Nanjing 2018-2019, Blog Post 5
As I return to the inside my grandparent’s lake house in Michigan from a nice summer boat ride, I began to think, how can so much beauty be in such familiar things? Actually, my first thought was the common saying, “beauty is in the simple things”. However, if I think back to December, I know that beauty is not always in the SIMPLE things, because simple things can be foreign, too…
Thinking about my first three months, December was comparably a much better month. Although during the beginning of the month I struggled with the decision of whether or not to go with my friend group to Xi’An on a vacation, I was able to set a regular routine and became very happy with the people I had formed relationships with.
One of the main events of December for me was running a 3k during the weekend that my friends went out of town. My Russian friend, Iana, and I headed over to Xianlin for a provincial wide “marathon”. There were several distances and courses spread out around the university campus, but we didn’t have a running team, so unfortunately we were not able to run a marathon or even a half marathon. So we bundled up in below freezing weather, drank lots of hot water, and ran our 3k. The organization skills of the event were not that great, but this event set the precedent for heading to the gym more and putting exercise back into my daily routine.
So after classes and between group dinners, I began heading to the gym with my American friend Mackenzie. Oftentimes, the outside temperature would be in the 30’s, and more times than not the pollution levels were hazardous. Running outside was simply not even an option, and biking (outside) to Nanjing University, another university located near us to access their gym was not a very good choice, either. Because I ran track and cross country off and on throughout high school, I really missed exercising. And although I did have to walk everywhere in China, I sometimes really craved a good workout. Therefore, the gym, although not connected to our university, was the best option. I always felt better after a treadmill session!
Also during December, I began spending a lot more time with my language exchange group. The Russian friend mentioned above, Iana, had organized this group back in September, and we met weekly to have dinner, do fun activities around Nanjing, and communicate in both English and Chinese. The group included two Chinese girls that were English majors, Iana, my friend Alex from the same area of North Carolina as I, and myself. The five us began rehearsing for a New Year’s rehearsal and spent three to four times a week practicing. Although it was quite time consuming, I was really happy with the opportunity to get to see my new friends more often. Photographed below are both the performance itself and one of the dinners we had together.
One of the highlights of this month was Christmas. Although not all of us were Christian, we were all foreigners away from home, mostly from countries that celebrate Christmas. It was quite strange to be in a place where there were not stores full of commercial products, jolly songs floating around, and a tree to put presents underneath. Before I left, of course I knew that America as a whole is a very Christian country, but I could only keep that in mind, not knowing that it would feel empty without a general Christmas mood in the air.
Therefore, we all took matters into our hands. My American neighbor, Will organized a Secret Santa exchange for gifts. I set up a SignUpGenius for a Christmas Eve dinner, and the two of us worked together with my roommate Giulia to categorize foods for people to bring. After much planning, we did successfully pull it off. At the party, there were so many different ethnic foods; it included things from German potato salad and Polish pierogi to Thai salad and Chinese fried rice, and of course, I brought my homemade peanut butter jelly sandwiches.
Overall, December was a very busy month. I was hardly ever in my room, and between classes, eating lunch with my friends, rehearsals/ language exchange meetings, and the gym, I began attending a taekwondo club in Xianlin with Iana. Although I never completely gave up on making Chinese friends through clubs, I did realize my expectations would not be lived up to. But I was content, looking forward to exams in mid-January, and becoming even better friends with people I had known in previous months.