I made it to China!!!!!

After 20+ hours in airports and a particularly nice time at the doctor's office in the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia, I made it to Beijing (I thought I was having heart/lung problems, turns out I pulled a muscle in my chest lifting my ridiculously heavy backpack!). I took a taxi to the Beijing Language and Culture University. Riding a taxi in China will go down as one of the scariest experiences of my life. There are CRAZY drivers here! Even though the lanes are marked, the lines are completely ignored. I stopped counting after at least 5 near collisions where I gasped and gripped the door until my knuckles turned white!

I went through the registration 'lines' if you can call it that, the Chinese don't believe in queuing..they just all push to the front, each man for himself. I quickly learned how to push too, otherwise I'd still be waiting politely behind someone else! It was in the registration line that I learned that my Chinese name is Jolie (as in Angelina Jolie). They don't have the equivalent for Jamie. I tried to get them to give me James, but the lady laughed at me and said I was a girl and was not allowed to have a boy's name!

After a little bit of a hiccup with housing, I finally secured a dorm room which will be my home through January. There's a picture of my building, a picture of my room & bathroom and the entrance to the University that I will use attached. Notice that I could basically sit on the toilet while taking a shower - talk about killing two birds with one stone! ha ha! The other fascinating part of my room is the mattress, or lack there of. In China, they believe in sleeping on HARD beds. By hard, I mean a piece of wood with about a two inch thick mattress filled with cotton. I am so glad that I kept my sleeping mat and bag...they are now serving as extra cushion! There's a TV that gets two English channels - CNN International and a movie channel which plays the stupidest movies ever. Once I learn enough Chinese to be dangerous, I'll try to figure out what's going on on all the crazy TV shows that they have!

I have joined the gym on campus. They have your standard gym classes: aerobics, ballet, spinning. I went to the 'R&B' class (hip hop dance) on Tuesday night. It was hilarious! It was easy to tell who the other 3 westerners were in the class because we were the only ones who could move our hips in a circle without looking like a board was attached from our neck to our bottom! I have also signed up to take Tai Chi lessons for three hours a week. Classes start on Monday, and I am looking forward to learning some meditation techniques along the way! Finally, I am joining an International Women's Soccer Team at another University nearby. One of the westerners from the hip hop class asked me to play on their team!

I have met people very easily, especially those who do not yet speak any Chinese. I am very surprised at how many Chinese do not know any English. I naively thought that they would know very basics at least. It's made EVERYTHING challenging. Just figuring out how to ask for a 'to go' box using my Chinese-English dictionary and actually getting my leftover food packaged to take away was a huge accomplishment! I went shopping today for basic dorm room stuff (a real towel (as opposed to the tiny camping towel I've used for the last 2+ months, a bowl, a plate, etc.) and had a blast playing charades with one of the ladies who worked at the grocery store. I needed a small lock for my gym locker and a foot file (my feet are still in treacherous condition, compliments of Africa). It took over 20 minutes of acting out and pointing in my dictionary for what I needed. When I left, I had a foot file and a lock in my bag and felt like I had conquered the world!

I bought a Chinese cell phone last night, with the help of a new Taiwanese friend. Only about 6 people on campus have my number, so I'll share it with my blog readers in case you find yourself in Beijing and want to hang out: +0086 134 3934 4157. Feel free to call me, but remember that I'm 12 hours ahead of most of you!

My thoughts on China so far: the air quality is horrible...yesterday I could only see about two blocks away. You can look directly into the sun and don't need sunscreen during the highest point of the day because of it. It's terrible, but I hear that it is much better than it has been, so that is somewhat encouraging. You can read the statistics about the population and density here, but it isn't real until you see it firsthand. There are people, bikes, cars, etc. everywhere. I get the feeling that Beijing, in particular, is in the middle of a huge transition. The two huge malls that are both within a 15 minute walk of the University are very modern. Right next door is a huge open market that is filthy and crowded. You'll pass a train, subway and bus system along with tons of cars, and then you'll see a bike pulling a cart stacked high and wide with enough furniture to furnish a home. It's crazy, it's exciting and I'm happy to be on the brink of learning about a culture that is and will continue to be a driving force in the world economy during my lifetime.

I start class on Monday morning. Tomorrow, I'm going to the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing for a conference on the difference in business cultures between China and the US. I met an older lady in the grocery store this morning who invited me. I've learned to always say yes when someone invites you to do something, especially when you're trying to figure out a new city! I meet with my Chinese partner on Tuesday for the first time. Sunny is going to help me with Mandarin and I'm going to help her with her English. Our first project: teaching me how to haggle in Chinese!

That's all for now...Thanks to Gerad, my brother, for posting this blog for me. Blogspot, along with Facebook and many other websites, are blocked in China. I have learned of a work around, but it will take another week or so to get it in place.

Hello folks this is Gerad, for some reason Jamie's picture did not make it in the email she sent me. I will find out what is going on and try to post some soon!! I hope everyone is doing well!! Hello Sejal!!!!