Beijing: It's Only the Beginning

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I was once addicted to my phone, to Instagram, to Facebook to the internet.

3 days before I began my China adventure, my phone. Then I reached China, and I was without internet, or at least fast enough internet to update my whereabouts. So I owe this bloggity, a few entries. For those keeping tabs on me, I will give you a brief rundown of last week of my life, which has honestly felt like a month.

I knew I was going to be busy, but I truly did not understand how busy. CTLC (The Center for Teaching and Learning in China) has meticulously created a program that will prepare native English speakers, who have already applied themselves via a Bachelor's Degree, to teach native Chinese speakers English. This program allows for two weeks of intensive training which entails 3 hours of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) classes, 2 hours of Chinese (Mandarin), and 1 hour of hands on teaching every day. Along with this, those in the program usually spend a couple hours each day preparing lesson plans for the following day. So even if I had decent internet, I would not have the time to update a blog.

We're both studying/teaching at 北京大学, the MOST prestigious school in China. This is truly a privilege I will not take for granted.

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Having been to the Philippines has dampened whatever culture shock I may have experienced. There are sari-sari everywhere, street vendors, and crazy drivers. This place is like the Philippines except for the differed language. My four years of Chinese have not prepared me for life here. I could not imagine my helplessness had I not studied beforehand.

I arrived at my hotel in Beijing around 10:30pm and had to be up around 7am for classes. Starving I went to KFC (肯德基). With the menu not having English or combo numbers, I was limited to what I could order. Suffice to say, wherever I go, I order only what I know how to say/read. So at KFC, I had rice porridge, coffee, and what appeared to be a doughnut without any sugar. I have yet to actually eat chicken there XD.

I cannot wait to see what Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong have in store for me. This is only the beginning.

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Comments

[Katt]

Beijing University looks really pretty!