Blogs from Haidian district, Beijing, China, Asia - page 18

20th January 2007 Checking my emails first thing in the morning, I discovered the promised phone call updating my mum on the progress of discovering the whereabouts of my money had not come. No great suprise really, just reconfirmed HSBC's Priority Pay Department's incompetence. I fear for the person who takes her call on Monday. The day was fairly relaxed: a bit of studying and journal writing, nothing too serious. I was looking forward to going out for a meal with our language partners in the evening, then going to a club. After waiting for a very chilly fifteen minutes, I met Gong Biao and Yangyang at the east gate of Beida (Beijing University), and we walked down Wudaokou (Five Way Crossroads) to the restaurant where we were going to have dinner. We were the first ... read more

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, ... read more

8th January 2007 Accidents will happen I had to register at the university today. We were to get there for 9.30, 'and don't come late', faff around with details, get orientated, meet our language partners and go for lunch. I had decided to get the bus at 8.30, just to make sure I had plenty of time to be late etc., so of course I left the house at 8.45. Still should have left me with plenty of time unless the traffic was the worst it could possibly be. Well... I think I noticed four accidents along the way. I am left with the impression that if you have an accident here, you cannot move your car until the police get there. Quite how the police are supposed to get there when the traffic is crawling ... read more

4th January 2007 - evening Well... I lost again, but not quite so horrendously this time, and with Yeye only helping me on every other move or so, so things are looking better in the Chinese Chess department. 5th January 2007 Thank God for New Zealand sheep Today was a bit of a non-eventer really. I spent the vast majority of the day downloading articles to read for my dissertation, planning my training for the next six months and trying to keep warm, all to the sound of the Dixie Chicks, Fly :) . It was very cold today, and it is absolutely freezing by my window (I have a themometer on the window ledge, which I am about 20cm away from that was reading below 10 degrees) - as you can see from the picture, ... read more

Ah! The beauty of laptops! I'm currently typing this in out living room. I'm sitting on the left handside giant yellow sofa, Yeye (paternal grandfather - I haven't actually called this to his face yet, but I think it's appropriate. I certainly can't call him by his first name. Especially as I don't know it) is sitting on a kang (Chinese chair) in the middle, and Yanling is on the right handside giant yellow sofa. Chuantao is fiddling with the computer again - it's being eaten alive viruses at the moment - 'it's very ill'. The TV is always on, which is super helpful for my Chinese, subliminal learning is the way forward, and it's also really interesting to see what is popular in Chinese culture at the moment. A particularly good example is the latest ... read more