the language pledge (Students can speak only Mandarin--no exceptions!) is a

challenge. The language pledge has brought many communication difficulties for the level 2

students. Hearing them spend a lot of effort expressing the simplest idea is interesting. It reminds me of when I was at that level.

This Saturday PiB arranged a field trip to the Great Wall. We went to the section of the wall

named “Gold Mountain,” a bit farther away from Beijing (2.5 hours). We started our trip at 8:00 a.m. and climbed for 4-5 hrs, after which we felt exhausted.

Traveling to Beijing

Everything went pretty smooth on my flights over… nothing to report there. When I made it to Beijing, I passed through customs, picked up my suitcase, and proceeded towards the exit, looking for someone with a "Princeton in Beijing" sign. That person didn't seem to exist, so I wandered around aimlessly for a bit until I asked the other random white guy what he was looking for. Surprise, surprise - he was also heading to PiB. Soon thereafter a third PiBer joined us, and after calling the program coordinator we sat down and waited. She showed up after a few minutes, and then we waited a while longer trying to collect a few other students that were supposedly somewhere in the airport.

We finally left the airport at around 2am, although I had slept a lot on the long flight over so I wasn't very tired. After a 45 minute drive to the campus, we bustled into the dormitory and woke up the girl working at the desk (she lives in a room directly adjacent to the front desk). We checked in and retired to our rooms. My roommate had not arrived yet, so I had the place all to myself. There is a bathroom, two (hard) beds, two desks, AC and a kettle for boiling water. I settled in and then tried to sleep, but I don't think I slept more than wink or two.
I woke up around 8 this morning and then started on some errands. First I bought some toothpaste from the campus supermarket. Next I grabbed some breakfast and came back to my room for a bit. Then I set out again to active my room's internet connection. I got that squared away, and successfully set up my wireless router that I brought from home. Around 12 I went out to lunch with a few other classmates.

When I came back I saw my roommate had arrived, although he was not in at the moment. After a few more minutes, though, he came back and we introduced ourselves. His name is Jackson, he is from IU, and he is also a 5th year student (roommates were selected based on matching level). We are relaxing for a bit in our room, but soon we will go out again to get some dinner.

The student-body seems diverse, and although everyone is speaking english now, I think things will get much more interesting once the students are bound by the power of the language pledge!

住在機場

我現在在seattle的機場等著飛機。我已經等了兩個半小時，但是還要多等三個小時！左右兩邊都是中國人，可是他們都在睡覺。我希望在飛機上我也睡得著。

還等著。。。

我還在等普林斯頓的錄取通知書。我收到以後就能開始做計畫。快點吧！只有幾個月了。