In a bustling city where people can easily feel lost...

surprisingly, i've been adjusting with more ease than i expected. i've been pretty much on my own for almost two weeks and have gradually come to recognize the roads/landmarks around the area that i temporarily live (i guess i fit into the "girls recognize landmarks better than north /east /south /west" stereotype). i finally met up with a couple of other fulbrighters and even better, one of my aptmates, hayes, also just arrived two days ago to join the beijing fun.

yes, it's been exciting, overwhelming, tiring, and frustrating...but nothing sucks energy out of me more than APARTMENT HUNTING! i've been playing around with four different agencies, looking through more than 10 apartments, and still... i haven't found something that was just right. the apts are either not close to metro... too close to the highways... or have some interior flaw. bleh... hopefully we will find something appropriate by the end of this week....wish me luck. :T

just an interesting observation -- just walking with my aptmate down the lanes of houhai (this picturesque part of beijing that has a lake, willow trees, and the old beijing hutong style mixed with western/international bars), i felt that time had stopped for me. as a new college graduate, this feeling of timelessness was strangely refreshing, similar yet different from the timelessness that i experienced in college. and it is in this twilight zone of chaos and cultural fusion, i found my inner-peace for the first time in a long time.

Rule # 1: "Don't talk to strangers"

Does Not Apply In Beijing.

It really doesn't. In fact, it is sometimes necessary to talk to strangers (expats) in order to navigate and survive in a new area. After my aunt's sis and her bf dropped me off at cell phone flea market and basically ditched for the day, I wandered by myself to a nearby cafe. There I started randomly chatting with 2 American expats and an Israeli expat about where to go in Beijing etc.. The result of this chat? I made new friends that helped me get a cell phone number and even lent me a cell phone for the time being (I need to return my bootleg cell phone... not working too well)...introduced me to new restaurants and cafes... and offered to be a contact/friend to hang out on the weekdays/weekends. Even though it's only been four days since I arrived to Beijing, I've learned to be brave and to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I realized that one have to be proactive in making friends with strangers or contacts you don't know too well -- you never know when these friends will come in handy.

I have to say, as a New Yorker, I always have my guard up. But it's always nice to know that there is always a friendly expat out there somewhere.

I miss fresh air

As one of the main epicenters in China, Beijing has many great qualities. Fresh air, however, is not one of them. Since my arrival, I have not seen a day with blue sky... the air is heavily polluted like the smog in L.A....probably due to the ridiculous amount of cars and taxis. The dust in the air makes me want to wear my sunglasses even when it's not sunny outside. Additionally, it seems like every guy in China smokes, which is clearly evident in the bars and even at home. My relative's rockstar bf smokes like chimney, leaving his several ashtrays at all the main areas of the apt. I hate the smell of smoke so I guess I'm anxious to find an apt of my own. I think I need an air filtration system or something. Other than that and the ridiculous amount of bureaucracy you have to go through just merely settling in, the food is great and things are relatively cheap in China (i say relatively speaking, compared to the U.S. but you can easily spend the amount you usually spent in the U.S. if you don't watch your cash outflow). I look forward to exploring more of the city and taking lots of pictures. Will keep y'all updated. :)

Excited, Tired, Overwhelmed, and Maybe Even a Little Homesick...

i think those are the adjectives that pretty much describe how i feel at the moment. i'm still pretty jetlagged for the most part, sleeping only in 3 hr intervals, and feeling randomly tired at around 4pm in the afternoon (which i guess makes sense since i normally sleep at 4 am anyway haha).

just a recap, my flight departed from the newark, nj airport around noon-ish on monday -- continental was very strict in terms of abiding to the 50 lbs limit, which was why i had to give up my favorite biolage shampoo (about 3 lbs), a pair of shoes, down jacket, and several other items. my lipgloss and half-empty bottle of small lotion were confiscated as i was being searched in the security area for carry-on bags. other than that, the flight was rather smooth. the flight attendant asked me to trade seats with this woman and her baby. in return, i sat in a seat right behind the business class section, with plenty of leg room, and received a business class blanket and a goodie travel bag ...i guess that wasn't too bad of an exchange. it's kind of funny peeking into the business class section as they dine on delectable rice porridge from bowls made of china, while the rest of us economy class ppl ate breaded chicken on a plastic tray. :P all in all, the flight wasn't too bad...i made a new friend, got some rest, and arrived safely to beijing.

good thing i'm staying with a relative these first few weeks. her apt is pretty new. i have my own bedroom with a queen size bed, and my own bathroom. in terms of food, there's so much variety -- i had southeast asian/south asian cusine for lunch (indian curry, fried shrimp on stick, peppered beef, mushroom stew) and beijing style dinner (a flat hot pot with fish, shrimp, chinese vegetables, flat slices of bread, etc., and brown sauce). dinner for four ppl, plus 3 bottles of beer and a big bottle of coke was less than $15 -- now that's a good deal! in just two days, i have already met three interesting ppl: my aunt's sister, her bf (this guy in a rock band, unstable income but pretty chill), and their friend (a grad student in paris, travels a lot to exotic places, noncomformist/daring, very intellectual and cool).

i guess i'm pretty lucky to have some people around to help me get settled in, since there's a lot of bureacracy in terms of procedures. the air in beijing is still in my opinion a bit polluted but i guess you can say that smog is bound to happen in big cities right? even though it hasn't been too long, i miss the people back at home... it's just not the same. i still feel very alone -- i guess one of the thing i have to learn in this year is to be okay with the idea of being alone. that doesn't mean, of course, that you guys shouldn't get skype and talk to me! :)

anyway i should go. i would post pics but since this is not my computer, i can't really post any pics until maybe a couple weeks later. we'll see. ttyl!

p.s. i think the time of the post is listed incorrectly -- it's supposed to be around midnight in China~

I HATE PACKING!

i can't believe it is already the day before i'm leaving for china! it's currently 4:03 pm, with four hours left before i leave for my uncle's house -- which means that i will have to do something about my two slightly overweight luggages. the two 50 lbs check-in bag limit...that's seriously hard on a girl who is trying to pack for a whole year...it's worse than pulling teeth! yea yea i know... i should really take some stuff out...

i'll take some pre-departure photos of packing later. this blog will be a documentation of my trip abroad...i hope i will have tons of wonderful and quirky pictures to show to all of you. thanks to all of you that visited out of your way / met up with me -- i will miss you all dearly! if i like you enough, maybe i'll bring you back a nice fake louis vuitton bag or something hahaha~

setting up this blog is annoying... must get some sleep before i really get this blog going...

payce!