What Actually Happened

While many of the guesses as to what happened were very creative, none of them were actually close to the mark. But a common theme was the language ability of myself and the three boys, so I should say that I, as well as the boys, all have an intermediate working knowledge of Mandarin.

I’m not sure how well I will tell this story seeing as there’s a bit of a backstory to explain, but I’ll do my best. It’s also quite convoluted and bizarre!

Next year, I want to study abroad in Beijing on a year-long program. I have three guy friends that, as of now, are also planning on participating in the program. Two of the three (Boy 1 and Boy 2) will only be studying abroad in Beijing in the fall, while the other (Boy 3) is also going to be there for a year. Boy 1 and Boy 2 are friends and I have known them since the first day of Chinese class freshman year. Boy 3 does not know the other boys and I have only known him since the beginning of this semester.

In the Beijing study abroad program, there are two options for study: a regular track or a language immersion track. In the regular track, you take classes taught in English about Chinese history, politics, economics, etc. In addition, you can take a Chinese language course on top of the English-taught classes. In the language immersion track, you only study Chinese. It’s an intensive program that really focuses on learning and using the language; students in the program usually are housed together and pledge to speak only Chinese during the course of the immersion. This pledge might interfere with how social immersion students are with the regular students as it has the potential to create a language barrier depending on the individuals’ level of spoken Chinese.

Boys 1 and 2 are doing the regular track during the fall semester, as it is generally recommended students studying in Beijing for only a semester take the regular track. Boy 3 is doing language immersion in the fall and the regular track in the spring. While I know I want to do one semester immersion and one semester regular, I’m not sure which semester I want to do what. And that is where the problem lies, because Boys 1 and 2 are trying to convince me to to do the regular track with them in the fall while Boy 3 wants me to do the language immersion one with him in the fall. Obviously, I can’t do both at the same time!

I tried explaining to Boys 1 and 2 (Boy 3 wasn’t there) that while I’m not sure which semester to do which program is best for me, the decision I ultimately make will be for me and will not be based on any of the three boys (or anyone else, for that matter). Apparently this was an unacceptable answer because the boys (in jest, I should add) brought up the question of my loyalties. According to Boys 1 and 2, I should do the regular track with them in the fall as I’ve known them longer than Boy 3 so I shouldn’t even have to think about which semester I’m doing what.

It was around this time that Boy 2 decided to walk away from me. He was trying to emphasize that I should do the regular track with him because it’ll be the last semester we have together (he graduates next May) and when that wasn’t enough to convince me on the spot, he walked away from me to stress his point. I expected him to come back after a few steps as most people do, but he kept on walking and walked right out of the dining area. It was around then I shouted “Don’t leave me! Come back, come back!” and garnered some very strange stares from those around me.

That’s basically what happened. It left me incredibly distraught and I am nowhere near closer figuring out what order I want to do my studies in next year!

Tags: lol