Bits and pieces


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Asia » China » Beijing » Haidian district
January 15th 2007
Published: January 17th 2007
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Looking back on 4 months here and gather together all the bits and pieces with the hopes of telling you something interesting isn't easy, but here goes 😊
Christmas! I almost managed to forget about Christmas altogether, because other than at Wal-Mart and a couple of hairdressing shops and clothes stores, Santa Claus simply doesn't exist. "Well, obviously," you say, but I had observed the pull of other western influences here and thought more and more Chinese people might also celebrate Christmas. Well, we went to class as usual, but luckily, I did manage to get a picture with our foreign student dorm's very own rendition of Santa Claus, posted here for your mirth and merriment. (Believe me, we certainly enjoyed his presence - I watched one day as Korean after Korean stopped in utter shock, pointed, and doubled over laughing until they couldn't breath. No lie!)
Speaking of Koreans, I came to love my classmates, who giggled more than I thought humanly possible but turned out to be very sweet human beings. Every person had their own special quirks - one girl from Korea talked of nothing but bread, the guy from Thailand was admirably head over heels in love with his girlfriend, our Uzbekistan classmate had no qualms about using the most extreme body language to piece together funny stories for us. Now that we've finished testing, it's strange to know some will go back to their respective parts of the world and we'll never cross paths again.
Also posted here are a few pictures taken at Qinghua and Beijing Universities, both beautiful campuses worth visiting. Every picture I have of Qinghua managed to have me in it (an accident, I assure you!) as I was accompanied by Hou Lei who insisted I stand in front of every monument, building, tree on campus. I loved that headstrong little lady...



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Our hodgepodge of classmatesOur hodgepodge of classmates
Our hodgepodge of classmates

(and what did I tell you about those Koreans and their peace signs?)
Last Day of ClassLast Day of Class
Last Day of Class

I would include their names, but we all (out of necessity) gave ourselves Chinese names, which sadly mean nothing to any of us. Such strange relationships we forge here...


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