Unplanned

I finally found out when my exams will be. There is no syllabus or academic calendar here, so up until this week, they've been saying vague things like "the end of June" and "the middle of July" which gives almost a whole month of leeway. I'm glad that I wasn't counting on any of this information to book train and plane tickets!

My exams are the final week in June, and I know they're going to be easy. Not only do I know the vocab, characters, and grammar that I'm responsible for, the university wants their program to look good. From what I've heard, they don't fail anyone. And, my grades here transfer back home as pass-fail. I'm just not worried at all.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do after my exams. "Unplanned" describes everything about this semester, and I intend to keep it that way. I fly home from Beijing August 10th, so between exams and then I'm going to travel. Some of my non-plans include traveling with my friend Dustin for a week or two, visiting some Chinese friends at their homes, and... ok, that's all. I think it will be more exciting to look at a map for some ideas, go to the train station, and then see what happens. I just want to travel all over China by train, and planning ruins the surprise.

The End Is Near-er

Last week, several dozen international students took their final exams early and returned to their home countries. As far as I understand it, the early exam was allowed because of the earthquake. Regardless, Zhuan Jia Lou is much quieter and I miss the friends who left.

Normally, I wouldn't think about leaving until it's time to leave, but since some friends have already left, it's been on my mind.

It's going to be so difficult to say goodbye to some of my friends here. I'm really going to miss my western friends, especially Dustin. We have similar goals and reasons for coming to China, we traveled all over together, and he's taught me so much. It's going to be even harder to say goodbye to some of my Korean friends. How do you thank someone for being patient enough to make friends with you even though you can't speak the same language, for staying up until two in the morning several times a week to teach you Chinese, and for teaching you about the culture, history, and customs of another country? It might be most difficult, though, to say goodbye to my roommate Aidana. When I first got here, she showed me everything I needed to get settled in Lanzhou. She took care of me when I was sick, listened to my horrible Chinese as I talked for hours, was always up for my ridiculous ideas, and put up with my crazy music and my messy side of the room. She isn't just my roommate; she's my good friend and I love her.

I don't have to say goodbye quite yet, but the end of the semester is getting closer and closer.