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Published: September 27th 2007
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Graduation :)
With favourite teacher and favourite classmates! Hey everyone!
Hope you're well! 😊 I've been back in Guangzhou for a bit over a month now. The other day we celebrated Mid Autumn Festival. Chinese get together with their families, have dinner and eat moon cakes (or at least give them to each other, cause no one seems to like them, hehe). I met up with Kasia and Carmen; went to a seafood restaurant and walked along the river - in the light of the full moon - plus one million neon lights and just as many Chinese, hehe.
Was with mixed feelings I left Sweden, after amazing weeks with friends and family. First London, then travelling around in Sweden, had such a great time!!! Wanted to stay... and wanted to go... strange feeling. Once back though, it felt good. Arrived to my apartment building and the staff seemed really happy to see me; carrying my bags, wondering where I'd been. Jennie was staying in my place over the summer, and was at home when I arrived. It was still in the morning, so we ended up going for tea and dim sum; gossiping about the time I'd been away, which seemed like forever!
Started working
Graduation dinner
We felt somewhat misplaced in the University cantine with our fancy dresses, hehe. Rule nbr 1: Learn to expect nothing! the day after my arrival and had a week of work with Jennie before my dad arrived. Was really nice catching up; working together, going for lunches, meeting up with friends in the evenings.
We moved into our new office apartment just before the summer. The surrounding area is great; it's not far from the river, there are tons of different restaurants nearby, a big shopping street around the corner (Beijing Road). Also, a pittoresque Chinese allyway, that we walk through everyday to and from work. Here, old people sit around playing Ma Jian (Chinese traditional table game usually played by 4 people) all day long.
My dad stayed for two weeks, and I started University in the beginning of his visit. Hence, ended up being two very busy weeks. We visited our cooperating factories and they later also came to see us. Also got the office apartment organized, with furniture and all other equipment. The office will be used for both working and living when Ingemar is here. It's got three rooms (office, bedroom, living room) plus kitchen and bathroom. It's on the 29th floor, with two balconies and all windows facing the same direction (a huge
My China apartment
Packed and ready to go home for 5 weeks :) road and endless numbers of buildings - like everywhere else).
I hadn't studied any Chinese over the summer, so was worried that I'd forgotten it all... Once back though, it wasn't that hard to get into it again. I usually bring my iPod wherever I go, listening to Chinese vocab and conversations, or music. Plus, I can practise when having simple conversations with Chinese friends, taxi drivers, waiters, shop assistants, etc. (after insisting over and over on them slowing their speech, hehe).
My class this semester has changed quite a lot since the previous one. Four class mates are the same, the others are new. Our teachers are good, overall better actually compared to last term. Our reading and writing teacher is the proper cruel Chinese kind, haha. An older lady; a great teacher but with sharp discipline. Unless you really enjoy public insultment you better come to class prepared! 😉 I go to class three hours every day, then spends about four hours per day in the office. Then of course, a lot of studying on top. But it's interesting and fun, so doesn't really matter.
Last Saturday I went to Jennie's parents new apartment for
It's small, but nice
On the 15th floor just south of Pearl River a "house warming ceremony" in order to bring in the good and take out the bad. 😊 Apart from her mum and dad; her grandmother and two uncles had come over. They set up a table with plates of fruits, vegetables, meat and a whole chicken, as well as three glasses of Chinese white wine (bai jiu). First, the table faced the balcony door (the sky), thereafter the house front door. We all took three incense sticks (rökelsepinnar), lit them and made wishes for the house, our families and friends and then put the incense sticks in a bucket in front of the table. Then we had lunch, based on the ingredients from the table.
Last Sunday Jennie, Sofia (a Swedish girl that has just arrived to GZ and is working for the Swedish trade council here) and I joined an International culture event arranaged by the Swedish consulate. The purpose was to celebrate the Swedish and Chinese culture and relations; and especially our Swedish pride, Gotheborg, that sailed in to Guangzhou a year and a bit ago.
Along with other Swedes, expats and Chinese, we were served lunch and entertainment at this beautiful newly built international resort
LONDON!
First stop before going home. Here, with friends at a bar in Chelsea! an hour outside of Guangzhou. Here, foreigners are supposed to live; in gorgeous villas with great facilities; international school, golf court... But hey, what's the point of coming to China when not experiencing any of it?! No, I guess it makes sense for families, just not for me.
Now, October National holidays are coming up, and once again people will be travelling like crazy. I'll be in GZ, working, studying, and meeting up with friends. In about a month Johan (my good, old friend) is coming to visit; for three weeks! He'll be travelling to Beijing on his own for a few days, but I've also booked tickets for us to go to Xi'an; can't wait to see the terracotta army. We'll probably do another short trip as well, around GZ, as well as a trip to HK!
I've just registered a Swedish Skype number and arranged a call transfer to my Chinese mobile. Therefore, from Sweden you can now call me on: 031-799 55 07, reach me in China and only be charged normal land line fee (lokaltaxa). It's quite cool with technology after all!
Lots of love and hugs!
/Emma
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Juliet
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I miss you!
aw emma. sounds like everything is going great for you. I'm so happy you're glad to be back in China. Life has been great here in Portland, Or. I would love to come visit you sometime. I miss you a ton. How much longer will you be in China?