Weekdays

So we are finally getting to the real class time around here. It has certainly been a wish of mine to get down to business and get some grammar patterns under foot. We are in in two groups. 3 of us (me included) are in the intermediate class, while 4 of us are in the beginner intermediate.

I suppose the placement test that we took did a pretty good job of placing us where we should be. Now, the issue is just buckling down and getting these lessons done. I will say this, and my other level classmates will agree with me, they mean business when class-time starts. We have 2 Teaching Assitants in my class and they help us converse strictly in Mandarin, which is not easy for me because my ears aren't quite trained yet. But I am where I need to be and our teachers are very capable. Simply but this will be exciting and hard all at the same time.

Meanwhile, on the street, our group gets into all kinds of interesting situations. One of the staples of the day is where we are going to eat. SanXia, where we are, is full of restaurants. Thus I love this place. We can have HotPots ( to your left ), beef noodles, tofu, and street food. It is all really good. However, I have yet to try a few things. We are still on a mission to try stinky tofu, we might get to that this week; and we have yet to try durrian. Durrian is a really stinky fruit that few are able to stomach, but you know me. I say go for it. I'll see if I can't get a nice record of that expedition for us soon.

So, I really like SanXia. It is technically considered the suburbs, but it is certainly a large city by our standards. The school campus is very pretty and the people are all very nice (Even when we make awkward situations trying to order food). All in all, I think it is top notch and would recommend a visit.

<= Street food that is dirt cheap and really worth a try.!