I am grossly out of place at my school.
First of all, I am not Asian, of course. But even among the foreign students, I stand out. I am not European. I am not young, hip, or available. I do not smoke cigarettes or curse like a sailor. I do not have tattoos behind my ears (the new place for tattoos???) and I am not trying to earn a Chinese degree.
In fact, I have kids at home and a husband of 12 years. I still wear pants to class that I wore to class at Hope College 15 years ago. And my motives for studying the language are...slightly complicated;)
But old, outdated, and mysterious as I am, I park my bike beside the cool kids three days a week and sit in class for 2.5 hours, trying,
TRYING to learn this distressingly difficult language.
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Our second-floor courtyard. |
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Our snack bar. Warms the belly on a cold day. |
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Our bookstore. I bought a used Sichuan travel guide here that I love! |
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For all your school supply needs! |
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The lady from whom I buy my breaktime snack (cashews and tea) |