What a Week!

Sunday, August 5, 2007

China has been an amazing experience thus far. I originally planned to record stories on specific days, but that didn't work, especially this being my first week in China. I hope this blog will not only be something that I can look back at and bring back some smiles, but also includes stories that my family and friends can be a part of and enjoy! I don't know how other posts will look, but I think it'll work best for me right now to make posts according to different fun stories. This one will be about life at Beijing University.

I've finally settled into the university life in China. Here are memorable things I did to adapt to this new environment:

1. tried all the restaurants on campus (meals range from 50-60 cents)
2. bought a big bottle of water and a cute water bottle (totaling 1 dollar)
3. bought three international calling cards to call home ($5 each, 40 min each)
4. pingpong paddles and badminton rackets to make some new friends and exercise since pingpong and badminton is a popular sport here ($5 for both is a good investment right?)
5. bought many fruits; mainly crunchy peach (60 cents)
6. bought a knife for cutting fruits (very important for fruits ie. mangos, papayas, watermelon)
7. one month gym subscription
8. bought a tiny notebook to record all the words I see on the street and all the words I hear my friends or random people say
9. my language partner helped me buy very cheap cellphone that has a very unique charger. it works well! and my sim card was very cheap too. yay! =)
10. paid for internet subscription for a month and bought an ethernet cable at a supermarket for $1
11. learned how to take a taxi, bus, and subway! (all fun stuff, my favorite is the subway)
12. learned and practiced ALOT how to bargain, order food, and carry small talk in chinese!

I think I did some more random things, but these are the ones I remember. I can't believe it's only been a week...I like how time feels a lot slower here. This is a good thing since I can do more in just one day. Here are some pictures of daily life:

My everyday necessities: bug spray, sun block, water, and phone to call home! =)
At our dorm's dining hall, $1.34 per breakfast
With roomate and friend: first time on the gonggongqiche (public bus)
Campus noodle store: many different and yummy noodles,
many of which I can not read and order
The first three days: niu rou mian was the only thing I could read and eat...after my teacher came to the rescue and took my friends and me out to eat for two lunches, I can now order five dishes. =)
This is the way how laundry should be done -- with ethernet cables. =) jk

1 comments:

Ivan said...

nancy!! (ruan tian fu)

your pictures and descriptions bring back such wonderful memories! i'd love so much to eat jiao zi. make sure you don't miss the cafe with the umbrellas on campus - good for breakfast if you're up early enough: (very greasy) chinese donuts.. vegetable pork buns..
careful with the bean sprouts.
when bargaining, make befriending them the first priority, not haggling. the prices will come.
and.. yes. there's a lot. sorry, i'm just getting excited all over again.
the new summer palace is pretty - nice ponds and scenery, and such.
alright, hao haor wanr! bie wang le xiu xi yi xia.

p.s. long live chi hao lou (and their black pepper sizzling beef)!