Settling in

It’s been 2 days since I arrived in the Chinese capital and yes, I'm still alive and well. I haven't had anything stolen either...touch wood.

Thanks to an uncle in the U.S. who introduced me to a Chinese-Canadian girl with an apartment and acquaintances in Beijing, I was picked up from the airport, accompanied to the apartment where I was to stay until I could move in to the university dorm; taken to lunch; accompanied to the university to enrol, sign up for a dorm room; and accompanied back to the apartment.

I waited ages and ages for my suitcase to come out. I was just about to go and ask someone when I spotted one that looked like mine. It even had the same yellow ribbon tied to the handle except that the suitcase was wrapped in plastic. When I took a closer look, I saw that it was my suitcase and that the side handle had been broken off. I figure that’s why it took so long for it to come out and why it was wrapped in plastic. Oh well, I guess it’s time to get a new one.^^

Walking out of customs at around 11:45 Beijing time, I spotted the piece of A4 paper with my name printed on it. The lady is quite proficient in English. I actually started off speaking to her in Mandarin on the phone the previous day but my brain quickly switched back into English mode. It’s so frustrating not being able to say what you want to say so that the the listener understands.
Anyway, she introduced me to Teacher Z, accompanied me to the apartment, to lunch, to the university for registration, etc. then back to the apartment. I feel so bad for having her help me with my luggage and taking up her whole day, but I don’t think I could’ve managed on my own. I was lacking sleep and utterly overwhelmed by everything.

Even though I could’ve moved into the dorm straight after registration, I’m glad I stayed at my uncle’s friend’s apartment that first night. It’s a very nice 3 bedroom (incl. 1 ensuite) apartment with a very spacious living/dining area. She herself wasn’t there, but a German girl was staying there temporarily and we went out for dinner together. At least I was able to be of some help to someone, even if it was just explaining some of the dishes on the menu. She’s a university student studying business administration and is here for 2 months on an internship. What’s funny is that she doesn’t know the apartment owner personally either. She was introduced to the girl’s sister who lives in HK, through another friend. Connections, connections, connections.^^

Teacher Z kindly arranged for a taxi driver living in the same complex to drive me to uni the next morning. So on the morning of the 14th, she came to meet me at the apartment to help me with my luggage and explained to the taxi driver where I wanted to go. She didn’t speak English, but luckily I had a map handy. We got there in good time and I moved into my dorm room (bldg 21, rm 637). It’s smaller than my room in Nagoya, but quite reasonable with a bed, desk, wardrobe, sink, toilet and shower, and a nice flat screen TV (with at least half a dozen channels). The beige-tile flooring and metal bed frame, also in beige, makes the room feels rather cold and dull. It desperately needs some colour. At least it's reasonably clean.

My room


You know the foam squares for kids, that connects like pieces of a puzzle? Well, I bought a pack and used it to cover the cold, tiled shower floor. I also wanna get a colorful rug or something that runs down the length of the room, maybe stick a few posters or photos on the wall. I wonder if that’s allowed... There are staff that mop the rooms and empty the rubbish bins every weekday, which saves me from doing it myself and buying all that cleaning stuff.

Yesterday was fine, but rather smoggy. I made several trips to the supermarket buying the essentials, and did hours and hours of walking trying to find the fricking office to get a dining card for the uni cafeterias. I asked a security guard on duty and he studied the map for a while, then confidently gave me directions…to a river! The office turned out to be in a totally different direction; a tiny room in the corner of an old looking dormitory building. I even walked past it! But who would’ve thought…

After that, I made the long trek down to the main academic building to apply for internet access. O.M.G. It is absolutely gigantic with a giant ramp leading up to it, like a castle or some luxury hotel. I found the office and there were 4 people in the queue. I thought good! it would be quick. But when I asked the lady for a form, she told me that they were closing soon. It said on the notice that they close at 5:30pm and yet it was only 5:15. All she had to do was enter my name and student number into the database. It took her under 10 minutes to process the 4 people in front of me; surely it can’t take 15 minutes to process one more. The Chinese-Canadian guy in front of me warned me that she was grouchy. She ignored people’s questions and when she did answer, she spoke and looked as if we were bothering her. Just like many of the people I’ve come across so far. And I've seen very few smiling faces.

Main Building
Since I was on the southern end of campus, I thought I’d check out the "shopping centre" there. There was a fresh produce market, small variety stores and a big supermarket. Bought some fruit…so cheap! Ooh, and a bought a bike…235 RMB inclusive of basket and lock. That’s about $40 Australian (3500 yen)...not bad. At least the bike people were friendly. :)

Memorial gate
At 8:30am this morning, all the language students were required to sit the written placement test. There was a listening section and a reading/grammar section. I had to skip a few questions toward the end coz I had absolutely no idea, and I guessed a few, but I think I did ok overall. Speaking test tomorrow…ahhhhh!