I don't want to be a tourist in China.
Yes, yes I know what you're thinking. Well, what else are you going to be then? By definition a tourist is: "a person who is travelling or visiting a place for pleasure" which isn't wrong per say... I don't want to be a mass tourist in particular. These are the people that are bussed around from place to place and only go where the tour guides tell you to go. I'm going to China to experience living there from the inside not the ouside.
Let me give you an example. There are a lot of things China is known for: Forbidden City and The Great Wall, both of which I will likely see, but I don't want the touristy cookie-cutter explaination of what it is and why it's important. I want to hear directly from a student what they think about these monumental landmarks.
I want a first hand account of what it's like to live in the city, not what tour guides are paid to tell me. I want to go on day trips and slip away with my native friends to see things that aren't on the schedule. I want experience China outside of the University as much as I can.
This requires me to make some pretty fast friends and gain the trust of our leaders that I won't disappear and never come back, but let's say that's my goal in my first few days.
再见,
Jen
