Finally arrived

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So, after my last post I headed out and saw The Forbidden City (and had a group of girls ask if they could have their pictures taken with me...I was like a white celebrity. It was weird, but they said I was beautiful, so I was okay with it), which was awesome and from which I have a few pictures. I then went to the train station and caught the sleeper from Beijing to Yantai, which was quite cool - the rocking motion of the train was very relaxing, but the heat was stifling. My eating's a bit weird at the moment; on the train all I ate was 8 biscuits, but hopefully that'll sort itself out once I'm in a routine. On the train a little boy kept coming over and looking at me and laughing. I try not to take it personally. The kids' reactions are the funniest, they react with such wide eyed wonder at seeing a foreigner.

So I got to Yantai at about 6.30am (about 10.30 UK time) and then was driven to the academy. The Chinese seem to have no real rules about driving. They overtake other cars even when there's something coming the other way. They use the horn at every opportunity EXCEPT when something's dangerous or worth honking at, in which case they flash their lights. Tiny motorcycles and 3 wheeled cars are piled with...stuff...usually about 3 or 4 times the height of the vehicle so that you swear it'll fall over when it turns the corner (not that I saw though).

The academy facilities seem pretty basic - my room is basically just a bed, a desk and a wardrobe and it's COLD here because the walls are thin and the windows are single glazed. I had a nap earlier fully dressed, in the daylight and with a blanket and was still chilly, so I'm glad for the thermal underwear. I'll probably also wear my fleece and socks in bed. At present I have a room to myself, but another new girl (also called Katherine, oddly) wants to share with me, so that may change. There are 3 other people just starting at the same time - Morgan, a guy from England; Katherine from Germany and Jonathan from the US.
The people here are absolutely lovely, really welcoming. In particular one guy called Roger has been fantastic, showing us all around and introducing us to people. I've been watching some people practice their Shaolin Fist forms and a good deal of it reminded me of Karate katas - you can definitely see the similarities. I can't wait to start tomorrow.

Will have pictures when I can work out where has an SD or USB drive!

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