School begins: a true test of my patience and biking skills

I remember how excited I would get in the week leading up to the beginning of school. The warm evening breeze would blow in through my bedroom window as I dreamed of the classes I’d take (and what grades I could get) and what social achievements I’d have (“will I have my first girlfriend this year?” [answer: no]).

Now that I’m in grad school, things are a little different, mostly because I attend school year-round. As in, no three-month summer or one-month Christmas breaks (something I--and my parents--are still getting used to). Also, it’s mostly individual research, so my drive to get a 110% grade is frustratingly impossible.

I arrived in Beijing on Aug 4th and classes begin today (I think). My calendar is not based the official academic one (becauseI can’t actually read it), but on the size and type of crowds on campus. For the first two weeks, there were lots of tourists (identified asfamilies and crowds lead by loud speakers) and a fair number of Westerners here for summer language programs. During that time started riding a bicycle and augmented my cycling skills (spent one year on a bike in Louisiana on my Church mission). [The topic of bicycling in China is actually large enough to receive its own post, so stay tuned.] Suffice it to say that I can weave in and out of foot traffic with the best of them.

Correction: I could weave in and out. This is because I gained a false sense of ability during my third week when all the summer students left. Hence I could tell when classes began by the sudden increase in my brake usage. But--but--guess who won a game of chicken with a Chinese student today? Oh yeah, I got it!

One of the striking things I’ve noticed is the huge number of students in uniform. The mesmerizing stream of identical military uniforms is itself distracting. My lab mates say that a month-long military training is mandatory for all university students in their freshman or sophomore year. I imagine it a little bit like a condensed version of Boy Scouts, but its military influence might lead to fewer s’mores and pushups (though lab mate says they’re easy on the girls) [Update: I’m just realizing that this is a condensed and mandatory Chinese ROTC]. Well, I suppose it encourages patriotism, cohesiveness, and collective thought among China’s youth.

A gaggle of female soldiers/students arrive on campus upon completion of their training. The plastic wash basins are for hand laundering soiled garments.

Also, I finally have to register for school. I’m actually an international student (!), which sounds all cool, but it adds a significant layer of complexity to the existing hassles of registration. I’ve already spent two days fighting queues to obtain a variety of stamps and certificates, but I have very little clue about the details, all of which are in Chinese (I’d take this opportunity to complain that nothing is in English, but this is in China, so I have nobody to blame but myself). It's mildly disconcerting to blindly sign so many documents. In the rousing board game of "School LIFE: registration!", Tanu is a few spaces behind me. Georgia Tech health services didn’t give her a copy of her EKG. Luckily, our contact at Tech obtained and emailed a scanned copy to her (HIPAA violation? TBD).

Finally, the start of classes means that a new set of Westerners are on campus. I just try to act like I don’t notice them as I think hipster thoughts like, “psh. I totally knew about baozi for breakfast ages ago.”