Greetings from the other side of the world! I have been in China for 4 days and discovered that 1) facebook is banned here so I will have to limit my creepiness for a month and a half and 2) mosquitoes are the bane of my existence. In just four days I have accumulated 24 bites!
Day 1: After spending nearly 24 hours in the airplane/airport, I am finally in Beijing! There the company manager picks me up and we head over to Baoding, a nearby city where I am staying currently. On the way, we stopped by the Olympic stadium, dubbed the "Bird's Nest."
Day 1: After spending nearly 24 hours in the airplane/airport, I am finally in Beijing! There the company manager picks me up and we head over to Baoding, a nearby city where I am staying currently. On the way, we stopped by the Olympic stadium, dubbed the "Bird's Nest."
So it was kinda dark and the flash ruined everything. The company manager, Rita, is on my left. 
The stadium at night. It's surrounded by gardens and water so it's really pretty during the day.
Day 2: Because of China's stringent health policy over swine flu, every intern is required to live separately from the school for a week. Hence I end up in a hotel in Baoding, where the school has another office. I open up the window curtains and discover that I have a gorgeous view of ....trash and old buildings:
What boggles my mind is that sometimes when I look outside, I see other people opening their windows and flinging random things out the window, as if the ground was an bottomless trashpit. Anyways, the company people are incredibly kind and they take me out for lunch and show me around town.
Day 3: I have spent a grand total of 2 US dollars because people always take me out to eat! What a feat. I meet some of the students trying to learn English. Our conversation lasts about 4 minutes in English...so I pretty much have to speak Chinese...which means all I do is smile and nod. We go out for "huoguo," where each person has a little boiling pot of soup and you cook your own food. I went to my very first Chinese club called Deep and it was sooo nice/decked out. There are multiple floors: One had a bar/dance floor/pole dancers; one was a lounge; another a performance area where this very effeminate man danced and sang like a little girl--it was kinda disturbing actually. I learned a Chinese drinking game with cups and dice, called "chui nui" which means "bullshit."
Day 4: I spend the entire day sightseeing at this park with a bajillion water lilies. To get there, we take a boat, and man with only 1 eye paddles the company owner, wife, and me at a slow, but peaceful pace. Apparently, he only makes about $20 a day toiling back and forth on the river. I didn't bring my camera so you will just have to use your imagination--the boat ride was amazing and the lilies were so pretty! Today I went on a walk around the university and stumbled upon a park.
Day 3: I have spent a grand total of 2 US dollars because people always take me out to eat! What a feat. I meet some of the students trying to learn English. Our conversation lasts about 4 minutes in English...so I pretty much have to speak Chinese...which means all I do is smile and nod. We go out for "huoguo," where each person has a little boiling pot of soup and you cook your own food. I went to my very first Chinese club called Deep and it was sooo nice/decked out. There are multiple floors: One had a bar/dance floor/pole dancers; one was a lounge; another a performance area where this very effeminate man danced and sang like a little girl--it was kinda disturbing actually. I learned a Chinese drinking game with cups and dice, called "chui nui" which means "bullshit."
Day 4: I spend the entire day sightseeing at this park with a bajillion water lilies. To get there, we take a boat, and man with only 1 eye paddles the company owner, wife, and me at a slow, but peaceful pace. Apparently, he only makes about $20 a day toiling back and forth on the river. I didn't bring my camera so you will just have to use your imagination--the boat ride was amazing and the lilies were so pretty! Today I went on a walk around the university and stumbled upon a park.
And thus with this picture I end my lengthy post. - Willa
P.S. Munj is AWESOME
P.P.S. Cecey is MORE AWESOME
P.P.S. Cecey is MORE AWESOME
wow, you look like a fob and learn to smile normally in your pictures.
ReplyDeleteP.P.S.- Am I the most awesome?