It's Still Snowing!

Damn... I should have brought my camera along with me when my tutor brought me to walk around Wuming Lake. It was sooo pretty. The lake was all frozen over and people were walking on the ice hand in hand, slipping and sliding. It was such a pretty sight. People were playing with the snow and everything. Everything had a layer of white snow on it. People were all bundled up in warm jackets. There were people riding bikes around the lake, some guys had their girlfriends sitting behind them on their bike, holding tight to their waists. Couples were walking hand in hand everywhere around the lake. Very 浪漫 langman (romantic). 和自己的心上人尽情相处。。 真得很浪漫！Enjoying to the fullest with the one you love... so romantic! Haha.. that was one of my sentences in my book.
I had a really good time with my tutor today. We talked about our tastes in music and how she finds speaking English very difficult. She will be taking her Toefl exam at the end of this month, and is very nervous about it. She really wants to go to University of Maryland for Graduate school. So this exam is very important. We talked about how she has bad impressions of the American culture. From what she knows, Americans like to drink a lot and go to bars. She said that she's not that kind of person and wonders if she will be able to get used to life in the United States if she does end up going to grad school there. It's sad that that's the one thing that non-Americans associate with the American culture. We also talked about the American education system and how students are really open with talking and giving their opinions in class. That is so different from the education system in Asia, that is more passive. She asked me how long it took for me to get used to the education system there, and to feel comfortable in a different culture. I had to think for a little bit. In the end I told her that it took about a year，maybe even more. Even now, I sometimes feel like I still don't fit in with the American culture. But I am definitely much more comfortable now. I definitely also feel more comfortable with Not fitting in with the culture. With the passing of every year, I do find myself being much more 'American' in terms of socializing and speaking my mind. Sure I still occasionally tend to hide in my shell, but I now come out more often and I am less afraid of doing it.

I would say we had a pretty intellectual conversation don't you think? She asked me what I need help with in terms of improving my Chinese... and I said my vocabulary. So she offered to take me to the bookstores after her Toefl exam to look at cheap books or poems. She said she wants to read with me Journey to the West 西游记 .. which is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature. So I'm excited. I saw the Cantonese drama for it a long time ago when I was younger.. now I can actually attempt to read the story. I don't know how I will fare. So we'll see...

I am so so hungry. My roommate dumped me for a nap. My stomach's making grumbly noises. Need to get some food!