I finally arrived in Beijing on Monday night at 10:00 p.m. Instead of sleeping on the flight, I stayed awake the entire time (19 hours traveling time). To keep myself occupied, I watched six different movies and played doodle jump on my Iphone (best game investment). The lay over in Tokyo was very enjoyable, but I started to feel a lot of anxiety before I boarded the plane. However, I was lucky enough to see a familiar face before I boarded my NW29 flight from Tokyo to Beijing. James Crosby, who spoke during my orientation, was on the same flight! He made my stressful situation into a smooth transition. When I arrived in Beijing airport I was met by my driver who drove me to FX hotel, my new home for the semester. After getting my room key, I opened my door to find that my room mate was not there, she left a note saying that she has a boyfriend in Beijing who lives about two blocks away from the hotel. I went to sleep last night with no problem.
Today has been pretty rough. I feel like I have never taken a Chinese language class before. Everyone speaks very fast and with heavy northern accents. This morning, I had an orientation where I got to meet everyone including my roommate Anna. The presentation was presented by my CIEE leader, Tian Laoshi. She informed us of what to expect in the upcoming months. I had to sign a contract that said I could only speak Chinese (no ENGLISH) Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.! CRAZY! I signed up to live with a host family for two weeks at the end of September, and I also signed up to take a Chinese cooking class (yummm). The rest of the day was filled with a group lunch and a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt took place in a district in Beijing called Wudaokou. This district is about a ten minute cab ride from my hotel, it is filled with shopping and restaurants. To our surprise, our team won! All of my team members (Lisa, Andrea, Susan, Rochelle, Kent, Devon, Aden, and Frank) won a Simplified Chinese Character book and a CIEE hat. During the intense scavenger hunt, I bought my new Chinese phone and sim card for about 250 RMB ( $36.00). It is going to take me awhile to memorize my new phone number, but everyone in my program is getting connected.
After we were finished with our scavenger hunt, we were given a quick campus tour. Peking University, Beida, is HUGE. I have a nice view of Peking University from my hotel room, because my room is located on the 19th floor. One of the girls who lives with me the in FX Hotel, also did the summer program in Beijing. Her name is Rochelle. She is very informed about the area that I will be living in. She caught us a cab, showed us how to cross the street, and find the best food on campus. The ten of us who are in FX are meeting up for dinner tonight. My nerves are slowly settling down, and I know that I have a lot to accomplish while I am studying here. I am taking everything in small doses. Even though, I feel lost, overwhelmed, and confused, I know it will just get easier. Till next time :-D...
