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~