Wudaokou by night. This neighbourhood is a 15 min walk away from campus.

Class today was easy. Okay, I wanted to poke my eyes out with sticks it was so slow and unchallenging. So when the first break arrived after one hour, I told my teacher that this class was too easy and asked if I could transfer to a harder class. She told me, a Korean guy, and a Japanese girl with the same problem, to head upstairs and speak to 李老师 Teacher Lee.

We thought this would involve a simple little conversation with Teacher Lee but instead, she will pull out your original placement test results and give you a real grilling asking why you want to change class. The Korean guy found this out the hard way; the Japanese girl and I heard Teacher Lee give him a really hard time when he asked to change to a harder course. He tried, in an obviously frustrated manner, to explain that he graduated from his Korean university with a major in Chinese and studied at 北大 Bei Da - Beijing University for 2 months but she kept asking why his reading and writing test results were so low if he studied for so long. After 10 minutes of going back and forth on this issue, she finally granted his request to move up to the next level.

I didn't have such difficulty, probably because I very politely explained to Teacher Lee that I've learned this material before but am merely out of practice reading and writing for two years and am willing to study hard to stay on top of class material. When in Rome... and in China you cannot expect the degree of equity that exists in a North American student-teacher relationship. Confucian values still prevail which means that as a young student, I should to behave towards my older and 'wiser' teacher with respectful deference, ie. do not follow the example of the Korean who visibly and loudly expressed his frustration with the situtation. In short, be just shy of kissing ass. So with a warning that I will not be allowed to switch back down a level if I find the new class to hard, I was placed in upper-Elementary level.

However, classes are full and I won't know if there is space in an upper-Elementary class until the morning. I need to show up at the Teacher Lee's office at 8:15am to find out if there is a free spot. With some luck, I begin tomorrow morning.