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.