lost-in-translation-2017

[lost-in-translation-2017]

6/6/17 Today I decided to test to make sure Tumblr works in China and it doesn’t! I’m shocked since it worked two summers ago but I guess the Chinese government views it as a threat. Good thing I checked before I left! http://lost-in-translation2017.weebly.com Here’s the new one. I tested it through the firewall... hopefully no more websites get blocked in the 45 days I’m there 😥

[lost-in-translation-2017]

6/2/17 Can’t believe it’s June! 19 days until departure which seems surreal. I was going to provide a short summary of the program I’m going on but NSLI-Y sent out this press release today which sums it up the scholarship part pretty well. As for what I’ll be doing in China~ living with a host family, attending school Monday through Friday for 4 hours a day, and completing homework assignments. Additionally, I’ll be participating in cultural and community service activities during the afternoon and weekends. And that’s about all I know! 

In order to hopefully prevent illness abroad, I picked up some typhoid vaccine pills today. Also the travel doctor told me not to eat birds because of the flu epidemic and that includes chicken! I think it’s going to be difficult to avoid eating chicken, especially if my host family eats it frequently but I’ll try not to eat poultry. He also said no petting stray dogs which makes me sad :( but I don’t want rabies. 

On a completely different note, today was my 2nd to last Chinese class at Carlmont and I’m honestly really sad. Over the past 3 years, Chinese has become not just a class, but a community. I’ve met many incredible people and received so much help on pronunciation, grammar, and many other things. We’ve shared countless laughs together. I will never forget our eating dog debates or CNY. I will sincerely miss walking into U14 everyday and saying “一二三 姜老师好!” when the bell rings. It’s a bit ambitious and possibly wishful thinking, but I hope we can schedule several lunchtimes a month next year where we can all reunite and practice speaking. Wish me luck not crying on Monday after our AP Chinese party (oops I mean final ;)

Alice 爱丽丝

[lost-in-translation-2017]

5/31/2017

Hi all, welcome to Lost in Translation, a blog of my summer adventures. In China it will be difficult for me to communicate frequently due to my intensive schedule and the awkward time change. Also, although I love and will miss each of you immensely, I want to take full advantage of the opportunities available in Suzhou to immerse myself in the Chinese language and culture without having to worry about checking in with multiple people daily. I hope this blog will serve as an acceptable baseline for communication as well as a way for me to document my trip. That being said, don’t hesitate to message me via iMessage or We Chat (more details to be shared later, not on a public blog). I won’t have my phone with me and many websites/social networking sites (including Gmail) are blocked in China. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to respond promptly but I will do my very best :) 

With love,

Alice 爱丽丝