Waiting for Easter

 It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.  --Voltaire

Krista sometimes thinks it is helpful to speak of herself in the third person because she gets to adopt some other arbitrary identity and try to look at her life from an outsider's perspective.  Today, she has decided to exercise this practice in blogging about the past week of her life, partially because Good Friday is a good day to be reflective, mostly because she is looking for a way to make this blog more interesting and did not take many pictures this week.

On Saturday, Krista woke up in the morning and suddenly felt her throat was sore and her head a little warm.  She spent much of this week feeling sick, but is now mostly recovered.  Despite her sickness, Krista mustered the energy to attend a field trip with the other students in her program to the National Museum of China.  Though she does not know much about the long, complicated history of China, Krista enjoys looking at artifacts of dynasties past enshrined behind glass displays.  She gazed fixedly and took an excessive amount of pictures of things which would have just been every day items in their time.  This gives her a sense of appreciation for the times she currently lives in and the rich past China has.

A Qing Dynasty Bell

That's a tobacco sack on the left.

Bunch of silk.

Old fashioned telephone.

Old paper currency.

After perusing the museum, the students Krista went with regathered and began to head to a Sichuan style restaurant for dinner.  On the way, they passed through the Beijing Legation Quarter just east of Tiananmen square.  The students marveled at the history of the place they were walking through as explained by their revered program director, Mr. Thompson, who once worked as a diplomat in China.  Krista enjoyed meeting more students in her program while gorging on some delicious, spicy Sichuan food.  After dinner, she joined a friend to go to nearby 前门 Qianmen where there were alleyways of stores and food stands housed in traditional Chinese buildings.

Beijing Legation Quarter

Sichuan appetizers

Large Chinese Starbucks in 前门Qianmen

前门 Qianmen

The rest of the week was difficult for Krista because she was fighting sickness while course load was beginning to pick up.  She has been studying for midterm exams and completed her first Chinese writing assignment this week, writing about Chinese American history.  The process reminded her of family and friends who ask her for help with English writing, and has helped Krista empathize with them a little better.  She enlisted the help of her language partner and even called her dad over the phone to ask for help.  Since Krista has not taken Chinese for three years prior to this, she was uncomfortably reminded of times in her childhood when her parents had to scold her to get her Chinese homework done.  At the same time, the tables have turned because she was the one asking for help while her dad was the one complaining that Krista was keeping him up too late while he edited her grammar from the other side of the world.

Even though Krista was sick this week, there are many things she is looking forward to now that she is mostly recovered.  She is now part of the swim team at Peking University and will be able to get back in shape with the sport of her childhood while getting to know some Chinese students.  Next week is 清明节, the Tomb-Sweeping Holiday.  Since most international students in China have ancestral tombs here to sweep, it's their chance to travel since there are three days without class.  Krista bought her first bullet train tickets to 西安 Xian where she will be visiting some friends and enjoying time away from crazy Beijing.  The weather and air quality has also been improving.  Krista rarely needs to wear a mask or thick jackets anymore and has been using the opportunity to walk around campus more often and appreciate its beauty.  Spring is finally here!  And Easter and 清明节are next week!!! :-)  In the meantime, Krista will continue studying for midterms.

West Gate

Boya tower and Weiming Lake