Today was another rainy day, which set the mood nicely for our exploration of an artsy and hip neighborhood. After Mandarin class (I can’t believe it’s already our second-to-last one!) we headed to the 789 Art Zone located in the Chaoyang District. It felt very different from any other neighborhood we’ve been to in Beijing, and since it was raining we pretty much had the place to ourselves. There were lots of statues and beautiful murals everywhere, which made it difficult to distinguish the galleries and shops from private properties—we accidentally wandered into a few buildings that turned out to be nothing in particular. We also stumbled upon an empty warehouse space, where employees from nearby restaurants were taking a break. It was a very interesting space and we took advantage of the cool architecture and lighting to snap a few pictures. After looking at some art, we succumbed to our cravings and ate pizza at an Italian restaurant. As much as I have been loving the food here, it was so good to have a little change of pace! I also finally made a non-food purchase, which was a tiny and cute little sheep figurine for potted plants. My mom loves plants, and since I didn’t think bringing her a plant was feasible, the sheep was the next best thing.
Tomorrow we have our Mandarin test, and as I am studying I realize how much we’ve learned in just a week! Although it’s a complicated language and obviously very different than English, the pinyin was very helpful and honestly everything has made a lot of sense so far. I’m still nervous for the test, but I’m sure it will be fine. Tomorrow after the exam we’re going to the Temple of Heaven, which should be amazing!