by

Party in China!

From left to right: Crystal (Sylvia’s host sibling), Sylvia, Pa Chia, Hannah, me, Michelle, Hannah (Pa Chia’s host sib), and Kipple (Hannah’s host sib)! The party was so much fun! P.S. It’s not me giving Michelle bunny ears (no idea who is, though)

by

Two worlds collide!

From left to right: Kipple, Hannah, Pa Chia, and other Hannah! The two girls to the left are Chinese host sisters, and the two girls on the right are my very good friends (and classmates). Kipple is Hannah’s (American) host sibling, and Hannah (Chinese) is Pa Chia’s host sibling! I love spending time with these girls; behind them is the TaiHu lake in Suzhou!

by

My First Weekend in Suzhou & a Day Full of Surprises!

Sorry I haven’t posted more often; my host family’s house doesn’t have wifi and internet is pretty much nonexistent for me. In order for me to post, I have to go into XingLan’s (my host sister) room and use her computer. Anyway, today was quite an interesting day; I found out several things that I did not know of before. One, I found out my host dad smokes; however, he’s nice enough to smoke when I’m not around. Two, we have a house maid who comes and cleans our house everday. Three, some good news came from school (about GPA/rankings).

This past weekend could quite possibly be one of the best weekends I’ve ever had in my life. I was invited to a party hosted by a Chinese boy, Jet-we’re just friends (mom & dad, don’t freak out :p). Jet is the host sibling of one of my American classmates, Toby. XingLan, me, and around 20 other people attended; it was a lot of fun. I also went to go see a Chinese movie, Xiao Shi Dai (小时代），which means "Tiny Times" in English. It was a comedy/drama and was suprisingly, really good! The party ended with a trip to a local Chinese restaurant, Blue Marlin. I orded a salad because I really should be eating healthier; I’m gaining a lot of weight because my host family wants me to eat more food during meals. After dinner, everyone (20 people), split up. XingLan, me, my classmate (and good friend, Hanna), her host sibling, my classmate (and friend, Pa Chia), and her host sibling, all went to a huge shopping center called “In City." We went to the 3rd floor where there was a huge arcade-that was so much fun. Me and Pa Chia’s host sibling (who is also a good friend of mine-also named Hanna) ended up playing this dancing game. We danced to Lady Gaga; our dancing skills were so great, we ended up drawing a small crowd (actually I think they were just interested in watching us play for the first time and desperately try and figure out how to work the game).

Sunday, XingLan had class (isn’t that crazy-she also has class on Saturday), so XingLand’s mom and dad & I went to Suzhou’s most famous 公园（garden). It was so unbelievably gorgeous, I will upload photos as soon as I can. I’m still trying to figure out how to connect my camera to XingLan’s computer. Anyway, this past weekend was splendid and I can’t believe I’ve already been in China for almost 2 weeks now-time is going by too fast.

by

Busy as a bee!

So much has happened since I got to China; I’ve settled into my new home, I got assigned my subgroup (based on my test results), and I’ve made many, wonderful new friends (both American NSLI-Y students and Chinese students). I’m MUCH more busy than I thought I would ever be; if i’m not in class, im either participating in a culture excursion of some kind, doing hours (yes, hours) worth of Chinese homework, or out and about with my host family. Since I’ve, for the most part, settled into my new home, here is a general gist of what a typical day consists of:

6:30am: Wake up, brush my teeth, get changed for school, and head downstairs to eat breakfast

6:50-7:05am: Eat breakfast with XingLan, ShuShu(host dad), Ayi(host mom). They feed me a variety of breakfast foods; so far, my favorite is warm milk with bits of oatmeal in a bowl.

7:10-7:45am: My host dad drives XingLan and I to school every day (Suzhou No.1 High School). It’s actually a 30 minute drive but I enjoy it, nonetheless. I love gazing outside the car window, watching people go about their daily lives. In all honesty, I feel like I’m at home. I don’t feel homesick at all (sorry mom and dad, haha).

7:50ish: XingLan and I arrive at school, we both have class but we’re in separate classrooms.

8:00am-12:00pm: Class begins! Like I said before, I got assigned my subgroup for the duration of my stay in Suzhou. Subgroups are the 3 different classes we, the 20 NSLI-Y students, are divided into, based on our Chinese skill level. I was assigned to 二班 (2nd Class), which puts me in the "Intermediate Class." I’m not in the most advanced class, but I’m also not in the beginner class.

12pm-1:00pm: Lunch at a local Chinese resturant with all the NSLI-Y students. The owner put us in a separate part of the restaurant and I’m convinced it’s because they think we’ll disturb their customers if they don’t-we do tend to get pretty loud. The lunch is served family style with a revolving circular tray in the center. This is one of my favorite parts of the day because I get to embrace Chinese cuisine, while being able to mingle with Chinese language lovers. One thing that I would like to point out about my classmates; they are some of the brightest, well-rounded, down to earth people, I’ve ever met. Everyone here is so driven, smart, and talented; exactly the people I want to be surrounded by.

1:00pm-it varies(usually 2 or 3pm): Chinese cultural activity! So far, we’ve had a lesson on Chinese history; I learned all about the Chinese dynasties and rulers of ancient China. Our class has also learned how to do Taiji (I’m so bad at it)-it requires patience and grace, neither of which I have.

3:00pm-5:00pm: Homework time! XingLan doesn’t get out of school until 5:00pm, so I wait in one of the classrooms and do homework until she is finished.

5:30-6:30ish: Dinner, served family syle. Dinner always varies, sometimes we eat at home, other times we go out to eat. Today, we even went to XingLan’s grandfather’s house to eat dinner with their family. XingLan’s extended family is really nice, I just wish my Chinese was better so I could effectively communicate with them.

7:00-8:45pm: Activites vary, one day I went with XingLan and her friends to KTV (Chinese karaoke). Chinese karaoke is so much fun, I usually end up singing American songs because I can’t read the Chinese characters when singing the Chinese songs.

9:00pm: Arrive home and finish any homework I didn’t at school. Take a shower and get ready for the next day. I also blog/check my e-mail if I have time.

11:00pm: Go to bed because I’m beyond exhausted.

by

Day One in China? Check！

First and foremost; I’m in China! =D After a grueling 14 hour flight, my group and I made it to the beautiful city of Suzhou. After we landed in the Shanghai airport, we took a two and a half hour bus ride to Suzhou No. 1 High School where we met our host siblings and family. Suzhou No.1 High School is amazing; it’s gorgeous and has lots of character. As we, NSLI-Y participants, were shuffled into a classroom with name labels on the desks, I quickly found my name and sat down. Shortly after, the host siblings came in and sat down next to their designated NSLI-Y participant. This is when I met my host sibling, Li XingLan, for the first time. Honestly, I could not have asked for a kinder, sweeter host sibling. She’s absolutely amazing! As everyone was meeting their host siblings and family, a host institution teacher handed out our cell phones. It took me forever to figure out how to properly use the international cell phone which was not much fun and a little scary (everything on the phone is written in Chinese). Regardless, I was eventually able to make a call back home.
My host dad and sister picked me up from the school and took me to a really tasty Chinese restaurant where the host mom was waiting for us with welcoming arms. I had a delicous meal (family style of course), and afterwards, my host family took me to a small fruit market to buy some fruit-we bought apples, peaches, and kiwi. After shopping, we all went home (around a 30 minutes car ride from the school). I have only 3 words to say about my host family’s dwelling: clean, modern, and beautiful! It’s also much, much larger than I was expecting. First of all, I get my own room. I was definitely not expecting to get my own room, nonetheless a room that is nicer than the one I have back at home (lets not forget my room in China is cleaner and more modern). I even get my own bathroom in my room(: YAY! Needless to say, I like where I’m staying. Although today has been wonderful meeting my host family, I’m very tired and I should go to sleep. I have a placement test tomorrow and want to do well on it. I know that everyone back at home really wants to see pictures, however, until I get into the swing of things, it’ll have to wait. I’m much more than overwhelmed right now, but I promise, I will get those pictures up, eventually! Also, apologies for any spelling errors/grammer errors; I’m writing this while severely lacking sleep. My first day in China=success!

by

The Countdown Begins!

One word pretty much sums up how I feel right now: excited! Tomorrow, I will depart from Raleigh, NC (my lovely hometown) and travel to our nation’s capital, Washington D.C.. Although I received my NSLI-Y finalist notification back in April, it has only just now hit me that I’m about to embark on a journey of a lifetime. I actually should be sleeping right now, but I’m just too excited at the moment. Today was very productive; I finished packing my gargantuan suitcase-I swear, with all the medication my parents made sure I bring, there’s no illness I can’t tackle. More importantly, I beat my dad in the best card game there is, rummy. Quite possibly my best game and his worst game, ever. After only playing 3 hands, these were the scores: Aimee: 335 and Dad:-100 (yes that is a negative). It was a great way to end my last night in Raleigh. Can’t wait for tomorrow; meeting other NSLI-Y finalists while living it up in D.C.! Goodbye Raleigh, see you in 6 weeks! =D

by

I’m a member of 2 families!

Today I received my NSLI-Y host family information! I’ve been waiting for that e-mail for about 2 weeks now, and am pleased to announce that I am the newest member of the Li family. The Li family composes of my host dad, host mom, and 17 year-old host sister. I am so glad that I have a host sibling whose age is so close to mine. Included in the host family e-mail was their home address and telephone number. After receiving the e-mail, my dad, mom, and I immediately went on Google maps to see how far away my host home is from my host institution. Turns out, my home in China will only be around 24 minutes away from Suzhou No.1 High School; that’s shorter than my commute to Enloe High School in America (around 30 minutes)! =D I could not be more excited for my upcoming trip and look forward to the journey ahead! 9 days left until I depart for China!