Everyone signed the language pledge today, beginning four months of only Chinese speaking (e-mialing non Chinese speakers is permitted). So far, it has been more enjoyable than I anticipated. But classes haven't stared yet either. Today we had a three hour meeting discussing how to study and how to deal with speaking only Chinese, etc., then we had another meeting with our specific grade level when we received copious amounts of textbooks and homework. There are around fifty students in the program and over thirty teachers so it's almost a one to one ratio.
After the meetings and a reception, one of the returning students (who was in Beijing with ACC last semester) took a few of us to Wal-Mart (wo4 er2 ma3) to buy some food and things for the dorm room that are very very cheap. There are also many smaller stores close to the university to buy more authentic Chinese food, which I go to more often.
Yesterday, another one of the returning students took a few of us to a massive market in the western part of the city. It is six floors and has more items and people squeezed into a small space than I've ever seen before. It was also my first experience bargaining (nothing really has a fixed price and they generally try to charge westerners more money so it's useful to bargain).
In general, I've found most people to be very nice and encouraging toward my (and others') attempts to speak Chinese. They will usually smile and sometimes laugh, because we definitely do stand out, especially in groups.

Some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/klebling/