Welcome to Beijing

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HELLO FROM BEIJING! Shall I say “NI HAO MA?” (Hello, how are you?)

I’m going to have to pour my guts out here, because there are so many things I have to write about which you might want to know - in terms of what I been seeing and doing and work overall first impressions about China. MSN and phones just don’t explicitly detail things like they do with written down words when you really have to think about stuff.


Date: 24th August 2006, MELBOURNE AIRPORT

FLIGHT MH 128: Departing for Beijing
It started with having food poisoning before i even left Melbourne. I spewed 6 times in Melbourne - while checking in and 3 times on the plane - before take off... I’m pretty lucky they didn’t send me off the plane... although the plane was backing out when i regurgitated Gatorade and Water. (Grose i know, BUT i got a whole three seater to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Slept all the way - passed out which was nice to try and get better, which i did eventually. It was my first ever sleeping on a plane for 7 hours. HAD one of the best flights, lol... I had every flight attendant ask me how i was feeling and how many blankets i needed. Poor staff of Malaysian airlines dealt with me and my sickness and those sick bags which I thought who ever used those?
After 14 hours later we (5 other colleagues) made it to BEIJING, CHINA.

WELCOME TO BEIJING?
As we got to Beijing with my other colleagues, I told the others if there would be anyone at the airport as promised. We had neither telephone number, nor contact details of anyone apart from the Australian company in Melbourne. Went through customs out to over 100 people holding signs in Chinese and English with names for people they are picking up... I'm like "WHAT THE FUCK????"... so i went back in and waited for the others to get out.... shocked!!! People all staring at you!! we got out and checked every name on the lists, and NOPE, as expected NOTHING and NO-ONE.... so we sat around for 1.5 hours waiting for someone to pick us up... then somehow after 1.5 hours Sammy (the deans secretary, who’s a mini little Asian girl says are you from Australia waiting for a pickup?.... and from then on got onto the Vans and made our way to our new homes on campus! Fuck efficiency around here - no ones on time, lol.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS and COLLEGUES

CHINESE people and Chinese characters everywhere you see. Advertising is all Chinese characters. Nothing is the same as Melbourne or Australia - doesn’t even compare to China town at home. Traffic is funny (peculiar); people drive on the foot path and have no rule like at home. BIZZARE.... The sky is always overcast and hasn’t been a blue sky. The weather here is humid, but not in a bad way... it’s just hot. I couldn’t rave about it.

My work colleagues are great to chat with, everyone’s here for one purpose, enjoy and have fun and absorb the culture! That’s what makes them all a good bunch. There’s about 20 foreign teachers, all aged between 22 - 60 years old. Mainly about 24-25 years old. The crowds i hang out with are about 24. There are a few people from America, UK, Australia, Italy and Germany. I get along with them all, but in time, I’m sure their characters will show so i can talk about them more. Everyone’s nice and was all trying to adjust and settle in, nothing much more can be said.

ORIENTATION

We got home at 10pm the night we landed and had a 13 hour orientation the next morning and the morning after. it basically covered everything about students and what the situation was about the new campus. The meeting was in Half Chinese and half English - don’t ask me why. They had video cameras and pictures been taken of us - we were the STARS of the show. The deans of the campus and all were there. And yes, all too weird to be sitting next to the foreign affairs minister and president of the campus with people staring at you.

We had tours and meals and lunches organized for us. All paid for. They took us out to see Chinese Acrobats after dinner, and lunches at like 5 star places... MAN do Chinese people love eating!!! MINI girls and guys eat like horses here! The Chinese eat meals as like a social gathering, not like at home, 3 course meals... There’s Tapas kinds staff all laid out on the table and you pick out what you like - like a buffet on the table in from of you - turn table kind of thing. Animalistic!

STUDENTS and CLASSES

After being here for about a week now, in general, the students of China and people are one of the most helpful beings I have ever met. Respectful, intelligent and naïve could be some traits how I could describe them. I started work on Monday (27th august) and since then have been getting complimented on everything, offering help to wipe the board, take me out for lunch, take me shopping and also asking me VERY personal questions like “do I have a girlfriend” - mind you after knowing the whole class for no more than 15 minutes… WOW! And after I answer that I didn’t have a girlfriend - they asked me what my mobile telephone number was and my apartment number……. TRY TO GET OUT OF THAT ONE!!!??? Well I had to say that I cannot give my apartment number. If people want to contact me - to email me and we can meet at the café.

There’s about 20- 25 students in class tutorials - going through stuff you tell them to do. I give them homework. They actually listen! It’s all overwhelming to me right now. This class I took, I was running 2-3 minutes late for… I went in and students were taking photos in class of me… of cause I HAD TO do the pose!!! Talk about being popular on day one! Girls would say stuff like “My country town is where all the beautiful girls come from - I should take you there one day. OR on “National Holidays - coming up in October - did you want to go away for the weekend?” WTF???? Little slutina’s mate, and - I thought I was bad! Yes so I told them I’m going to SHANGHAI for October holidays - because it’s too far for them to come.


NAMES of Students…
This is something I have been meaning to write about and tell everyone!
Please don’t laugh - because I nearly cried in class today even about their names.


Chinese people LOVE their names to be meaningful which I understood after arriving here. They ask me what ALI means…. They are superstitious people.

They come up to me and say they have no English name and if I can name him or her. So I’m being a father figure: naming my kids…


Currently, I have some student names in the following below:

• Lemon (girl)
• Shadow (girl)
• Stone (guy)
• King (guy)
• Oliver (girl)
• RAINBOW - girl - I named her cause she wanted me to
• Miffy (girl)
• Kitty (girl) - cause she likes cats and kittens

They are just to name a few… and believe me - I can’t forget their faces.
I am in the process of naming a few people from home to these kids. Effie has suggested I give a name to a girl… but I tried today and she said she will think about it. Sorry Effie I’m trying hard, lol…

I named a girl Michelle and Helen and SUE (my cousin’s name). Melissa (short for Mel) was also named to this beautiful girl today. Hope that gives abit of an insight anyway that I’m going to try a few more names of friends I got in Australia.


SHOPPING

MATE! Let’s put it this way - I have never spent $1.00 on a whole lunch before. Or I haven’t been out for dinner with mates and drank beer and paid 2$ for it all… there were 5 of us drinking up and ate.

Taxi ride to the local town and back - 10 minutes costs about 1 dollar each.

I did my grocery shopping - buying my laundry stuff and stuff for my apartment - cost me 12$ - normally in Australia would be paying more than 60-70$.
Fruit is cheap as well - I got 4.5 kilo of bananas for $1.50.

Clothes for girls I must admit are quite small… the pants look like a size 4-6. For guys I haven’t checked the sizes or tried on the tops etc. But the jackets which cost about 250$ in Australia are about 40$. Quite nice ones as well… I can let you know about clothes later though when I get students to shop for me .

CONTACT DETAILS - China is 2 hours behind Australia (EST)
For those who want my address its:
99 Jingshun Road
ShunYi District
Beijing 101300
PRC - CHINA

My Mobile Number is: 0011 86 134 399 736 43 (no text)
My Home number is: 0011 86 (10) 81489050
- That’s what the number they gave me. They could be wrong, lol. They always are. This is CHINA.
FINAL WORDS

I do miss you all, I miss everything, although… I’m lucky I have you with me. I would love to hear from you soon. I am usually free most nights, and always open to get an email and hear about how your doing, as you are with me. I thought I’d write this really long email to let you know that It’s going well… Everything hasn’t sat in place yet, but still in transition. I will be sending pictures very soon, look out for it.

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