All of us have made it through our first week of class today! It's been quite a week starting every morning with four hours of Chinese. Already after five days of classes, we've all learned and understood so much more Chinese. It has truly been an experience learning Chinese this past week. Not only are we learning the language, we are using it on a daily basis to live here in Nanjing.
Today, most of us had quizzes, and we all finally got a free afternoon to relax and rest after a full week of studying. A group of us girls went out for the afternoon to get manicures and massages with Dong Laoshi. It was a great opportunity to get out of Nanjing University and to explore the city. Dong Laoshi took all of us to an underground mall called the Fashion Lady. The mall was full of neon lights fighting for your attention to shop at their store. When we got to the salon department, each of the nail salons had a stall, and as we walked by, each of them waved at all of us to come over to their stall. These nail salons were nothing like the ones at the States. The salons were filled with gaudy and colorful decorations to get people's attention unlike the calming feeling that is sought out in most American salons. It's often not hard to see the small differences in each place even while getting manicures.
We then headed over to get massages. All of us were looking forward to a relaxing massage after a work-filled week of Chinese. Each of us elected for an hour long full-body massage. We had no idea until afterwards that all of the masseurs were blind. Dong Laoshi talked to us about how there are very few opportunities for the handicapped in China. Often they are out of site in the country and hardly seen outside their homes. After thinking about what Dong Laoshi discussed about China's lack of Human Services, I realized that I had really never seen the presence of handicapped people on the streets. Even in buildings and bathrooms there were often not handicap accessible. It's amazing to live and learn something new about China as we immerse ourselves in the country.
As we left, we were able to stop by and see the Purple Peak. It is the seventh tallest building in the world and one of the tallest buildings in China. It was quite amazing to look up at this building. On a cloudy foggy day we could barely make out the top of the building because it was so tall.
Tomorrow starts our week with host families. I can't wait to meet them and to become a part of a Nanjing family.
--Ashley G.
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