Rain, Rain, Rain and a Tuk-Tuk!

Today it was raining again, I managed to stay dry on my way to work until trying to get a taxi! I kept trying to flag one down, originally with twenty minutes to spare before work, ending up with leaving the tube station at 5 to 9, in a Tuk-Tuk. I refused two offers of tuk-tuk rides whilst trying to flag a cab down, saying to myself as if i would ever go in one of them, i even managed to get a cab, but he decided he didnt want to read my chinese address and pretended he didnt understand it and drove off. it was another ten minutes after that i resigned myself to the Tuk-Tuk. A tuk-tuk if you havent seen one looks like this:

It was the most stressful journey ever, especially when we crossed the huge crossroads, just going whenever she fancied and wherever she fancied!! She then decided to charge me double the cab fare, and I couldn't argue because I don't know how! When I saw someone from work (which I was hoping I wouldn't, hopping out of the back of a tuk-tuk) he said I had definitely been overcharged, but they often do that to foreigners! Why be excessively mean, its already bad enough you cant converse or read! I sometimes realise that I'm acting like a deaf and mute person signalling and giving thumbs up to everyone here, there and everywhere, I realised on the subway today, when someone was telling me to take the spare seat and I was pointing and signalling like an air stewardess! Im going to have to learn at least some basic chinese!!

Joined the gym today, managed to get a membership for a month, so that's good and might help me work off all this chinese food everyone orders at lunch for me!!

xx

First Day at Work

Today was my first day at work, so I headed off on the subway this morning which unfortunately did look a lot like my picture yesterday! After two crammed subway rides, I decided to skip the bus part of my journey and get a taxi to the office which only costs 12 RMB anyway (About £1.20!) Luckily I had taken a picture of the street name in Chinese on my phone and after flagging a cab down he understood and I got there on time! (Getting a taxi driver to understand is a miracle in itself, as I found out when I got lost last night!) Work was fine and all the people are lovely, we get free vouchers for lunch so my boss and one of his colleagues from another office took me for lunch and wanted me to try some more chinese food (I am yet to order my own food here yet, it is always chosen for me!) I had tofu for the first time, which was surprisingly nice! I am looking forward to going back to work tomorrow so that must be a good sign!

On the way home from the office I took the bus, and I pass a store called Jenny Lou's which is supposed to sell international things you can't get in the normal supermarket, I've been unable to find cereal and milk ANYWHERE so was excited to go and get some, although it seems they don't have it there either!! The hunt continues! So for now it is back to my bread and butter (we don't have a toaster or an oven!). It also began to rain really heavily on the way back home, and by the time I got off the subway I was ankle deep in water!!

I'll just quickly fill you in on my adventures last night to find the supermarket, it didnt end well, I never found it! After walking every which way possible from the apartment for an hour, up and down the main road trying to work out where it had disappeared to, I tried to get a taxi and resorted to getting my phrasebook out and pointing at the phrase supermarket and saying "carrefour, carrefour!!!" Which was why it was such a surprise when the first taxi understood me this morning! So when that didn't work I turned around and luckily managed to get home, by this point it was going dark!!
When I first set off I was quite happy and was enjoying the atmosphere that seemed to be around, I even took a cheeky snap of one of the street sellers:

That's all for now :) x

The Subway and Lunch in a Hutong!

I didn't have that much to say about yesterday so I thought I'd just tag the two days together! Yesterday, Saturday, Vivian took me on the subway to my office so that my card was set up for Monday and I knew the way, altogether the journey took about 40 mins which isn't too bad. The subways are quite similar to the tube in London and are mostly air-conditioned which is a nice relief from the roasting heat outside! I found out the office is near to Sanlitun which is where a lot of "foreigners" go to eat and drink so will most likely be checking that out at some point! Apparently the subways can get quite crowded, lets hope that it doesn't look like this on Monday morning:

The most exciting part of the subway journey for me was that I saw my first Westerner since I left the airport on Thursday! As we got closer to the office there were more westerners around which was quite nice! (I know this must sound strange but when you are surrounded by only chinese for 3 days it is quite exciting!)


We went for lunch in Sanlitun in a chinese restaurant where Vivian chose one of Beijing's speciality dishes (I think), which was a big hot pot, chicken noodle broth thing, where they tipped other ingredients into it at the table. It was nice, and something I'd never tried before.


Today, Vivians parents invited me for lunch at their home. I wasn't sure what to expect until we arrived in their village. They live about twenty minutes drive from where we are living, and their village is apparently what you would expect of a typical chinese village outside of Beijing.


One thing I did notice as we arrived and left was that I seemed to get stared at here more than anywhere else, apparently "laowai"s (foreigners) must be a lot less common out of the city, and apparently are very funny! So we turned of the main road down a dirt track past all these one storey buildings, which although are not traditional hutongs, are of that nature. We arrived at their home, where we went through an entrance door into an indoor courtyard, where there were several rooms of it including a kitchen with a bathroom off it (after a quick inspection when I washed my hands I decided to hold it in until we were home!). One of the other rooms was where her grandfather was living, and I don't know about the others. We went into her parents room, where there was a bed, bench, and chair, as well as a TV and desk. I was surprised to see the TV and air-conditioning unit as I didn't expect there to be electricity in this kind of place. So we went in, replacing our shoes with plastic slippers which I am learning is common everywhere. Her parents were very kind and generous with continuous offering of fruit and drinks before we had lunch, I didn't realise until I got home and looked it up that if you really don't want something you have to refuse it at least 3 times in Chinese culture, so when I tried to stop eating dumplings for the fourth time and it was finally accepted I was full, it was a relief, as I was full the first time I tried to stop! The food was delicious and her family very kind, I just wish I could speak a little more chinese and be able to communicate!


Here is a picture of a similar kind of building to theirs, I wanted to take a picture, but thought this would be disrespectful to their home!

Sorry this is now a mammoth post, guess I had more to say than I thought! x




And of course, not forgetting HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE B!!
Hope you have a great day even if it is without me! Sorry I wont be there to put the "p" in party next week!! :) xxx

Landed!

I landed safe and sound this morning, and already feel like I've been here for hours and hours! Although really I've only been here about 6!

I had a good flight, my luggage was all weighed in, just on the weight limit, I may have to rethink how I'm going to bring shopping back!! When I arrived we were shipped onto this bus for the longest transfer to the terminal I've ever known, we were on the bus which was extremely hot and sweaty for at least 15/20 mins!

I was shocked when I got off the plane at how you can physically see the pollution, its like a super thick fog, and you can barely see into the distance! So I think that is partly why it is so hot and humid. Not sure what the temperature is but apparently its 28 degrees in the flat, we do have air-con but it doesn't seem to be kept on. Its not too bad now but I think later when its bed time I will have to turn it on!

The apartment is nice, and Vivian seems lovely, although my room is teeny weeny, and has a sofa bed which when its out fills the entire room! But I'm sure I'll manage.

Today has been an experience already, as Vivian had work, I was left with her dad who speaks NO ENGLISH at all!!! to show me where the supermarket is and take me shopping. Chinese supermarkets are weird, and they smell (the raw chicken was in a big pile which you had to pick up with a spoon that had been sat in it - ew) . It was very confusing, and a woman even decided to try and tell me that I had chosen the wrong kind of noodles and the ones she was showing me were better, so who knows what flavour I have now! An interesting shop which resulted in me buying chicken, brocolli, mushrooms, eggs and ambiguously flavoured noodles. I will try and revisit it on my own this weekend, as even though her Dad is lovely and very kind it is very hard when you cannot understand one another!!

Very tired today, and looking forward to a long sleep tonight! Think I might have to go and register at the police station though, although I'm not entirely sure, I will have to wait until Vivian is back to find out!

Thats all for now, hope its not too boring!! x

I'm Packed!!

I'm packed and ready to go.... well kind of but I still have the morning! Good news is I found out that I can take two suitcases with a combined weight of 30kg, so of course I have gone for the option of taking two, to allow for maximum room for bringing home things that I buy in China! Along with my hand luggage I might look like a bit of a pack horse, but that's a look I'm getting quite used to!


I guess my next post will be when I'm there and settled in. Hopefully I'll be able to have a shower and get myself sorted when I arrive, depending on whether my room mates father is over having a shower and cooking for her at the time or not! (Long story!, but he doesn't live there - thank goodness!)

As you can see Oscar is so sad I'm leaving he can't even watch!

 See you in China!! x