Katherine

Nearly two weeks ago we met our first Chinese friend, Katherine. At our first Zumba class she approached us asking where we were from and what we were doing in China. Since it seems that so few people speak English in our neighborhood, we were surprised and excited to hear her impressive English! She nervously asked if we would help her with her English. She said that English is her major in college and she mostly struggles speaking. We answered "Of course!" (of course) and she agreed to help us with our Chinese along the way. We spoke after the class, exchanged numbers and "wechats" (a very popular texting/voice call/media "app" in China).

Delicious dinner at Katherine's family's restaurant.

Two days later, we joined her and her young cousin at her family's restaurant (which we were happy to find out is only a five minute walk from our apartment complex) for a delicious meal to celebrate her 20th birthday. Since then we've barely gone a day without seeing her! Last weekend she took us to the Forbidden City (thank goodness, it seemed like it would've been nearly impossible to buy tickets without knowing Chinese...we will post stories soon!), she joined us at a party in one of the hutongs, at the gym, shopping, and comes over for dinner often!

Charlotte and Katherine on Katherine's birthday.

At the Forbidden City.

Katherine

Jacky and Katherine before our night out in the hutongs.

She frequently tells us how grateful she is for our friendship and that every day we spend together is so special to her. The other day, she told us that her father is very proud and brags to his friends about how his daughter has two American friends. We tell her that we are the lucky ones! She is kind, generous, and has a great sense of humor. She fits right in! Katherine has been wonderful showing us around our neighborhood. We've learned so much from her already, everything from what ingredients are in some of the food we like to Chinese phrases to certain cultural norms.

Unfortunately she leaves to go back to college (over an hour from Beijing by plane) in less than a month. But we are taking advantage of having her here! Tonight we're all going to the big mall a few miles from our apartment to celebrate Jacky and my "one month" anniversary of being in China!

More posts to come tomorrow and Sunday! Stay tuned...