From Mitch (MSU student) - June 5

Today was the third day of real classes and the sixth day we have been here.
Classes are going really well and the teachers are fantastic. In the morning we practice pronunciation which I really like because I am not that good at and it gives me ample opportunity to improve my speaking. It was a little overwhelming this morning because I was asked to pronounce a word that I was continuously unable to say correctly. However after a few deep breaths I was alright and ready to continue. I know that as long as I continue trying I am bound to become much better. After our first class we went to our next class which is a little more relaxing for me because we focus mainly on grammar. I like it a little better because the teacher is really outgoing and makes the class funny, but provides a great learning environment as well. He said that today was the last day he is going to speak English. For some reason I am not really that worried about it and actually look forward to it because I know that it will help our comprehension immensely.
I am finally getting over the jet lag and think everyone else is as well. I still get kind of tired around lunch time but I can notice it being later and later everyday that I get tired. I hope that this is a sign that I will soon be completely over it. As long as we have things to do it seems I can keep my mind off being tired, which really helps. After class today we got our student identification cards which I think will be a really cool souvenir.
Once that process was completed we met Mrs. Piletz in the student lounge to discuss how we were holding up and she told us who our host families would be. At first I was against the idea of doing the host family thing because my family was a host family for a girl from Germany for a year, and I didn’t think I would be able to put up with some of the stuff she had too. However, after long consideration, I realized that not only was this a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I am strong enough to put up with it especially if it will help improve my Chinese like I know that it will.

Mrs. Piletz informed me that the family I will be staying with has a son two years younger than me that studies Spanish. I do not consider myself fluent by any means, but I know enough Spanish to carry on conversations. I think this will give us more of a bond, and at least a way to communicate if the family’s English and my Mandarin are not proficient enough. Plus I always enjoy the opportunity to work on my Spanish since I do not get a chance to do so any more.
Tonight we ate at a Chinese restaurant that I really enjoyed. I have a week stomach that can not yet handle a lot of the food here so I was happy to eat something besides corporate American restaurants. I hope that I will be able to find more places like this or at least know which foods I can easily eat so that I can fully immerse myself in the culture and venture away from my American ways.
The first arrival excitement is starting to wear off and I am starting to feel real comfortable here. However some things are starting to bother me. One such thing is the way that everyone here, besides at the university, stares very hard at us. At first I thought it was really cool but now it is starting to become a nuisance. I know that I will get over it because there is nothing I can do about it. It just seems that this is the first time I have been a minority and it’s a different feeling. It gives me a new respect for the exchange students that come to Mississippi State by themselves.