More Proof That I Am Lacking Musical Genes

To make up for making my mom worry about me last night, I decided to wake up later. As in 5:52 (I know, that is hardly later, but whatever.) I felt good about myself. This morning wasn't nearly as hectic, because I didn't have as much homework to do before school, and there was no Tai Chi. I again took the bus this morning, because it is so much easier than biking. And way safer too. And as everyone knows, safety comes first.

Just as I was going to eat my customary piece of bread this morning, I realized that the bag of bread had a picture of milk on it, so I think my parents bought me milk bread or something. So I didn't eat it. Instead, I went to the sketch jiao zi place in the alley next to the school. It is cheap, and very convenient. And rather good food, I think. For all that it is sketch.

I helped my friends study for their quizzes, calling out 2 sets of vocab lists at one time. Of course, there was the customary gossip, but that had to stop as soon as people other than my friend and I entered the room. Gossip is a sensitive topic. Right after studying, there was, of course, the listening thing we have every morning, and 2 hours of Chinese took off with a bang. Not so much bang as "Di yi ge..." but you get what I mean. I really like my classes. Chinese is fun, and these are the best Chinese classes I am ever going to get in my life, probably. So I just try to soak it up like a sponge.

Today is a rather odd day, because we only really have Chinese class, and then some other random things. Every Wednesday we have a math test, so after another quick cram session, it was off to a Calc test. He gives us answer keys at the end, so I know I didn't get some right. Probably the hardest one yet, but I didn't fail. I'm not that stupid. Yet.

After that experience (sure to earn me another grey hair in the future) we had a Chinese society and culture class, one that we have every Wednesday and Thursday. As I have mentioned, we just talk about mostly current events. Today's topic was, naturally, the milk crisis. It seemed fitting that we should be talking about food, because I was getting progressively hungrier as the class went on (it was right before lunch, and I don't eat breakfast.) We had some Chinese kids come in and give us a survey (and I have to send that survey to my friends back in the states, so you have been warned...) Then I basically flew down the stairs and to lunch. I wasn't particularly in the mood for a sit down restaurant kind of thing, and neither were most of the people that went with me. So Chris and I bought these wrap things and a drink from a supermarket, and everyone else bought food from a stand on the street. Overall, very good food.

There was a college meeting for seniors today at 1, but because I have already written most of my essays, I didn't have to go. Which is nice, because I had a music lesson at 2 close to Tian An Men square (and we had to leave at 1 to get there in time, since we took the subway) so I wasn't going to go even if I hadn't been excused from the meeting. It was actually a pretty fun adventure to the music lessons. As it turns out, my Chinese teacher was also taking Yangqin lessons with me, so we got to go together. And people who were taking Guzheng lessons at 2 also came. So I got 2 friends and 2 teachers to travel with. It was nice.

After a quick stop at the bank to take out money to buy my instrument, we were off. It is a 10 minute walk to the subway station, although there is basically no wait for the subway once you actually get there. We had to switch trains at one point, and it was then that I realized we were late. Ah well. Nothing could be done about it at this point.

Although I knew that the school was close to Tian An Men square, I didn't realize it would actually be in Tian An Men. So imagine my surprise when I walk out of the subway, and the first thing I see is the Forbidden City. Even more surprising was when we started walking to a gate into the Forbidden City. Apparently, that is where my school is. How surreal is that? I am never leaving China. Ever. Sorry folks, America and me are done.

It was quite peaceful inside the City, and once we got to the music school, it was not at all what I expected. It was small, artsy, and very personal. I love it, except I feel totally out of place. Once we got there, my teacher and I split off to our class, and the other people wen to Guzheng. Let me just say, the yangqin is a bloody hard instrument to learn. Our teacher gave us a demonstration of a song, and then it was our turn for a lesson. For the first 45 minutes, we just practiced holding the "hammer" and flicking our wrist in the right way, without even touching the strings. Then we started trying to hit the strings. I say try, because it is actually a lot harder to touch a string than you would think. No joke. These hammers, aside from being awkward to hold, are extremely light and flexible, and if you don't do it just right, they spin out of control, and take on a life of their own. If you do manage to hit the string, more likely than not, the hammer is going to bounce on the string and sound horrible. At least, that is what I thought. Then, I looked over at my Chinese teacher, and wanted to curl into a hole. She didn't seem to be having too much trouble. Of course not. That is just my luck. Ah well. I couldn't stay mad at her for too long.

After my lesson, I decided to buy the instrument. My Chinese teacher left (after blowing me a kiss. It was rather cute) and then it was just me, my friends, and the other Chinese teacher who came who was buying a Guzheng. It was rather depressing when I had to pay for my instrument, because I handed over a rather impressive (25 individual notes) stack of hundreds to my teacher, and only got 2 measley 10's back. It's enough to make a girl cry. Then came the business of moving this monstrocity. Apparently, not only did I pick the most expensive instrument to play, but I am picked the heaviest. No joke, it is a dead weight. But at least the case (which is even bigger) had wheels, and the stand that the instrument goes on is rather light. My teacher took command of rolling the Yangqin to the nearest gate to get me and taxi, and my friend picked up the stand, so I just walked and chatted in Chinese. Jiao Jian (that's my teacher) is a very friendly guy, and we had a nice conversation.

We soon commandered (no, just kididng, we hailed) a taxi, and managed to get the Yangqin in to the backseat, everyone (except the Chinese teacher and her Guzheng) got into the cab, and we all went back to school. (We actually had to bust out a piece of paper with the address of the school and my house on it, because we don't know. How pathetic is that?) My friends hopped out as soon as we got to school, but I kept him until I got home, because I wasn't hauling my instrument any farther than I had to.

Once at my apartment building, I paid the guy, and then pulled my instrument out, case, stand and all, and started the walk to my elevator. One of the gate boys, whose job it is to help people, helped me get my instrument to my door 12 flights up, and then I had to get it inside, which was the easy part. No one was home, because I was home so early, so it was nice to just relax by myself for a while. There is nothing quite like it. I was a little worried about what my parents were going to say when they came home and saw that I had bought a Yangqin (considering they didn't even know I had a music lesson today) but I shouldn't have worried. My dad saw it first, and he thought it was great. He got a big smile on his face, and said he would help me find a place for it after dinner.

Dinner was nothing new, but I did manage to have a whole conversation (for the first time) in Chinese with my dad. I even used some new words. Granted, we talked about my music lessons, but still. It was a start. Then, after dinner, he was true to his word, and helped me shift my room a little so it could fit the Yangqin (and he changed 2 lightbulbs that were dead, at the risk of his life: he put 2 chairs on top of each other. I held onto them, because I could see that turning into a bad situation.)

The rest of the night was boring. I realized that I had left one booked I need for homework in my locker, so that can't be done until tomorrow morning. My mom was also very impressed with my Yangqin (she even hit the strings a little) and then gave me a cloth to put over it so the dust wouldn't settle on it. I love her a lot. Really, I do. Now, I am falling asleep as I write (but I got the whole entry out...yay me.) so I have got to go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be so so SO long, so wish me luck.