http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , China , Beijing , Wudaokou en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:02:38 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:02:38 UTC Beijing Huan Ying Ni Beijing Welcomes You Hey everyone It's been a little over a month now since I have arrived in China So far it's great Beijing is a huge city with plenty of things to keep busy with. For the first 5 months I attended a language program at the Beijing Language and Culture University located in Wudaokou a big student district filled with foreigners. I met so many gr http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-317459.html Irsquove been in Beijing for about a week and a half now and it has been a bit of an adventure at times. When I got to Beijing from Japan it was pissing down with rain and it was an all around miserable night. The flight was late as well and I had no clue where I was going I just hopped on the bus I thought I had to catch. I was completely exhausted in the bus and was not looking forward to http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-304724.html Beijing has been invaded. It began at the start of the traditional tourist season at the end of May. A couple of hopelessly lost Koreans here a few scattered Westerners speaking Mandarin with horribly mangled tones there and a smattering of hopelessly lost elderly Japanese. As the summer arrived and the weather heated up along with Beijing's interminable humidity the trickle became a stream http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-302603.html The official countdown has begun both for me and for China. For China the Olympics will open in Beijing in 44 days for me I will be leaving China and moving back to the United States in 35 days. The Olympics will open here in Beijing via a spectacular ceremony on a very auspicious date August 8 2008 or 888 at 808 PM. Eight is a very lucky number in Chinese culture. Chinese is a monosy http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-290180.html 2nd postsunday1 june 2008ahhhmm I did indeed take the subway to WuDaoKou my old stomping grounds where I lived and worked last year. Somethings have changed since last year. For instance all subway costs are 2 kuai. Last year it was 3 kuai for red and blue lines and 5 kuai if you were going up to line 13 which is where Wudaokou is. I am surprised the the costs have gone down. I would g http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-282391.html I've recently been tempted to snatch the title of Windy City from Chicago my prospective future home and relinquish it to Beijing. The period of late spring through early summer in Beijing is notorious for being immensely windy and tends to experience sudden sandstorms. However on special days the winds of Beijing are so strong that I have to walk at a 75 degree angle just to keep moving http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-281358.html What I thought was a simple Beijing rumbling has turned into the most devastating natural disaster China has experienced in recent decades. I was sitting at my desk willing myself to crack open my books and begin studying when I experienced a sudden onslaught of vertigo. I looked up at the ceiling and noticed my hanging lights noticeably swinging back and forth. When I stood up to get a better http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-276571.html Yesterday started out like any ordinary day. The sun was shining the smog had lifted and everything was turning green. I was on my way to the Dirt Market one of my favorite locales in Beijing. On the weekends hundreds of vendors arrive spreading their wares out on blankets on the ground and within temporary stalls. Products range from handpainted scrolls to porcelain vases to antique Chine http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-270779.html Our facebook friends will know exactly what this blog is about. So you can skip this paragraph. To everyone else In an attempt to make the Olympics a happy and foreignerfriendly affair the Chse Govnt from now on know as 'Norman' to save any more deportation attempts is trying to kick out most of the 250 000 happy expats living in Beijing. The scary thing is it's kinda working. S http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-270466.html What's stuck in my mind after a week away from Beijing....Wudaokou station on the subway line lies astride Chengfu Road a broad and busy boulevard that stretches through the sprawl of northwest suburban Beijing. Much of the area is taken up with universities 8 or 9 of them one after the other with what must be hundreds of thousands of students. Departing the Wudaokou station you can walk in http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-268325.html It's raining today. Most people I know are either indifferent to rainy days or get depressed by the steady downpour and overcast skies. I'm usually an avid member of the second group but today was different. Today I was on a mission. International Labor Day May 1st is coming up and since it's a governmentrecognized holiday here in China I have 3 days off from school. I'm planning to trave http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-268254.html thursdaymarch 8mollyThere is so much drama here. Most of it would seem senseless to anyone outside of the Expertise and Venus circles here in Beijing. And I'm sure I'll write a long rant at some point. But suffice it to say that despite the fact that I gave my notice MONTHS ago and said that my last day would be Friday 23 March.... shit has hit the fan like a dozen times since then and it tur http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-266460.html 15 February 2007917 ThursdayOh dear god WHY did I think last night was a good ideaValentinersquos Day Lessons1. No matter where you are in the world greasy Chinese food is excellent hangover food.2. Working with kids is not a good idea when yoursquore hungover and after only three hours of sleep.3. Even free weak GinTonics are potent after yoursquove had a few hellip or nine or a doz http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-265445.html my parents arrived in beijing on sunday and mel left monday morning. I have a lot to update everyone on but I'm afraid I can't type much now bc my parents are trying to fall asleep in the hotel room. They have a big trip planned to the Great Wall tomorrow while I attend classes all day long. Sorry I've been so busy with Mel and my parents here. I'll try to write a lot more on Thursday if I have http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-259683.html Dear Grandma Ruth On this the first anniversary of the day you left our lives I'm not sure what to feel. It's hard to believe that you've already been gone for a year. So much has happened since that fateful April day. I'm back in China though this time as a student and not a teacher. It was strange to experience the reversal of roles at first but I'm really enjoying this opportunity to l http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-256096.html It finally happened. After over a year and a half of living in China after countless sunrises and sunsets after thousands of piles of tofu it got me. I let myself relax thinking it could never happen to me. But it did. Today I planted my shoe directly on top of a freshly hawked loogie. It was an accident. It's not as though I go skipping around Beijing following old men who unceasingly cl http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-255760.html i have a new name. its gao lan... it means tall orchid... or blue dog if you pronounce it wrong. so here is the latest in news from gao lan town the last week or so was pretty rough for some reason. i'm going to choose to call it mood swings. because i don't usually use that excuse and it seems to cover a lot of ground from what i've heard in the past. so being that i am a female i had some ma http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-254790.html The acrid smell of smoke permeates my nostrils. The tops of the buildings are difficult to make out through the haze. A man blows a cloud of smoke in my face as I walk past with my teetering tower of luggage. As the taxi careens around the curves of highways that didn't exist a mere four months ago I scan the desolate landscape. The trees are bare and the ground brown but at least there is n http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-250829.html Well it's Tuesday afternoon and I find myself in Lush a lovely western style cafe in Wudaokou. I just thought I'd quickly write about my crazy night yesterday. As usual my adventure began with my good friend Ms Tracy Chang inviting me out to eat with some other friends.She explained that we needed to go meet her uncle at his hotel near the Bird's Nest The new Olympic Stadium in central Beijing http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-250162.html Hey all.We couldn't resist another blog. Chinese new year in Beijing. Fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks fireworks and fireworks. And did we mention fireworksNo I don't think we d http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-249544.html We went to the Lotus Center today and had lunch with Hu Tao and his friend. The whole group came along. It was really nice getting to eat with everyone and get to know a few more people. We bought a few things and had a wonderful lunch. Everyone tried new things including myself and some of it was incredibly spicy. My stomach was a little upset but I donrsquot think it will be a recurring thing. http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-244097.html First off Beijing is very smoggy. Sometimes I find it hard to breathe but itrsquos not too terrible. Hopefully it wonrsquot become too big of a problem in the coming months.People on this program are amazing so far. Last night we had dinner as a group at the dining hall where we were served cheese pizza. Quite the change from our American cuisine we were all so used to. However it was in fac http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-244095.html .... though being a stick is a great advantage in China. Damn Georgie for fitting into all the clothes and shoes she tried onIt's been a while. A lot has happened... here be an overviewFirstly a thought from Harry Potter.Everywhere in Beijing is like number 12 Grimmauld place. As soon as you walk in any door picture frames start yelling at you. And the house elf is grumpy old sod. No seri http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-239818.html During my two months here in Beijing I have been teaching english at John's english school 'New Channel School'. I teach four times per week in a program they call 'English Club'. It is essentially a course offered three times per day every day and each class focuses on a different topic for example 'hobbies' or 'politics' with the goal being to learn the vocabulary for the given topic a http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-225820.html When I first arrived in Beijing I had about 550 Euros which is around 800 US dollars and 6000 RMB. This was to get me through two months of living and traveling in China pay my credit card bill about 300 dollarsrsquo worth of skype credit and a plane ticket and buy my flight home to NC. Not to mention needing money to buy xmas presents for friends family etchelliphellip needless http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-222770.html Once upon a time Boris and Doris the rabbitshares whatever there's only one chinese translation were living in the Forest of Wu. Life was peaceful. The mornings slipped away with noses in books intelligent discussions on the inverse perceptions of the past and future and sweeping generalisations of anything outside the forest. A homemade meal greeted the pair daily of unleavened tuna and http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-222572.html hello everybody well this is my first travels blog. and I will have more in the future. Todays featured blog is what life is like during my stay at BLCUs Bei Yu Hui Yi Zhong Xin. although this experience maybe different if you have been here before. But I would say that shot term stay a months length is more advisable and defiantly not for the winter season. Well because they don't turn on the http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-219500.html Jeez. We were worried there for a while. They took away our barbeque Not actually our barbeque but the nightly outdoor barbeque that we regularly go to called chuanr. Anyway they took it away. Who The people who may be censoring this blog that's who. Won't mention any names. Get thisIn an attempt to prove that Beijing is a suitable city for the olympics 'some people' took some 'random' sa http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-204190.html To give you the update I met with Dong yesterday who is a volunteer for the Olympics in the Transportation section and was asked to find a Englishspeaking foreigner so the police could practice speaking English and helping them find their way or help in case they were having any problems. I would have loved to help but today was our free day and I had to get some shopping done for the trip. I http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-197875.html