December 09, 2014

In college at 34

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But old, outdated, and mysterious as I am, I park my bike beside the cool kids three days a week and sit in class for 2.5 hours, trying, TRYING to learn this distressingly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.
Our second-floor courtyard.
Our snack bar. Warms the belly on a cold day.
Our bookstore. I bought a used Sichuan travel guide here that I love!
For all your school supply needs!
The lady from whom I buy my breaktime snack (cashews and tea)