Midterm and More - 12/13/17

Hello everyone, it’s Rachael! Today was another big school day. We had Prof. Ripley’s class in the morning and our political economy class in the evening, so the middle of the day was spent doing homework and studying for our China midterm. Study breaks for various globies included playing basketball, walking in the park, going out to brunch/ lunch/ dinner, watching Teen Wolf, and planning activities for our remaining free days. A highlight of my day was doing some field research for my political economy paper on Beijing’s urban green-spaces by walking to the nearby park and jumping into an impromptu dance rehearsal. One thing that makes the parks here different from the parks back home is that here parks are always packed with people and they are often used as an open space to practice dancing, singing, etc. People will just practice in the middle of the park and if a group is doing tai chi and you feel compelled to hop in and follow along, you are welcome to do so. It’s all very public but with everything going on, you can really go unnoticed, doing whatever activity you choose. Anyway, all is well here. Our group is a little swamped with homework but still very much enjoying our final couple weeks!