Blogs from Haidian district, Beijing, China, Asia - page 17

I had a funny feeling in my stomach throughout the day. Not quite nervous bees flying around, but rather a twisting knot that continuously retied itself deep inside my gut. And no, it was not La Duzi. I was simply nervous about the afternoon ahead. Today I was moving from my comfortable room at Youdian Liaoyang Hotel near Peking University to my new home somewhere in Beijing. Not just a new room though, but a new family. Late last semester, a friendly conversation with my study program’s coordinator about the winter vacation ahead somehow landed me on the list for the spring term’s home-stay opportunities. Exactly one week ago, I was notified with the slightest tidbit of information - that indeed I would be living with a Chinese family this semester. That though, was absolutely all ... read more

Another crazy day in Beijing. After yesterday’s long walk to the embassy, I was dead tired and went to bed at 10:00 pm. Fell asleep immediately. Woke up during the night and pushed the backlight button on my clock. In doing so, knocked the clock over; no problem. Picked it up and it said just after midnight. I thought that seemed strange because I wasn’t that tired but went back to sleep for 2 hours and a half. Woke up, looked at there clock and saw it was about 2:45 am. I felt pretty good and wondered if something happened to the clock. I got up and the clock on my cell phone said about 5:50 something. Right away I knew the clock was wrong.It seems when it fell over I accidentally hi the button that ... read more

Feb. 28.- Wednesday Well it’s 4:30am and I can’t sleep so I decided to add to the journal. I went to sleep about 9:00pm last night so at least I got about 7 hours sleep. There’s not to do in the evenings without television so I usually go to bed early. The bed is typically pretty hard and both my shoulders ache because I sleep on my side. Sleeping on my back is pretty hard (pardon the pun) because of my back problems. There are so many thoughts going through my head I wish I could really type quickly so I can record them all. As it is typing, 2-3 fingers, by the time I type one thought, I’ve forgotten the rest. I’m not sure what I’d do to pass the time each day if it ... read more

Feb. 26, Monday To start out with, I want to make sure that everyone who reads my journal/blog understands that I in no way try to disparage either my host family or the Chinese society if I say things that could be taken as critical. There are just so many differences between our two great societies it is impossible to act as if they don’t exist. I hope everyone enjoys my discussions which take place whenever I get a chance to record them. So how do I describe my first night in my new home. The words strange, exotic, and unusual come to mind but with no real negative meaning - it is just very different. For example, we had dinner last night which consisted of large bowls of cauliflower, green beans, fish, rice, and a ... read more

Hi Hon - I’ve arrived. I was picked up at the hotel at 10:15 by the Lotus staff and transported to my new home. The girl couldn’t believe how much luggage I had. She was laughing and said I had more than to students who came for an entire year. It barely fit in the very little compact car. She asked me what my Chinese name was because they needed it for enrollment. I said I didn’t have one and she asked if she could give me one; I said sure. She said she would give me one close to my name. She came up with the name “ Shi Duo Na. She said Shi was a common Chinese name and meant “traditional” and I forget what Duo Na means but I think it doesn’t really ... read more