Wow, where to begin…

If you had told me a year ago that I would be able to go abroad and conduct research, I would have asked you to not …

I have been learning Mandarin Chinese for about a year and a half now, and when I began to learn, the thought only briefly occurred to me that I could someday visit the country where this language is spoken, let alone do linguistic/psychological scientific research there. But so very soon, that thought has become reality.

I’ve been in Beijing, China now for about a week. The jet lag is finally easing up on me, and I’m getting into the mode of speaking Chinese.  I feel that already I have had many adventures worth writing down and remembering forever. Just existing in a different place is so fascinating; being on the other side of the world-there is much to learn, and much reason to explore.

I have begun to get into a sort of routine: I get 包子 “baozi” (pork buns) at this little shop in the morning for breakfast. I’ve even found an ice skating rink to practice at when I feel the urge to go skating… I am in awe each morning I come into the lab at 北京师范大学 Beijing Normal University (”Bei Shi Da“).  Although I haven’t begun testing, I’ve been spending much time, along with the wonderful help of an undergraduate student here, recruiting and preparing a schedule for testing participants.

~I am very excited for what is to come in the next coming weeks, and look forward to seeing how things go with the research!