你好外国人

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If my past travels have taken me to other countries, China is a different world. When I stepped outside of the international student halls this morning I finally stepped into China. I'm too tired to explain... it's just so different.

The only problem I have found is the dryness of the air. I have never experienced anything like this before. Just walking around campus I fell all the moisture leaving my body! Especially the mouth and throat, but my skin is drying out so quickly. Beijing has this every spring apparently; I am not sure of the reason. In summer the heat causes further problems with the city's pollution and winters can be very cold... I don't think I will ever want to settle here for an extended period of time!

Apart from the small inconvenience however, this is INCREDIBLE. Everyone went on about how 'amazing' and 'life changing' it is, and whilst I expected a fantastic three weeks, it has already far exceeded what I could have imagined. Mainly in terms of how different it is to anywhere I have ever been.

The people here seem even more interested in me than I am them. As I was walking around campus today, a girl I have never even seen before suddenly beamed at me and greeted me in English. From what I have heard, I will be the subject of many pictures when I go out into the city ~ simply for being white.

I just noticed some graffiti on the wall of my room... in Chinese characters (of course)! Love this place.

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Photos

Campus
Walking about campus

BNU
The view from my window

Comments

[岳莹]

你好ang moh 在华人国家要好好读书，多吃一点。买东西吃东西！生活多么美好 RIGHT. in any case you are too bored with the cheena chinese (that's a quite demeaning term to use cheena to chinese, but in any case dont learn from me). you can talk to me! i will keep you updated with some english if not you will be OUT! (OUT! --- that's a term used by chinese youth now tooo). right doode, im so so so envious of you right now. nus' toooooooo boring, way to bored with the same ol' faces. xxxxx see you soonish. luv