The semester at Peking University has concluded. I've finished my exams, and I'm almost done with my experience in Beijing.

The following video is a clip of a standard day for me during the semester, until about the mid-afternoon.

Typical Day in Beijing from Daniel Nalesnik on Vimeo.

Each day consisted of the following schedule:

6:30 wake up, review words
7:00 get ready for class, have coffee, walk to campus
8-12 class
12-3 lunch, gym, free time
3-5   language exchange
5-7   tutor
7-12 dinner, study

The days were packed, but I learned a ton. It is both exciting and frustrating learning a new language, but I'm very happy with the progress I've made so far. 

Now... time for some fun! Next Monday I'm heading to Sanya in Hainan, the southernmost province of China.

Google Map: Sanya

It's actually a small island and I'm staying on the southernmost tip in a hostel for around 10 days. A three minute walk to the beach, a five minute walk to the village center. At $11USD/night, I imagine the plane ticket there ($230) will cost more than the rest of the vacation. Interestingly enough, tourists can apply for a visa on Hainan once they arrive - making it very easy for foreigners to vacation there, on what is called the "Hawaii of China." Perhaps the most important thing to consider is the following:

I Win, You Lose 

Afterwards, I have four weeks remaining in my winter break. I plan to bus and train my way to as many cities as I can as I make my way back to Beijing (to collect my stuff) and finally settle into Shanghai in the last week of February for my placement exam and to begin my semester at Fudan University!

I plan to spend 2-5 days in each city, sightseeing and adventuring 50% of the time, continuing to review and study in coffee shops the other 50% of the time. And of course, practice with the locals!