Roommate!

My roommate came yesterday! Her first name is Rui and she seems fun. She is studying information technology, which was really interesting to me. She is also taking a class in Java. She showed me her Javascript book and I realized that they learn the same Java that anyone in the US would learn. Can you imagine coding Java in Chinese characters?!

Her boyfriend is a roommate on the floor above us so it will be interesting to see how Chinese relationships are similar and different from those in the US. From everything people have told me, they take relationships very seriously here. Holding hands in public typically signifies that both people have made a firm commitment and that they have been dating for about a year. While dancing with someone in a bar or holding hands with someone after a week may not be as big of a deal in the US, Chinese people can sometimes hold expectations that include long-term plans, including marriage. While this is certainly a generalization, I am definitely interested in learning more about the expectations people have here with both friends and significant others.

We had a scavenger hunt today which was basically designed for us to get more comfortable with the city, find out how to use the transportation, and meet some more people. Our roommates were supposed to come with us, but since Rui has a final exam on Tuesday, she is not coming back to the dorm until after her test. One of the Chinese roommates, Xi Ning (Last name First name), was telling us about his English class (he spoke pretty good English). He said that his English name is Jack Barbossa (yes, both references from Pirates of the Caribbean). Ning told us that his teacher made him change his name. When we asked him what his name was, he said that his ex-name was Parrot (that sits on Barbossa's shoulder). Haha!