Homesick for Beijing?

Blogspot is blocked by the government in Beijing so I can't see my blog but I CAN update it mwahaha.

Currently I am in Woooo hun! (Wuhan). It reminds me of Hangzhou - it has an east lake and on my arrival I discovered that it was raining - the hot humid type of rain - I feel like I am in some tropical desert! The funny thing is as soon as the locals showed me where I was staying I started feeling homesick - for Beijing! It is quite the shock! I thought I would be homesick for Edmonton - but nope! For Beijing! In Beijing there is always a hustle and bustle at home - but here, everyone is in classes and I am currently the only one living in the apartment...I miss people.

Last week was full of dinners and going aways for interns and CEEDers. I said goodbyes and "see you soons" to people from Poland, US, Netherlands, and Brazil. It is sad - but I will cherish the friendships that I made and feel grateful for meeting these people. It is always hard to travel and make friends only to lose them - but as someone told me here - a new adventure begins to visit friends made in the future ;) [Check out Asia and I getting lost (again) on our way to one of the farewell parties]

We also went to the beach - kind of - on the weekend. We went to BeDaiHe and bussed to ShanHuaGuan where the great wall meets the ocean. Took a quick dip in the ocean but after fearing the pollution from the factory several meters away - and David's eyes beginning to burn... we hopped out and bussed home to eat some way too spicy, burn your lips, make you tear when all you do is blow your nose - lamb/chicken/beef on a stick. (check out the beach/great wall pics on the link to your right).

An update about Wuhan will soon come - as soon as it stops raining and I can start my adventures! I am here for a week- then off to QingDao Beach - then a week of touristy stuff in Beijing - and then fly to Montreal to learn french!!!

Random China part 2ish

"No Drugs and Nuclear Weapons Allowed"
-crap! I guess we have to go somewhere else guys! - This sign was in front of the hard-rock cafe - a joke I am sure?

The day I took this picture was the day I visited the doctor. I had been experiencing two weeks worth of intestine pains - I would wake up everyday and there would be a shot of pain through my lower abdomen...And I was beginning to get a sore throat. The service was great - they took my blood, they spoke english... I was unable to give a stool sample ... ahem, moving on. It was great service - until I found out that each individual test they performed was 30 USD! Total pricetag? About $380 - moral of the story - never get sick in China. Anyways, for the past week I've been sick in bed. This weekend I was coughing non-stop, trying to sleep -only to be awaken by coughing fits. The good news is the antibiotics for my stomach started working - however I just ran out and today the pain came back - but not as strong. I think my coughs have died down a tad bit too?? - Here's hoping I get well soon because I only have 4 weeks left in China!

But let's end on a happy note! I did a test run of a pancake breakfast yesterday to prepare for Canada Day - it went well! I didn't have to do most of the cooking haha - Wicki (the Danish Ceeder) and Natalie (the VP MD from austrailia/Finland) and Tracy (a girl from Shanghai) helped - a lot. We made banana pancakes - first time ever! We cooked it into the pancakes but in the end discovered that it was better to save the banana pieces as toppings... did this all on a gas stove - it was interesting...

Happy note number 2 - re-meeting Canadians that I met from past conferences in China. Karrolyn (Canadian Ceeder heading to Togo) dropped by and we had peking duck. She brought with her two Canadians - one who is currently working in Beijing (Chris), the other headed to Ghana (Rupert). I love how small the world is! It was an enjoyable blast from the past!

MoC MC House

This is where I live - Mainland of China Member Committee House - or hostel as it has become to be known. I was talking to my family while this was filmed - the loud girl talking in the background. The second last room in the video - that is where I live - on the ground in the hole ;).



Now that you've seen where I live - let's get to know the room-mates! I bunk with the Aussie and Denmark(y?) - and a girl from Taiwan who is not in the video.

One month anniversary

That is right. On Thursday I have officially been in Beijing for a month. And - quoting the micky d's commercials - I'm loving it! My week flies by and so do the weekends - I feel like I've been here for only a week! Life here is surreal - I feel like I've hit it big, been successful - but I've done nothing! For example, friday night there was an alumni gathering in the fortune tower - we had it in the PWC office! It was so beautiful and wonderful!

This was followed by a picnic in the park on saturday with interns all over the world- followed by a walk down 798. 798 is the most amazing art district I have ever encountered. I could not believe my eyes - didn't think a place as sophisticated as this would exist in China. It had coffee shops around the corner, art galleries, restaurants and bookstores. They had an art walk with complimentary wine, a presentation about how graffiti was blooming in China, followed by a preview of "I Heart Beijing." - So far I am still uncertain if this is a play or movie. I think it is a play. It was comical, the scene they had was describing how an ABC (American Born Chinese) was feeling stupid because when she would speak mandarin - it wasn't that good - and everyone thought she was stupid. And then friends would introduce her as their Japanese friend. I related to the story - people think I'm Korean, and it is exasperating to say that I'm Canadian - because then they say - but you are not white. I end up saying - yes, I am Korean - just like how the girl has ended up saying yes, I am Japanese.

This little art walk was followed by a random meeting of some people from the Switzerland embassy - we had dinner with them and I just couldn't believe my life. The night before I bumped into the Swedish drummer of the Indie concert I was at two weekends ago and we started talking on the street. AND! The day of - I bumped into the girl who had a house party three weeks ago! Life here in Beijing - incredibly random and surreal! I just hope that I am not getting too spoiled and missing the true Chinese culture - but I think I am falling into that trap :S