Apparently I look like the Slumdog Millionaire guy

So I just had my first "fluent" conversation. It was a bit short
("You are from what country?" "America" "How long have you been
studying Chinese?" "Before coming here, 1 year, after, 3 weeks" "Your
Chinese is fluent" "Thank you"), and I had to close my eyes briefly to
remember something, but I did not pause, spoke at normal speed, and
understood everything that was said.
One of the things I have noticed is the surprising amount of
contradictions and disagreements that the teachers give me regarding
whether a word is suitable or not/is commonly said. I suppose I
should have to "break" the language as much as possible in order to
find out what word usage draws surprised looks from others, and thus
is not quite correct.
I met with a BeiYu student while eating lunch in the cafeteria. He
said, in somewhat broken Chinese (which he to is learning), "Yao Ba
Ling Ling" - 1800 - referring to the fact that China is now like the
American West of the 1800s - given it's developing status, China has
lots of business opportunity, and so he is learning Chinese.
The intense writing is starting to take its toll - not on my mental
state, but on my hands. So far, I've heard no one else have problems
with repetitive stress, but then I haven't really talked about it,
either.
I saw a woman teaching Taijiquan outside. She showed me a bit of
sword-and-tassel work, and was very enthusiastic about having me as a
student. However, I didn't have time to stay and chat for long (about
7 minutes).
Apparently my Chinese tutor's friend thinks I look like the lead from
Slumdog Millionaire, and thus giggles every time we run into each
other (mostly at the place I use the internet). I'm somewhat
flattered. Also, I don't think I look like him, beyond the fact that
I'm of Indian descent, but Indians are fairly uncommon in Beijing
(though I have seen some).
I'm getting behind on current events in America.
The Chinese have a reputation for politeness (discussed in Thursday's
lesson). So far, from what I've seen, it's not really all that
different from the American system of politeness - it's just a matter
of degree, and as long as you know the degree to which other members
of a conversation are moderating their speech, and do likewise,
intentions aren't any more difficult to divine than they are in
America (this view is subject to change if I learn information to the
contrary).
One thing I forgot to mention that's vastly different from America -
umbrellas. The vast majority of girls here seem to carry umbrellas to
protect them from the sun, something I've never seen in America.