Peking University Deux

Today was orientation. It seemed alot like CET over again, except with more people my age. One of the guys is actually related to Bing Crosby, the guy who sang "White Christmas". There are also six Penn people, including Ling. I had this nostalgic feeling for CET people today, and so when I ran into Ai Yun and her friend at the Peking University, I was totally surprised. She asked me why I was speaking Chinese. Yes, we have another language pledge, but it is alot more laxed.

I made another visit to Jiu Gu Lou Da Jie's Youth Hostel. We went out for Indian food, which always makes me happy. Today I was very mi mang at the dinner table. I think Siwen, Aya, and Jonathan were cracking jokes about me because I was being silly. They are cool, but I'm so naturally sensitive to their sarcasm and comments about me. Like when Siwen said for the nth time that Yi Lian is the nicer one, that struck a chord. Jonathan can make fun of me cuz his comments make me laugh, but Steven has just been mean today. An instant reaction for me is I tell people I don't care, but I do. Like don't poke fun of sensitive issues if its going to provoke me to react. I eventually hit him for saying something else, but I was pretty upset today. I just need to get a grip that its no big deal. Or people need to accept that I will never get sarcasm.

Oh about Peking University. My tutor has been helpful. She's my age. There is a baozi stand (5 bao zis for 2 kuai, or 6 mao at the official bao zi shop). I went to visit ling at her hotel/dorm. It's nice. We have TV, snacks, unlimited internet, etc. My roommate, Soo Hae, is moving out to Shao Yuan tomorrow. I will always be far from Bei Da, but I figure that this is an opportunity to learn about what's outside of the school.

Maybe its a good thing I'm starting a new program with new people. People in CET treat me as a youngin and they don't take me seriously because of the age difference. We know each other too well at this point. But thinking about how the next month is going to pass by (probably really slowly), I'm going to miss them terribly. So forget harboring bad feelings and cherish the time I have left with them.