I received a knock on my door at 7 p.m., and Brit tells me that they were across the hall in 409 (I was in 410). We both had a mini laughing fit; the four of us walked to the mall area near Sanlitun. It’s about a ten or fifteen minute walk straight ahead. During the walk, we were all talking and laughing. We grabbed dinner at Bite-a-Pita, and as soon as we sat down the mood shifted. Nicky and Eileen went silent and grabbed their phones. This is where the drama begins.
My Interesting Night in Beijing
Britni texted me while I was still on the bus inquiring about when I would arrive in Beijing and to her my room number when I get settled. So, after I checked in I quickly texted her before I took the pictures of my room. Sleep was about to take me out with the quickness. She texted me they were watching a movie and were going to come back to the hostel to take a nap. We agreed to meet up for dinner.
My Mini Break: Beijing Day 1
I was lucky enough to have five days off in a row and I SO needed it! In China, you really don't get a real vacation. The schools require that you make up the days you have off. I had to work seven days in a row the week before and after break. Believe me when I say that it's super rough. The kids are pretty crazy due to their normal routine being broken.
The first day of my break I woke up super early to Skype Boba. To my dismay I discovered I had no internet. This happens a lot at my school. The internet will be off during the early morning and will magically turn on during lunch time when we would attempt to use it. Brit and I are convinced that they are turning it off. I went back to sleep to gain some much needed rest. I wasn't able to sleep well the week before Boba's arrival. I think I was super excited and just wanted the day to hurry up and arrive. Monday went by super duper slow!
The next day I woke up early to catch my 8:30 a.m. bus. I quickly found a taxi and showed him a text message Dean sent me last semester with the bus station and Beijing airport in Mandarin. Dongying has two bus stations, and only one has buses that go to Beijing. So, I put my iPod on and lean back and relax. I notice that the bus driver tries to take a wrong turn on purpose. He's trying to turn to the right (which is the opposite direction) rather than turn left. Usually when I talk to the taxi drivers in a normal tone it's like they don't hear me. I don't talk super loud and that seems to be the norm in Dongying. This noise just erupted from my core. You could equate it to "hold on one minute!" Whatever it was he stopped haha I told him to turn left. I don't know if he was trying to cheat me or if he didn't pay attention to where I pointed (the airport is first and then the Dongying bus station), but I said it in Mandarin as well. Either way I wasn't having it. Taxi drivers tend to half listen or act like they can't understand me because I'm foreign even though my pronunciation is on point. It's like they see foreigner and they cannot compute. Taxi drivers aren't the only ones in Dongying guilty of this crime.
I arrive at the bus station without anymore trouble. My bus ride ends up being way longer than it normally should be. The bus was getting super hot, and I wanted to get off asap. When we arrive at the bus station, I rush to find a taxi. It's really difficult to get a taxi at this bus station. You have to wait on the side of a highway and hope that no one takes the taxi you flag down. I have a guy approach me, and I figure he's not a legit cab driver. By this time I am super hot and tired. So, I agree, but I set a fixed amount 60 kuai. I figure that I've being severely overcharged (which I later found out I was, it's supposed to be 25 kuai at the most), but I don't care. I just wanted to take a nap.
I arrived at Sanlitun Hostel and fall out! I managed to take pictures before I took an epic nap.
The first day of my break I woke up super early to Skype Boba. To my dismay I discovered I had no internet. This happens a lot at my school. The internet will be off during the early morning and will magically turn on during lunch time when we would attempt to use it. Brit and I are convinced that they are turning it off. I went back to sleep to gain some much needed rest. I wasn't able to sleep well the week before Boba's arrival. I think I was super excited and just wanted the day to hurry up and arrive. Monday went by super duper slow!
The next day I woke up early to catch my 8:30 a.m. bus. I quickly found a taxi and showed him a text message Dean sent me last semester with the bus station and Beijing airport in Mandarin. Dongying has two bus stations, and only one has buses that go to Beijing. So, I put my iPod on and lean back and relax. I notice that the bus driver tries to take a wrong turn on purpose. He's trying to turn to the right (which is the opposite direction) rather than turn left. Usually when I talk to the taxi drivers in a normal tone it's like they don't hear me. I don't talk super loud and that seems to be the norm in Dongying. This noise just erupted from my core. You could equate it to "hold on one minute!" Whatever it was he stopped haha I told him to turn left. I don't know if he was trying to cheat me or if he didn't pay attention to where I pointed (the airport is first and then the Dongying bus station), but I said it in Mandarin as well. Either way I wasn't having it. Taxi drivers tend to half listen or act like they can't understand me because I'm foreign even though my pronunciation is on point. It's like they see foreigner and they cannot compute. Taxi drivers aren't the only ones in Dongying guilty of this crime.
I arrive at the bus station without anymore trouble. My bus ride ends up being way longer than it normally should be. The bus was getting super hot, and I wanted to get off asap. When we arrive at the bus station, I rush to find a taxi. It's really difficult to get a taxi at this bus station. You have to wait on the side of a highway and hope that no one takes the taxi you flag down. I have a guy approach me, and I figure he's not a legit cab driver. By this time I am super hot and tired. So, I agree, but I set a fixed amount 60 kuai. I figure that I've being severely overcharged (which I later found out I was, it's supposed to be 25 kuai at the most), but I don't care. I just wanted to take a nap.
I arrived at Sanlitun Hostel and fall out! I managed to take pictures before I took an epic nap.
I was really happy to see that I had a double bed. I was afraid that Boba and I would have two twins bed and have to push them together. In my next post I'll talk about my crazy night on the town in Sanlitun!
Things I Miss
China has been an interesting experience. It's very different from my upbringing and my experiences living in New York. I've learned a lot about myself during my time here. I'm excited to be going home next month! I'm excluding people from this list because they aren't fixed to places. Regardless, my family, friends, and Boba should know that I miss the hell out of you!
Things I Miss About Home
People looking at me like I am a normal person.
Sometimes residents of Dongying stare at me like I am a walking unicorn or like I slapped their mother. When I am going up stairs, people walking in the opposite direction will stop beside me and stare in my face.
Being able to fully communicate.
My Mandarin isn't horrible and it allows me to do the basics. I can understand what's being said to me most of the time. Mandarin (as far as grammar is concerned) really isn't a hard language. As soon as you know the vocabulary; you string the sentence together and it's right most of the time. It's the writing system and the tones that are the killers. I would have loved to learn more, but unfortunately Dongying does not have any place for me to study.
Food, food, food, food!!!!
I really really really love food, especially delicious food. I resided in New York prior to my departure to China. One of my favorite things about NYC is it's variety of food. You can pretty much find anything! I was born and raised in the South, so you know I was eating right there, too! I can't eat any bird or egg right now due to bird flu in China. I'm not willing to take the chance. I love me some chicken, but I'm not ready to die for it.
Internet
The internet in China is atrocious! The speeds are very bad (at least the places I've been); not to mention the censorship of websites. Of course things like Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress (basically social networking) are blocked here. Brit and I also have to deal with things that we desperately need (Sallie Mae and other bill paying websites) deciding not to work one day. I have a VPN, but my connection at my school is very bad, so sometimes I can't get on it.
Not Seeing Bodily Functions
In China, it is very common to see men urinate in the grass, kids defecating and urinating on the sidewalk, and people picking their noses like there's gold inside. It's common to burp loudly with your mouth open, sneeze and cough and not cover your mouth near people.