Settling in

Tomorrow marks my one week anniversary in China. I moved into a new apartment today which I will only stay in until Friday. I will post pictures of the new place later. It's much bigger than my last apartment but still has its own drawbacks, too. There are two beds here which are making me more and more excited for my roomie's arrival! There is also a "more equipped" kitchen. And by more equipped I mean there is a rice maker (as if I haven't had plenty of rice) and there are a few extra utensils. The bathroom is the strangest part of the apartment. The shower and toilet are basically one and the same. You shower and the water just runs into the drain on the floor and the whole bathroom floor is soaked. There isn't a door, instead there is a shower curtain. This should be interesting when the roommate gets here on Wednesday! I also have a small balcony which is really nice. The bed is still hard but is not nearly as uncomfortable. I think I will actually get a good night's sleep tonight! This place looks much more like an apartment and less like a hotel room. I saw my future apartment (the fourth and final Beijing home I will have in a few weeks) and it is amazing. I am definitely excited about moving in there.

The bad parts of this apartment are the smell and the noise. It smells like Indian food in here. I remember when I was friends with an Indian girl in middle/high school and her apartment always smelled just like this. Also, the railroad tracks are literally right outside my window. So it is pretty stinkin' loud when a train goes by.

So, like I said, I will be here until Friday and then I will move to apartment 3 for about two weeks I think. After that move I will go to my permanent home which is really nice! I am beginning to get much more settled in here now. Last night I went out with Jill. We first met up with Anna and her friend, Christina, for a yummy dinner at Hot Pot. It's kind of like The Melting Pot but Chinese. You are given a pot with boiling sauce (mine was bree sauce and I'm not sure what exactly that means) and you order a bunch of raw food to put in your pot. We got beef, mushrooms, tofu, sweet and white potatoes, spinach and cabbage. You cook your food in your pot and then dip it in this ridiculously yummy brown sauce and then eat it up! After dinner I got to see the apartment I will soon be living in which for now belongs to Anna and Jill. Then Jill and I went out to a bar and I was shocked! There were tons of foreigners in the bar and it was an open mic night so people where singing songs I actually knew! I told Jill that I didn't even feel like I was in China anymore! We ate chicken fingers and fries and enjoyed the music and some conversation. Afterward we walked back onto the streets of Beijing and found our way to a club which was definitely Chinese. It was hilarious! The men here are the funniest dancers! It was a bunch of Asian men dancing with each other and a few women. It was pretty funny. We caught a taxi (much easier than my previous experiences) and managed to get me home! I'm glad that I now know there are fun things to do in China =)

I have now seen all forms of transportation in China. I would say the subway will probably be the best option for me once I figure out how it works. I need to find a subway map and start learning the lines. I know that I am on both lines 10 and 13. My stop is the Zhichunlu Station. The subway is totally color coordinated so it should not be hard to figure my way around. When Theresa gets here I am going to be able to explore a lot more. I am just worried about getting lost and being by myself! Here is the obstacle that I am facing with the subway:
















It shouldn't be too bad. Once I figure out which stops I need for home and work I should be pretty golden. I will learn on the way as soon as I know those two things.

Here's to becoming a successful Beijing alien!

Mandarin lesson:
Zhīchūn lù dìtiě 知春路地鐵 (Zhichunlu subway)