Farewell DSIC, Farewell Beijing!

As I sit in my train cabin, Shanghai-bound, I can’t help but reminisce and remember all the incredible moments from this program. I feel miserable, forlorn, and very much alone. Just two hours ago, I said my last goodbyes to a group of DSICers who came to Beijing Train Station to send me off. I already miss them, along with the rest of my friends from the Duke program, the friendly fuwuyuan working at the International Cultural Plaza, and especially Soowoo.

I miss Soo so much that it’s downright painful to bear. I can vividly recall the morning that she left. We were returning from Vic’s at Sanlitur, and it was already 3:46 am because the taxi driver tried to cheat us by driving aimlessly for an extra 20 minutes. Fortunately, he accepted 50 RMB instead of the 120 RMB that he demanded; otherwise I would have had to kick his worthless ass.

When we got back to the dorm, Soo needed to pack the rest of her belongings and take a quick shower, so by the time she was done it was 4:30 am or so and we only had 30 minutes to say our goodbyes. While I wasn’t downright bawling, I’ll admit that I shed a few tears. As for Soo, she couldn’t even bear to look at me. We cuddled for what felt like the last time ever, and soon it was time for her to go. When Soo left that morning, she took a part of me with her, a part of me that I gladly give to this gentle spirit, this sweet and wonderful girl who visited me every day in the hospital and who was always there for me when I needed her most. I will cherish her and our experiences together forever.

Ok sorry for the outpouring of emotions, but I needed to indulge in some cyber therapy. In all, the Duke Study in China program was the experience of a lifetime, and I will never forget my time in Beijing. Below are some of my most memorable experiences with the coolest Dukies/Yalies/Brownies that you will ever meet.

Highlights

• Playing basketball on the outdoor courts with DSICers and random Chinese ballers. The Chinese are downright awful at basketball. Usually they’re rather short, skinny, and lack jumping ability. Furthermore, they don’t understand the game at all and prefer to stand around in the paint in a manner that we dubbed “cluster fuck.” Special shout outs to the regulars: John Chang with the nasty left-hander, Rob “Robocop/Myoplex man” Morse, Sean Lee an ultra-competitive floor general, Will Benesh the Paul Pierce in our program, Michael Wardy the Jewish Jordan, Li “airball” Zhong :D, and Cody “butterfingers/I suck at basketball” Lin. <3
• Chinese Performance Night
• John Chang, Li Zhong, Wardy, Sean Lee, and I formed a boy band in order to perform dance routines to three songs: NSYNC’s “Tearin’ up my Heart,” Wondergirls’ “Nobody,” and Jay Chou’s “Fearless.” It was hilarious check out my facebook page for the video hahaha.
• Si Ma Tai Great Wall
• What’s better than watching a beautiful sunrise? Well catching sunrise at 4 am on the great wall of course! I’ve already written about the wonder of Chang Cheng in an earlier post, but to future DSICers I highly recommend going on this two-day weekend venture!
• Forbidden Palace/Summer Palace/Tian Tan/Tiananmen Square/Shi Du/Weekend excursions in general
• To be honest, these tourist hot spots are rather similar with the same sort of archaic feel and architecture. However, no matter how much you want to sleep in after partying hard on Friday night, you should force yourself up to visit these famous sites. Not only will you have bragging rights, but you will also end up with hundreds of pictures with some of your closest friends and teachers.
• Eating Out with Friends
• There are a dozen of small restaurants around the International Cultural Plaza, and you should try as many as possible before getting lazy and settling in. I learned this the hard way, because I frequented Sichuan Restaurant (which was in reality extremely dirty with flies in dishes but close, convenient, and rather cheap) with mixed results. I’ll attribute at least two of my “la duzi” (explosive diarrhea) episodes to it.
• Eating out with other people in the program is a great opportunity to learn more about them and their respective institutions. Furthermore, these are the makings of strong friendships.
• Fridays in General
• I ******* loved Fridays! After taking the weekly exam, all the students have Chinese table lunch with the teachers. We go to some high quality joints and the food is usually pretty good. After lunch, most DSICers take an afternoon nap, after which the boys and I head out for basketball or Hokay gym. Friday nights are reserved for drinking and partying after an arduous week of studying. After the usual drinking games, we’d head over to Sanlitun road and visit Mix or Vic’s for some hardcore clubbing.
• MIX
• Words can’t describe how awesome this place is, at least in my opinion. All the hottest girls in Beijing are at this night club which includes 3 dance floors, bars, and lounges galore; it alone quelled my fears that Beijing girls are unattractive. It was here that my man Sean found a 22 year old English-speaking, potentially Stanford bound, sizzling hot local whom he promptly fell in love with. Best of luck Sean! As for me, I managed to dance with some very attractive women after some difficulty, as Chinese girls seem opposed to dancing with anyone but their girls. I don’t blame them, seeing that most of the guys there seem to be shady, unattractive locals who often pounce on unsuspecting girls. Not looking forward to Toad’s at all haha.
• Shuai Ge
• I’ll admit that I got a boost of confidence in Beijing. The teachers and language partners all found me attractive to the point that it was extremely embarrassing. I guess my Asian haircut and dye job did wonders. Or perhaps it was the rice-based diet that caused me to lose 5 pounds and some of the baby fat on my jawline. Oh, I need to thank Chinese summer heat and the constant sweating, as it seems to have cured the terrible acne that affected my self-confidence back at Yale. Beijing <3

Lastly, special shout outs to my boys Sean Lee and John Chang. John was my roommate during the program, and we grew very close. It was so much fun talking to him, whether it was about girls or basketball or morality. Furthermore, John’s love for sleep became legendary. Every morning we memorized Hanzi together, and while his alarm clock was set at 6:30 am, John would unfailingly sleep through several alarms before sitting up slouched over and resting for another 5 minutes. On average, it’d take him around 20-30 minutes to finally get up and start studying. What a G. Furthermore, John perception and compassion is at a completely different level, much of which is attributed to the losses that he experienced earlier in life. I know that his future girlfriends will be extremely fortunate to have him, and I wish him only the best.

As for Sean, where do I start? I remember first meeting him on the basketball court, and it was there that we first earned each others’ respect. I was comfortable in his presence. It was a chill time. Sean and I would often go about acting like idiots, practicing our Chinese sayings on unsuspecting locals and getting a good laugh out of it. Sean’s favorite saying was “我进不起你的诱惑,” meaning “I cannot resist your temptation,” or perhaps anything “四处泛滥.” The latter saying means “found everywhere,” and he would say that in conjunction with other vocabulary that we learned such as “automatic condom selling machines found everywhere” randomly on the street. If you’re a sucker for lewd humor, than you would have loved Sean… effing hilarious!!! Besides the randomness, Sean was actually a deep guy who had moral principles, who was true to himself as well as others, and who stayed loyal to his friends. Furthermore, he is extremely astute and much smarter than he purports to be. What a character!

Cody my man you know how much I love you and your Taiwanese ways. Your looks will take you far haha. PS I hope you learn more about Canada in case you run into Wang laoshi again. I will miss your enthusiastic self… you brightened my days in overcast, heavily polluted Beijing.

And Bowon, Wardy, Li Zhong, Will, Dennis, Pablo, Jason, Misrab, Tammy don’t think that I’ve forgotten about you. I wish I had more time to get to know y’all better, but the time we shared together was pretty special. We will meet up again sometime soon when you guys visit Yale or I visit Duke.

Lastly, I want to thank all the teachers, administration, and folks at the Light Fellowship that made this possible. I can honestly say that the summer of ’09 in Beijing was the best experience of my entire life, and that I have never ever met such an interesting and friendly group. In the course of this program, I not only raised my Chinese ability but also learned much more about myself as well. Furthermore, I have made friends for life. Thank you!

With all of my heart,

Adam