Last time I posted, it was the day before I went to the Great Wall of China. That was a week ago and it sure does feel as though time is flying by. We went to a place 2 hours outside of Beijing to see the wall. It was a really neat place, we took a chair lift up the mountain and an alpine slide down. It was incredibly lucky how great the weather was. Usually it is rather overcast or hazy from the pollution, but we lucked out with a crystal clear blue sky which made for some magnificent pictures.
I returned back to Kunming and had to give a presentation on a topic I choose to study while in Beijing. I decided to study the gentrification of traditional Beijing hutongs. Hutongs are neighborhoods consisting of traditional courtyard style houses dating back to the 13th century. The project involved speaking to residents, young and old, in order to determine how the process of gentrification was effecting daily life. Gentrification is the buying and renovation of houses in urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income individuals, which in return raises property values but often displaces low-income families and small businesses. It was really neat to use my limited Chinese skills to converse with a wide range of people.
Today, I moved in with my host family. I have a younger sister who is 11 and she is the most incredible piano player I think I have ever heard. I also have a mother and a father who is the director of Kunming University. They live on the 12th floor of a building that is a two minute walk from my gym. I couldn’t believe, Kunming has over 9 million people and I somehow lucked out living with a family right next to the gym I have been training at! I am hoping my Chinese will improve significantly!
Until next time,
Elizabeth
