Nine days of class finished! Besides small daily quizzes, today was my first real test. Although, the academic tests seem easy compared to the real-life tests every day. What seems easy in the classroom is exponentially harder when a local says it slightly slurred at five times the speed. Don't know the majority of the words in the sentence? You basically have no chance understanding what is trying to be communicated. 

Trying a new language is hectic and sometimes aggravating, but it is a LOT of fun when it works. 

I remember wondering a few months ago how something might be emphasized in Chinese, as I was used to tonality of the sentences determining what the sentence actually meant:

1. He did what?
2. He did what?
3. He did what?!

In Chinese, each "sound" means something entirely different depending on the tone used. Changing the way you say a single "word" changes what word you are saying.

(I was with my tutor today, trying to repeat the phrase: "These apples, can I buy them for six dollars?" and ended up saying "Your booty, can I buy it for six dollars?")

Certainly there is still whole-sentence tonality, but the grammar relies more on extra words to surround what is being emphasized.

In my experience so far, Beida provides an excellent education but it has a ways to go in terms of organization. I asked my teacher yesterday if I could get a library card. He told me to go to the southeast gate of the campus.

At the southeast gate of the campus, they didn't know - and said to try the east gate. Then the folks at the east gate said I had to go to the library itself (obviously I had already tried that a few days ago).

I went to the library and the woman seemed befuddled to my questions. I had Will with me to help me translate my desires: a library card. Probably a once-every-thousand-years request, I guess... She told us to go to the other gate of the library. 

On the other side of the library, a guard had to let us in because we didn't already have our library cards. Finally we meet with the librarian who gives out library cards - and she needed an authorization form from the international student office.

We go to the international student office on the other side of campus and the guard said we needed a standard student card first (not the student IDs we already have). We were told to go to some other building on the other side of campus. When we finally arrived, the man with the ID machine and the camera is on his computer and he says he cannot help us today, but to come back next Monday.

"Why not now?"

"Not possible."

Sigh. On the positive side, my speaking class had 14 students. The teacher said that wasn't up to Beida standards, so the class was cut into two sections. Now we have 7 students and many more chances to practice in class.

I've given up on my bike. I am going to sell it to someone for most of the purchase price. The guy who sold it to me said he would fix it for free - but in the end it still wasn't meant for anything other than a 95lb Chinese girl. If I try to ride it again it will just break again.

Electric scooters are all the rage here as well. They are about $100 USD, or $150-$200 for a really nice one. You can also sell them to other students at the end of your time here for most of the price you paid. They are built much more solidly than the bikes, which is nice. I can't decide now, but when it's freezing cold out it might be nice to be able to get to class in 3 minutes and not 20.