It has been a good week. But there are two events that definitely top everything off. The first was seeing my dear Zhang Lao Shi, as well as Amy and Tien. Every other year Colorado College sends a Chinese Art Class to China. So Hai Ling and I met up with the group to have dinner in a part of town we had never ventured into, of course it was tons of fun! I am not going to lie, having people impressed with what I consider my rather rudimentary Mandarin felt pretty good. I guess I remembered how far I have come from day one. Anyways, it was nice to reconnect with home if only for a few hours.
Great event number two was making jiao zi (dumplings) with my class today. Our teachers showed us how to do everything, from preparing the filling to rolling out the wrappers. Not surprisingly, after years of watching my grandmother making tortillas and attempting to make my own, rolling out jiao zi dough came pretty naturally, people were impressed. Our teachers told us with a little practice we could open our own jiao zi restaurant :) I love my teachers, they have done everything in their power to make our time here mean so much more than just learning Chinese. And did I mention they cancelled our test so we could make the jiao zi? Oh yeah, my life here is so sweet.
So only four weeks left until the end of my program, then the family will arrive for a week and half tour. Guess who gets to be the tour guide? I should be back stateside in about six weeks. Sometimes this thought is exciting, sometimes it's just sad. There are certainly people and places that will be missed. I am just starting realize how much this experience has really meant and continues to mean to me. So I just have to focus on having six more amazing weeks!
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