Beijing and Beyond

05/08/2013

After two reasonably pleasant flights we arrived in Beijing! To be honest, I’m not an overly excitable person so the lead up to this trip wasn’t as euphoric and goosebump inducing as you may have thought. I like to think of myself as a semi world traveller, but recently I’ve become a bit of a homebird. After Thailand I realised how nice it is to live in a malaria free zone where everyone speaks English and more importantly, you can eat whatever you want without fear of ending up with your head in a toilet. It also hasn’t helped that Bangor has been experiencing some unreal weather as of late. In true Ballyholme fashion the Baylands residents have been spending days at the beach and evenings by the BBQ – so honestly, I haven’t been thrilled at the idea of packing up and moving to Beijing. But what’s done is done and while living in Beijing might not be my idea of perfection, I’m going to at least give it a go... (I have to because if I don’t I might have to return my camera which was purchased specifically to document my Chinese adventures.)

But I digress. We arrived at around 9am China time, breezed through immigration, got a cool train to another terminal and were picked up by two people from our school, a Chinese driver and a guy called James from England. We were driven straight to the school headquarters where we met the boss and then we were taken to our apartment. It is absolutely huge. We knew we were getting a two bedroom apartment but everything else is big too – see for yourself.

Our not so cosy wooden sofa...

Beaut sun room area

Our ovenless kitchen

Little window seat in the kitchen

The main bedroom

Wardrobe and desk in the main bedroom

The bathroom that looks alright but always stinks

The second bedroom

Desk in the second bedroom

After a quick rest and a much needed freshening up we went back out and braved the heat with a local girl called Summer. She took us to register at the police station and to buy our Chinese mobile phones. Naturally we went for the cheapest ones available. If we end up staying for a long time we can upgrade to a smart phone. Maybe. Probably not. 

Once we had finished our errands for the day we headed back to headquarters where we sent off a few quick emails and then we headed out to dinner with some other workers from Aihua. The five of us went to a popular Chinese restaurant and had a meal family style, which basically means everything was in the centre and we just grabbed what we wanted when we wanted it. Chopsticks may take a while to figure out! 

After dinner James walked us to the local shopping centre. It’s called Wanda Plaza and is pretty impressive – lots of western shops, restaurant and even a cinema. We headed straight to the Carrefour supermarket where we stocked up on bottled water and air freshener – our bathroom absolutely stinks, apparently they don’t have the whole sewage system figured out in China so everyone has this problem. The shop was pretty interesting, it’s always cool to see things and brands you recognise, even though you’re half way across the world. We managed to shop and pay without using any Chinese, thank goodness for hand signals and smiles! And then we only had to find our way back. Luckily there is a huge building beside our apartment block so we used that as a guide.  I’m glad Rory is here with me, it’s not that the place isn’t safe but I really wouldn’t fancy walking around in the dark alone. It also helps having two sets of eyes when trying to cross the road – they don’t adhere to traffic lights so you basically just have to walk out and hope they stop!

Who doesn't love interpretive dance?!

When we got home we unpacked and sorted all our stuff away. It was actually quite fun. I felt like a real grown up. We then headed to bed for our first sleep in China, exciting stuff!