Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Longdong isn't too bad
你们好！Nimen hao! I'm sitting in a coffee shop called Tous Les Jours with a friend in the west side of Beijing, Wudaokou. It's a student area with lots of universities, coffee shops, etc. I'm doing great!
I have Chinese class at a language school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9pm. I have 2 classmates - an Italian guy and a French guy... very interesting. The class is too easy for me so I feel very smart. It's good for me to review words and grammar I've forgotten, and some of the vocab words are new so that's good. Chinese class is me in my element - If I could make a career out of attending Chinese class I would rock at it.
I have some interviews/teaching demos for teaching jobs coming up. Some for kindergartners, one for adults. Should be interesting. I'm not excited about doing the demos, but I'm ready to have a job! The kids teaching jobs won't start until March 1st because Chinese New Year (Spring Festival, chunjie) is coming up and people get a long break. Sooo, I'd have a month to hang out, maybe travel a little?!? I need to find some friends to travel with.
The apartment search is ongoing. I love Sheila, the girl I'm going to live with, but so far we haven't found a place we are "manyi" (satisfied) with. People post apartments on this website that look nice and are reasonably priced, but they don't actually exist which is disappointing. We're going to keep looking. The other night we met some real estate guys, who we thought were picking us up in a car, but they showed up with electric bikes. A minute later I'm on the back of a bike, holding on to a Chinese man for dear life as he swerves through cars down the busy streets. I took a picture of it that I'll try to post later. It was fun and crazy!
I'm pretty sure I'm going to run the Great Wall half marathon in May. Ahh!!!! It's going to be impossible, but It also looks incredible and I feel like it's something I have to do. I'm going to try and start training in February. Anyone want to come run it with me?
That's all for now!
I have Chinese class at a language school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9pm. I have 2 classmates - an Italian guy and a French guy... very interesting. The class is too easy for me so I feel very smart. It's good for me to review words and grammar I've forgotten, and some of the vocab words are new so that's good. Chinese class is me in my element - If I could make a career out of attending Chinese class I would rock at it.
I have some interviews/teaching demos for teaching jobs coming up. Some for kindergartners, one for adults. Should be interesting. I'm not excited about doing the demos, but I'm ready to have a job! The kids teaching jobs won't start until March 1st because Chinese New Year (Spring Festival, chunjie) is coming up and people get a long break. Sooo, I'd have a month to hang out, maybe travel a little?!? I need to find some friends to travel with.
The apartment search is ongoing. I love Sheila, the girl I'm going to live with, but so far we haven't found a place we are "manyi" (satisfied) with. People post apartments on this website that look nice and are reasonably priced, but they don't actually exist which is disappointing. We're going to keep looking. The other night we met some real estate guys, who we thought were picking us up in a car, but they showed up with electric bikes. A minute later I'm on the back of a bike, holding on to a Chinese man for dear life as he swerves through cars down the busy streets. I took a picture of it that I'll try to post later. It was fun and crazy!
I'm pretty sure I'm going to run the Great Wall half marathon in May. Ahh!!!! It's going to be impossible, but It also looks incredible and I feel like it's something I have to do. I'm going to try and start training in February. Anyone want to come run it with me?
That's all for now!
Monday, January 25, 2010
I'm a back!
Hello all! Sorry it's taken me so long to write my first update - I know you have all been checking my blog regularly. It's Monday afternoon, and I've been in Beijing almost two weeks. My dad left on Friday, and I had a great time with him!
My dad and I were very active and busy. We went to the Great Wall, Tian'anmen square, Forbidden City, Olympic park, and saw a lot of the city. It was great to have him here to figure out where everything was, how to use the subway/buses - even though he knew nothing and I pretty much taught him everything he knows. It is so cold here and we wore long underwear, many layers, hats, gloves, etc. every day. I've met a lot of great people and am excited about getting more involved in the community here and forming relationships with these people.
I've been sick for a few days, which isn't fun, but I'm surviving - luckily I brought a first aid kit that I've taken advantage of. I'm planning on living with a 25-year-old girl from Rwanda who works for the Rwandan embassy here. She's lived in Beijing for a long time, and we've started looking for apartments. I hope something works out soon! Right now I'm living with a wonderful couple, but this expat community is more for families and it's outside the city. I want to live on the east side, and it's a bit of a trek to get into town, so I can't really start my life there yet.
My Chinese is BAD! I start language classes tonight, but either I am really unprepared for speaking here or I'm really rusty. Hopefully the latter. People speak so fast and speak the Beijing dialect - they leave out words, combine words, and add a lovely "arrrr" sound to the end of a lot of words. It will take some getting used to, practice, and study to really be able to communicate.
Some days have been great and exciting, and some days have been really hard. I'm glad I'm here, but moving to a foreign country is really tough. I'm not sure how I want to spend my next few weeks/months and am really trying to figure that out. The culture shock has been overwhelming at times, so I'm really looking to make some good foreign friends who can help me and relate to what I'm going through. Like I said, I've already met some people that I really like, now I just have to take the time to get to know them.
The food... hm... I've had a few dishes that I've liked, but for the most part my stomach is not happy with Chinese flavors. When you eat a meal with Chinese people they want you to eat some nasty stuff, they order a TON of food, and they want you to eat all of it and enjoy it. Thankfully Beijing is a very international city with lots of different kinds of food. The other night a Chinese person I was with ordered fish, so of course the waiter brought out the live fish in a plastic container to show us it was fresh - lovely. I love seeing my live food before it's killed and cooked.
Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! Please keep praying for my living situation, relationships, job, and language. I'll write again soon!
My dad and I were very active and busy. We went to the Great Wall, Tian'anmen square, Forbidden City, Olympic park, and saw a lot of the city. It was great to have him here to figure out where everything was, how to use the subway/buses - even though he knew nothing and I pretty much taught him everything he knows. It is so cold here and we wore long underwear, many layers, hats, gloves, etc. every day. I've met a lot of great people and am excited about getting more involved in the community here and forming relationships with these people.
I've been sick for a few days, which isn't fun, but I'm surviving - luckily I brought a first aid kit that I've taken advantage of. I'm planning on living with a 25-year-old girl from Rwanda who works for the Rwandan embassy here. She's lived in Beijing for a long time, and we've started looking for apartments. I hope something works out soon! Right now I'm living with a wonderful couple, but this expat community is more for families and it's outside the city. I want to live on the east side, and it's a bit of a trek to get into town, so I can't really start my life there yet.
My Chinese is BAD! I start language classes tonight, but either I am really unprepared for speaking here or I'm really rusty. Hopefully the latter. People speak so fast and speak the Beijing dialect - they leave out words, combine words, and add a lovely "arrrr" sound to the end of a lot of words. It will take some getting used to, practice, and study to really be able to communicate.
Some days have been great and exciting, and some days have been really hard. I'm glad I'm here, but moving to a foreign country is really tough. I'm not sure how I want to spend my next few weeks/months and am really trying to figure that out. The culture shock has been overwhelming at times, so I'm really looking to make some good foreign friends who can help me and relate to what I'm going through. Like I said, I've already met some people that I really like, now I just have to take the time to get to know them.
The food... hm... I've had a few dishes that I've liked, but for the most part my stomach is not happy with Chinese flavors. When you eat a meal with Chinese people they want you to eat some nasty stuff, they order a TON of food, and they want you to eat all of it and enjoy it. Thankfully Beijing is a very international city with lots of different kinds of food. The other night a Chinese person I was with ordered fish, so of course the waiter brought out the live fish in a plastic container to show us it was fresh - lovely. I love seeing my live food before it's killed and cooked.
Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! Please keep praying for my living situation, relationships, job, and language. I'll write again soon!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
T minus one week
I'm leaving in a week! Jan. 12 I head to Beijing with my dad, and we arrive the afternoon of the 13th. I'm staying with a wonderful American couple until I find a job and place to live (roommate, hopefully). It's going to be FREEZING so I'm trying to pack lots of warm clothes, but will also need clothes for the warmer months to come. I'll write more once I arrive!
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