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Last two weeks have flown by. Everyday getting up at about the same time even before the alarm rings and having a breakfast with ‘cheese’ sandwiches. Did you know it is pretty hard to find cheese with similar quality as at home? I haven’t found one yet, but I keep searching. After the breakfast I take the subway as usual and arrive at school well before the class starts.

We spend time during the classes mainly on increasing our vocabulary. It is really fascinating how many combinations exist for describing one action or emotion; a word consists of two characters (a character is a Chinese sign), at what the first character remains unchanged and the second one is alternated with e.g. 4 different characters. These 4 different words describe in principle the same emotion, but there is just a bit discrepancy. For example, expressing enjoyment in English leading to a climax: smiling, chuckling, laughing and roaring. However, these 4 Chinese words describe one emotion at the same frame of mind. I often hear from colleagues that Chinese people always put up their poker face, so it is hard to see how they feel. Now, it is clear to me they do not express their emotions via body language, but by spoken words, describing their emotions in a very detailed way.

I will soon have my oral exam, so I use my afternoon class for preparation of it. I am questioning the way how I will be examined, because it is mainly focused on repetition of knowledge learned by heart and answering questions in the way as they are expected to be. I was told the entire Chinese examination system is as that, so better to accept it. There is a fundamental reason why Chinese students are educated in that way and to what consequences it will lead to. I would be happy to explain to you when I am back home, because I would like to finish my language course before I leave China.

I have told you enough about my classes, so it is time to tell you what I am doing beside learning Chinese. Last Sunday, I visited Tianjin. Tianjin is the fourth largest city of China and only half an hour away from Beijing, if I take the high speed train. It was an enclave for foreigners in the past, so I could still see and feel the European atmosphere in this place. The pace of life is lower compared to Beijing and the air cleaner. This gives me the opportunity to think over what I have done in the last 7 weeks. I must say, remembering is hard, but forgetting even harder, especially someone I like. Too much to learn……