Very quickly, I am settling into life in Beijing! I’m learning many things about my new home. One of the things I have learned is that if you think something will take one hour, plan for it to take three! I’m getting pretty good (maybe confident would be a better word) at navigating the streets of Beijing on my bike. (Yes–I have a bike with a basket and a bell, which I ring to let others know that I’m coming up behind them.) I now get to participate in Beijing Extreme Biking! It is difficult to know which way is North when the sun isn’t shining. This was until someone showed me how to read directions on the street signs. Now I know how to get to where the other teachers live and home again without any help. Even though this may not seem like an accomplishment, I’m pretty proud of it!
Friday I met with Mr. Wang from my school. He is quite funny and a very crazy driver. He enjoys talking on his phone incessantly, especially while driving. There was a point when we were driving in the wrong lane and a rather large white vehicle was coming at us. For those who were worried about my safety while I am in China, I fear that that I am safer walking alone down a dark deserted alley then riding in Mr. Wang’s car. We arrived at the restaurant and he treated us to a lovely lunch. “Another piece of duck, Amber,” was what I heard over and over again. This was not a question but a command. Needless to say, I was quite full after this meal.
Saturday was a fun, albeit exhausting day. I had lunch with some new Chinese friends (see picture below) who are studying with Prof. Lorenz from Hong Kong. He is here visiting this week. After a delicious lunch, I went to some other teachers’ apartment to ‘help’ them paint. I got pretty lightheaded from inhaling the paint fumes. Four of us ventured to a large store a couple of subway stops away to look for some items. In the evening, the four of us and four Chinese friends went to visit Olympic Village. We got there just as the sun was going down, and we watched as the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube were lit. This was very cool!
Sunday morning the teachers gathered together in our apartment for study. It was nice to get together with everyone and afterward we went out for lunch as a group. I think I will enjoy our regular studies. Later during the day, I experience my first “I’m lost” feeling. It wasn’t actually that bad. I was on my way to a new friend’s apartment (the friends I met on the flight). She sent me a text message with her address in Mandarin so that I could show it to the taxi driver and also in Pinyin so that I could learn how to pronounce it. This worked until he dropped me off outside the gate of her ‘community.’ (I don’t really know if there is a name for it, but the city blocks are their own little gated communities.) I knew the number of her building and even the floor, but the taxi driver dropped me off pretty far away. So I was wandering through the streets of her ‘community’ showing the text message to people walking around. They all kept pointing in the same direction so I assumed I needed to keep walking. Eventually I found myself outside the door of her building. It was a secure entrance with a keypad and I had no idea how to use it. Thankfully as I was about to send her a text to tell her that I was downstairs, a young man asked me if I was there to visit Prof. ____. I was suprised and said yes. So I followed him up to her apartment. Prof. ____, her daughter, the young man (who was one of her grad students), and I went out for supper. Afterward, we came back to her apartment to play Uno and another game that her daughter taught us. She drove me home and told me that the next time I come over, she would come to pick me up.
Below are some photos for you to enjoy! Until next time…
Looking westward down 4th Ring Road from Olympic Village
Close up of the side of the Water Cube
