A day in the life of Kunming

August 5, 2015

A typical day in Kunming is mostly made up of classes as that is the focus of the trip. I wake up every morning around 7:00am to get ready for class and eat breakfast (usually some type of bread from a local bakery). I leave for class around 8:20am and get to class at 8:25am with a few minutes to review vocab before class begins. We have class every day from 8:30am to 12:00pm with a few breaks so it’s not nonstop. The classes are typically a mix of character writing, learning new vocab/grammar, practicing speaking and listening to the teachers in order to understand (the entire class is taught in Mandarin so we have to pay a lot of attention).

One of our cultural excursions last weekend- a traditional Chinese spa known specifically for it’s rejuvenating hot springs and it’s abundant food.

At noon we have a 2 hour lunch break to eat and rest before our cultural class begins. At 2pm we have cultural class which changes every day. It’s been a mix of meditation, tai ji, and chinese folk dancing for the most part with some calligraphy and paper cutting and tea ceremonies thrown in there too. At 3pm we switch to an hour and half of more language practice with our language partners (each student has been assigned their own individual partner to help solidify what they learn every day in class). After that ends we have free time for the rest of the night, assuming our homework is done at some point. Typically the group goes for dinner around 6:30pm at a local restaurant. We’ve been here long enough that we have a few favorites but we mix it up some too. Really our day is pretty relaxed once classes are finished, but during classes is a lot of learning in a very short period of time. However, as fast paced as it is, we’re learning a lot and it’s worth the hard work we have to put in.

My roomies and I from a few days ago at dinner. We have fun and we get along so it’s a pretty good set up. We also have a suite in the hotel so there is plenty of room and we each have our own bed.

As a side note, the internet has begun to get tricky again and won’t let me get on the blog fairly often (hence why this post is a little later than I wanted it to be). However, whenever I can get the VPN to work I quickly type out a post and add pictures if possible. So, enjoy this most recent post and the pictures that go with it and I’m so sorry it’s late!