Beijing: The Journey and First Impressions

到了北京阿！Well, I'm finally here, and let me just say things did not go smoothly. I chose an indirect flight with an airline called China Eastern, which (based on the reports of a few other HBAers) I do not recommend. CE is apparently notorious for arriving late and ruining everyone's travel plans -- case in point: my first flight from JFK to Shanghai was delayed three hours, causing me to miss my connecting flight to Beijing. The airline tried to appease the inconvenienced with a night in its staff hotel and a hot breakfast in the morning, but when I found out several other classmates had had similar issues the day before, my anger was renewed.

Transportation issues aside, a flight of such great length was a new experience for me. I drifted in and out of sleep for most of it, waking only for the occasional in-flight movie or meal. After sleeping a few hours in the China Eastern hotel and taking a final hour-and-a-half flight to Beijing, I was jet-lagged and confused, but ready for the reveal...

The sky in Beijing is gray... a lot. Locals say it's the weather, foreigners say it's the pollution, it's probably a combination of both. Nevertheless there are apparently very few 'nice' days here -- not a huge deal, but not seeing the sun is depressing after a few days.

Food is cheap... and delicious. Of course, the cost of living in Beijing is generally lower in every respect than in the US, but food is conspicuously inexpensive. My breakfast this morning cost the equivalent of one US dollar. Lunch for five this afternoon was two dollars each. A giant 600 mL bottle of Yan Jing beer, which people seem to drink any day of the week and any time of day, can be had for about 50 cents. I don't want to elaborate too much here though, expect a full entry on food to come.

This brings me to currency. I exchanged $150 US for about 999 Chinese RMB at Shanghai Pudong Airport. My wallet immediately became useless. As you can see in the picture below (missing a 50 yuan bill, which I just didn't have at the time of the photo), the bills are all different sizes, which becomes extremely frustrating if you use one of those small flip wallets that hold only a few cards and some cash. It's also exceedingly difficult to organize the money in any logical way that doesn't cause a huge delay when you're in line at a restaurant or supermarket. Again, not the end of the world.


The dorm facilities are exquisite. HBA is housed in the Beijing Language and Culture University Conference Center. Each student receives a single which includes a bathroom, television, electric teapot, and yes, air conditioning. It's hot outside. Some students had minor problems with TV and air conditioning not working the first day, but they were all quickly resolved by the very friendly Conference Center staff. It's safe to say the rooms are the only part of Beijing that feels like home. Everything else is new, exciting, and a little overwhelming.

I spent the first few days getting organized -- purchasing a cell phone (complete with texting and and enough minutes for two months: $40 US), setting up my room and internet, finding the bank, the supermarket, etc. I have a lot to get used to here. Living on your own at school in the US is one thing, being in a foreign country on your own is another altogether. Anyway, we have our first day of class tomorrow, which means I have a lot of work to do, so until later...

再见
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