Hello again!
It is already 11 December, what means I have slightly more than 2 weeks left in Beijing. What also means this is my second last blog I guess.
My last class is next Monday. When I finish the presentation all my classes are officially over and I only have to hand in one report and one paper!
However, it is already for 2 weeks I have only one class on Monday, so my life in Beijing was pretty relaxed from then on.
What happened all during these two weeks? Not much really. 2 weeks ago Armin van Buuren had a performance in a club in Beijing and me and some friends decided to go there. Of course we were not the only one and it was way too crowded there. We could not even move there. When we did try to move, what was almost impossible, so many people touched you and one took my phone… So one more extra thing to do with the insurance after stealing my wallet.. Nobody enjoyed it there, because of the huge amount of people and after 2 hours we decided to left.
Furthermore I did not really do something special here. Just hanging out with friends during the night and sleeping.
Last week I went to Tianjin though. A city 160 kilometers away from Beijing. With the high-speed train it only took 30 minutes to get there and we spent half a day there. It really is a nice, clean and modern city. It was very cold when we were there though. One friend who joined us, has a cousin who lives there, so we got a private tour and went to a restaurant with fish food. That is what Tianjin is well-known for.
We also had a trip planned to Qingdao. A place for Chinese beer is brewed, but due to some people that became sick that trip is cancelled
Two friends already left Beijing. Last Wednesday they had a farewell party, so I went there to say them goodbye and probably will not see them again, but you never know of course
I guess slowly more and more people will leave from now on.
I guess next week will be the same as the last two weeks until the 20th of December. Than my father, his wife and her son will arrive in Beijing to visit me and I have to show them around and take them to the best restaurants here. Which will be no problem of course.
They will leave the 23rd and as a Christmas present they will take me to Shanghai to spent Christmas there and after that we will go to Hong Kong until the 29th. Then their plane departs back to home again. When we are in Hong Kong I am also looking if it is possible to visit Macau for half a day or a day, since it will only take 1 hour to get there by boat!
When they will leave back home again, I will fly back to Beijing to leave from there the 7th of January back home and then it will be over already
When I just arrived here 4,5 months seem very long, but now I look back time has passed really (too) quick. It was first strange to leave my life back in Holland and to build a new life here. However, I will feel the same when I leave Beijing. You also build up a life here now with local and not local friends and when you leave everyone will go back to their previous lives again and it will take a long time to see them again (if that will happen anyway).
See you when I write my last blog!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Visitors!
Still so busy, however I found some time to write another blog.
Now some days have passed since my mother and brother have left. They were in Beijing for a week some days ago and of course we did a lot of things.
They arrived on Sunday morning in Beijing and after arriving in their hotel to tried to get to my place. Of course this was not easy, because their Chinese is even worse than mine. After an hour however, they managed they find my place and see me. I asked my mother to bring some stuff, like Stroopwafels, Drop, Pindakaas. She took of course a load of stuff and actually more than I wanted. After chatting and when they meet my roommate, we went to Beida and I showed them the place where I study. After that we went with my roommate to a Korean bbq. And just as me the first few weeks, they were surprised by the price as well.
Monday they had a day for their own, since I had to be on campus whole day for my classes and assignments. Tuesday however, I was free after 12 and we decided to do something afterwards. After they finished watching the Temple of Heaven, we went to the Summer palace which is near to Beida. I heard it was a big complex, but it is really huge. You can spent their a whole day if you want to, but you will get to tired of walking. On top of the hill there, you have a nice view over Beijing.
After finished sightseeing at the Summer palace, we went to Zhongguancun to have some real Chinese food with some friends. Even though they have never eaten real Chinese food, they liked it a lot.
Wednesday was the same as Monday. I had to go to class again for whole day. Thursday and Friday I am free, so we spent those two days together.
First we went to the Lama temple and a striking thing was that everybody used the scented sticks(wierook) to pray. Literally at every spot in this complex people were praying to Buddha. and everywhere was the smell of the scented sticks, because everybody was using that. After we have seen the giant Buddha and had enough of the smell of the scented sticks we went to the Olympic stadium. Most of the things there were already broken down, but the Bird’s nest and the Swimming Cube were still there. The structure of the stadium is quite impressive and big too. But if you don’t have too much time in Beijing I think there are better things to see. However in my case it is definitely worth a visit. Everywhere are still salespeople that try to sell you their stuff for some money. Very annoying.., but luckily not as bad as in Turkey or Egypt.
Afterwards they wanted to see the fake-market, so I took them to Xidan. This was for me the first time as well. If you need to buy some cheap clothes this is one of the places to be. However 2 days ago I found the Wudaokou shopping street, which is basically next to my house.. Salespersons everywhere again and because they know you are a foreigner they charge at least 3 times the price as for local people.
After this we got hungry and I took my mother and brother to the famous Peking duck restaurant in Wangfujing and afterwards to the food market with all the insects I already told you about.
Then it was already the last day for them. I had to do some homework, so we decided to meet in the evening and go to a Chinese acrobatic show. That was quite spectacular and the acrobats did ten different acts and were quite astonishing. They went with 5 motorcycles in one big ball and someone was walking on a rope for example. However my mother took all the pictures so I can’t upload them earlier then when I’m back home again..
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sorry for the delay!
First of all sorry I haven’t wrote for such a long time, but I have to do so many assignments lately. Probably this will continue until the end of November. Then I can enjoy my free-time again.
I didn’t tell you everything about my trip in the beginning of October. Only about Shanghai, but not Guilin. Although I have uploaded the pictures already.
As soon as we arrived in Guilin, we saw the scenery and I have never seen something like that before. It is really an amazing place as you can see from my pictures. Even though I thought it would be some kind of Chinese shithole, I was surprised. It was much more developed and actually very touristic.
The first day we had a bike tour into the mountains on some shitty bicycles. However we enjoyed our tour a lot.
At night we went to a Chinese theater show. They told everything in some Chinese dialect, so nobody could understand anything of it.. It was a nice show though. They performed on a lake with the mountains on the background that were lighted.
The second day we went rock climbing. Not on some kind of wall as I was used to at home, but at a legit rock. It was more difficult than I expected. I thought it would be just as easy as on a climbing wall, however it was not. It took a lot more effort and strength than that I wanted to use, but eventually I was able to climb the rock.
After that we were starving, so we had to eat something. For the night we had arranged a cooking lesson, where we would learn and make out own local Chinese food. What I did not expected was, that I was the one with the most cooking experience.. It was fun to learn the Chinese style of cooking and get to know how to use a wok properly.
Later that night, we were able to see how the people fish in Guilin. Basically they train a group of birds. The birds will chase the fish and will eventually catch some. When the bird caught enough fish, the fisherman will take the bird towards him with a stick. Then he grabs the bird and grab his throat and does something that the bird makes throw up the fish. That is how they fish there, without any rod.
Then the final day in Guilin was already there. Before we went to the airport, we first had to go to a mud bath and a hot water spring. I do not recommend that kind of mud bath at all. It was cold and they just put sand in a cold spring and say it is a mud bath. It is good for your skin though. After that we went in the hot spring, which I can recommend! It is actually just a hot bath, but I do not have a both here, so it was a nice experience.
After that we had to go back to the airport and my holiday was officially over☹
Back in Beijing nothing really happened and life went on as it used to be, only with more homework…
I will try to upload my next blog faster than this time!!
I didn’t tell you everything about my trip in the beginning of October. Only about Shanghai, but not Guilin. Although I have uploaded the pictures already.
As soon as we arrived in Guilin, we saw the scenery and I have never seen something like that before. It is really an amazing place as you can see from my pictures. Even though I thought it would be some kind of Chinese shithole, I was surprised. It was much more developed and actually very touristic.
The first day we had a bike tour into the mountains on some shitty bicycles. However we enjoyed our tour a lot.
At night we went to a Chinese theater show. They told everything in some Chinese dialect, so nobody could understand anything of it.. It was a nice show though. They performed on a lake with the mountains on the background that were lighted.
The second day we went rock climbing. Not on some kind of wall as I was used to at home, but at a legit rock. It was more difficult than I expected. I thought it would be just as easy as on a climbing wall, however it was not. It took a lot more effort and strength than that I wanted to use, but eventually I was able to climb the rock.
After that we were starving, so we had to eat something. For the night we had arranged a cooking lesson, where we would learn and make out own local Chinese food. What I did not expected was, that I was the one with the most cooking experience.. It was fun to learn the Chinese style of cooking and get to know how to use a wok properly.
Later that night, we were able to see how the people fish in Guilin. Basically they train a group of birds. The birds will chase the fish and will eventually catch some. When the bird caught enough fish, the fisherman will take the bird towards him with a stick. Then he grabs the bird and grab his throat and does something that the bird makes throw up the fish. That is how they fish there, without any rod.
Then the final day in Guilin was already there. Before we went to the airport, we first had to go to a mud bath and a hot water spring. I do not recommend that kind of mud bath at all. It was cold and they just put sand in a cold spring and say it is a mud bath. It is good for your skin though. After that we went in the hot spring, which I can recommend! It is actually just a hot bath, but I do not have a both here, so it was a nice experience.
After that we had to go back to the airport and my holiday was officially over☹
Back in Beijing nothing really happened and life went on as it used to be, only with more homework…
I will try to upload my next blog faster than this time!!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Holiday is over..
I think It is time fora n update for everyone again!
In China there is an national holiday in the first week of October, so 1.3 billion people, including me had a holiday. We thought this was an excellent opportunity to see something more of China. So we took the train to Shanghai to stay there for 5 days.
It really is a complete different world from Beijing, much more western and many more high buildings, but also less culture I think. Still it is a good place to stay.
The first day we didn’t do something special. Just exploring the city a bit and because of the national holiday there were really many people. They used police and military to control the mass!
The second day we went to the Expo, where again a lot of people were gathered. We heard stories of waiting in line for 3 hours for a pavilion and it began already at the entrance where we waited for almost an hour. When we entered the expo we went to the pavilions with small lines and the Swedish and Dutch one. With a passport you can enter without standing in line, so we didn’t had to wait for those. At the Dutch pavilion I even was able to eat cheese, stroopwafels, poffertjes and a kroket after not eating it for 1.5 months. After amusing our self 6 hours at the expo we had enough of it and went home. Afterwards we went to a German restaurant and I didn’t expect too much of it. But I was happily surprised after dinner that it was actually good food and German as well!
The third day we went to what is called the Venice of China. Again a lot of people, but it is a nice place though. It really looks similar to Venice, but then in Chinese style. Small streets with several shops and of course the canals with boats. We went there by bus and didn’t knew at what time the bus left back to Shanghai. Eventually we found out that the bus would leave at 16:30, but at that time it was already 18:30. So we came to the conclusion we had to find a place to sleep. Because we are foreigners they just said it was full or asked unreasonable high prices.. Then we ran into a KTV and only had to pay 20 Yuan for the whole night for each person. So we decided to crash in the KTV and sleep there.
The next day we woke up early to get back to Shanghai to spend our final day there. Some people made a tailored suit in Shanghai, so we went to the place where it was made. There was a complete market with fake stuff and everyone got crazy and wanted to buy stuff. So we spend practically much of our day there.
We had to close our trip to Shanghai properly and therefore we went to the Vue Bar. This place has an amazing view over the city of Shanghai, especially at night. Really a recommendation if you are going to Shanghai!
I also discovered the taste of the people I went to Shanghai. If they buy some Chinese candy, they always say it tastes so good. So I try every time and again and again it tasted like nothing or like shit. Next time I will just pass..
Then the final day in Shanghai was a fact and we had to pack our suitcases to leave to the airport to leave for Guilin. What we did there you can read the next time and pictures are already updated on my Hyves profile.
In China there is an national holiday in the first week of October, so 1.3 billion people, including me had a holiday. We thought this was an excellent opportunity to see something more of China. So we took the train to Shanghai to stay there for 5 days.
It really is a complete different world from Beijing, much more western and many more high buildings, but also less culture I think. Still it is a good place to stay.
The first day we didn’t do something special. Just exploring the city a bit and because of the national holiday there were really many people. They used police and military to control the mass!
The second day we went to the Expo, where again a lot of people were gathered. We heard stories of waiting in line for 3 hours for a pavilion and it began already at the entrance where we waited for almost an hour. When we entered the expo we went to the pavilions with small lines and the Swedish and Dutch one. With a passport you can enter without standing in line, so we didn’t had to wait for those. At the Dutch pavilion I even was able to eat cheese, stroopwafels, poffertjes and a kroket after not eating it for 1.5 months. After amusing our self 6 hours at the expo we had enough of it and went home. Afterwards we went to a German restaurant and I didn’t expect too much of it. But I was happily surprised after dinner that it was actually good food and German as well!
The third day we went to what is called the Venice of China. Again a lot of people, but it is a nice place though. It really looks similar to Venice, but then in Chinese style. Small streets with several shops and of course the canals with boats. We went there by bus and didn’t knew at what time the bus left back to Shanghai. Eventually we found out that the bus would leave at 16:30, but at that time it was already 18:30. So we came to the conclusion we had to find a place to sleep. Because we are foreigners they just said it was full or asked unreasonable high prices.. Then we ran into a KTV and only had to pay 20 Yuan for the whole night for each person. So we decided to crash in the KTV and sleep there.
The next day we woke up early to get back to Shanghai to spend our final day there. Some people made a tailored suit in Shanghai, so we went to the place where it was made. There was a complete market with fake stuff and everyone got crazy and wanted to buy stuff. So we spend practically much of our day there.
We had to close our trip to Shanghai properly and therefore we went to the Vue Bar. This place has an amazing view over the city of Shanghai, especially at night. Really a recommendation if you are going to Shanghai!
I also discovered the taste of the people I went to Shanghai. If they buy some Chinese candy, they always say it tastes so good. So I try every time and again and again it tasted like nothing or like shit. Next time I will just pass..
Then the final day in Shanghai was a fact and we had to pack our suitcases to leave to the airport to leave for Guilin. What we did there you can read the next time and pictures are already updated on my Hyves profile.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
No More Bus!
One week ago I went for the first time to the bakery. I really was impressed what they sold. So many nice and delicious things. The bakers work whole day long and keep on baking whole the day to keep the supply fresh. And again it is not that expensive for what I’m used too.
Last Wednesday also was the moonfestival. This is a national holiday in China, but what it exactly means I don’t know. I tried to ask some local people, but they weren’t able to explain it clear with me, with their Chinese-english. I only know that the people come together (friends and family) give mooncake to each other and eat it. Then at night they have a dinner together and go home afterwards. Of course I also tried a mooncake. And surprised as I was, besides the bottles of Heineken it was partly something Dutch as well. The mooncake is filled with something that is different for everycake, but the outside of the cake tastes exactly the same as what the Dutch know as Taitai.
Then to come back to the title. Thursday I bought my own scooter. The bus is always full of people and most of the time late, so I thought just buy a scooter. Wow I understand the rules of the traffic it is safe to drive a vehicle here, so no worries!!
It is very simple. You have to stop in 9 of the 10 times for the red light, make sure you don’t hit any pedestrian or car and cars go first no matter what. If you follow these 3 rules, nothing can happen. It is an electric scooter, so every 2 days I have 2 charge my batteries again.. and it also isn’t particularly fast. But still it beats walking and the bus.
Friday we finalized with 10 people in total a trip to see more of China. Next week is a national holiday in China for 7 days and we thought this is an excellent opportunity to see more of the country. So we planned a trip with 10 people. Thursday night we will leave to Shanghai and stay there for 6 days. We won’t stay in Shanghai only, but also see some places in the neighborhood of that city. After those 6 days, we will leave and go to Quilin (I think you write it like that). Where we will complete the last 3 days of our holiday. We will arrive back in Beijing on Saturday night.
That also means I won’t be online and check my e-mails for that time!
Last Wednesday also was the moonfestival. This is a national holiday in China, but what it exactly means I don’t know. I tried to ask some local people, but they weren’t able to explain it clear with me, with their Chinese-english. I only know that the people come together (friends and family) give mooncake to each other and eat it. Then at night they have a dinner together and go home afterwards. Of course I also tried a mooncake. And surprised as I was, besides the bottles of Heineken it was partly something Dutch as well. The mooncake is filled with something that is different for everycake, but the outside of the cake tastes exactly the same as what the Dutch know as Taitai.
Then to come back to the title. Thursday I bought my own scooter. The bus is always full of people and most of the time late, so I thought just buy a scooter. Wow I understand the rules of the traffic it is safe to drive a vehicle here, so no worries!!
It is very simple. You have to stop in 9 of the 10 times for the red light, make sure you don’t hit any pedestrian or car and cars go first no matter what. If you follow these 3 rules, nothing can happen. It is an electric scooter, so every 2 days I have 2 charge my batteries again.. and it also isn’t particularly fast. But still it beats walking and the bus.
Friday we finalized with 10 people in total a trip to see more of China. Next week is a national holiday in China for 7 days and we thought this is an excellent opportunity to see more of the country. So we planned a trip with 10 people. Thursday night we will leave to Shanghai and stay there for 6 days. We won’t stay in Shanghai only, but also see some places in the neighborhood of that city. After those 6 days, we will leave and go to Quilin (I think you write it like that). Where we will complete the last 3 days of our holiday. We will arrive back in Beijing on Saturday night.
That also means I won’t be online and check my e-mails for that time!
Monday, September 20, 2010
New Apartment!
First of all last Monday Shane and I found a new apartment. It is somewhat closer to the university and also to Wudaokou. The room looks really nice and is a huge step forward compared to the first room. It has a washing machine, refrigerator, air conditioning etc. It also has a kitchen, so I can make my own food if I would like. I don’t have to go to the McDonalds or KFC anymore. I can finally drink milk again, thanks to the fridge. This wasn’t possible first, because I couldn’t keep it cool. We only have to wait for the internet to be installed, which will last till Sunday. It has also only one bed, so we will buy a second mattress as soon as possible and some sheets. Also some cutlery and plates and cups have to be bought. So when writing this blog I have to wait for 5 more days. Pictures will be uploaded as soon as possible on my Hyves profile.
Then some several days ago, when I was walking on the street. There were walking 2 parents and a little boy in front of me. Suddenly they stopped and the kid pulled his pants down. I was rather surprised, curious what he wanted to do. The parents did nothing and only looked. Some seconds later he also pulled down his underpants and started peeing in the middle of the pavement… Nobody looked surprise, so I guess this is kind of normal for the people here.? However I hope I won’t have to see it again.
Last Saturday I went with a group of people to the Great Wall and the Ming tombs. I don’t know exactly to which part of the wall, but luckily it was not as busy as was told to me. However it was very warm that day and we had to walk a lot. To see a piece of the wall is impressive. It is so huge and long and the view from the wall is also magnificent. It is a wall built by Chinese people, but I think some stairs couldn’t be used by them. Some are so steep, that it is hardly possible to make another step.. But it is all the effort worth! I recommend however, to walk on the Great Wall when the temperature is lower.
After that we went to the Ming tombs. This is the place where all the emperors, empresses and family of them of the Ming dynasty are buried. This place is at the beginning of a mountain, but I don’t know the name.. I thought that it would be an exciting place, but if you don’t have a lot of time in Beijing, you shouldn’t go there. I thought it was possible to access the tombs and really see something of the tombs. This was unfortunately not the case. We only walked through some kind of garden and saw some statues, a temple and a big stone with some Chinese text. Not really what I expected.
But it was for free, so I don’t mind. The tour guide forgot to collect my money, so I had a cheap day
Monday I had my first lecture of Doing Business in China. I think that will be the course I will like the most, but the start wasn’t very good. The lecturer first introduced himself and after that the whole class introduced itself one by one to the rest of the class. That took 3 hours, the lecture was over and I had wasted my afternoon. I hope the other lectures of this courses will be better.
Then some several days ago, when I was walking on the street. There were walking 2 parents and a little boy in front of me. Suddenly they stopped and the kid pulled his pants down. I was rather surprised, curious what he wanted to do. The parents did nothing and only looked. Some seconds later he also pulled down his underpants and started peeing in the middle of the pavement… Nobody looked surprise, so I guess this is kind of normal for the people here.? However I hope I won’t have to see it again.
Last Saturday I went with a group of people to the Great Wall and the Ming tombs. I don’t know exactly to which part of the wall, but luckily it was not as busy as was told to me. However it was very warm that day and we had to walk a lot. To see a piece of the wall is impressive. It is so huge and long and the view from the wall is also magnificent. It is a wall built by Chinese people, but I think some stairs couldn’t be used by them. Some are so steep, that it is hardly possible to make another step.. But it is all the effort worth! I recommend however, to walk on the Great Wall when the temperature is lower.
After that we went to the Ming tombs. This is the place where all the emperors, empresses and family of them of the Ming dynasty are buried. This place is at the beginning of a mountain, but I don’t know the name.. I thought that it would be an exciting place, but if you don’t have a lot of time in Beijing, you shouldn’t go there. I thought it was possible to access the tombs and really see something of the tombs. This was unfortunately not the case. We only walked through some kind of garden and saw some statues, a temple and a big stone with some Chinese text. Not really what I expected.
But it was for free, so I don’t mind. The tour guide forgot to collect my money, so I had a cheap day
Monday I had my first lecture of Doing Business in China. I think that will be the course I will like the most, but the start wasn’t very good. The lecturer first introduced himself and after that the whole class introduced itself one by one to the rest of the class. That took 3 hours, the lecture was over and I had wasted my afternoon. I hope the other lectures of this courses will be better.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Holiday is over :(
Last Friday I ate with a Korean friend at the hypermarket near to us. He explained to me what everything was and how it should be eaten. There was a pan with boiling water in front of me and basically you just put your meat and noodles in the water and wait till it is ready. If it’s ready you grab a piece of lettuce, you put the meat with some tofu in it. Add some spicy peanut sauce and soya sauce. Then wrap it all up like a kind of wrap and eat it. It tasted very nice however for Chinese standards it was somewhat more expensive, but still cheap. Shane also gave me some tips how to eat with the chopsticks and since then I can eat with the sticks
With that same person I’m also looking for another room to stay in. The place we live in now, is small, not very suitable for studying, and quite far away from the university. We will try to find an apartment in the Wudaokou area. That is the place were practically all students live and the place to hang out.
On Sunday we went with a bunch of people to the forbidden city and the temple of heaven.
It was organized by the university, but all people knew each other already. We first went to the forbidden city for 3 hours. It is very big there and not possible to see everything in one day. However I don’t think it’s necessary to see everything. It is a place you want to see, because it’s a part of China’s culture, but every building looks the same there. So after an hour I was a bit bored there, just like all the others. All the buildings there look the same. They only differ in size and the purpose what they were used for in the past differ. It is funny even though that all the emperors and empresses have walked there in the past and that I was walking there at that moment on the same stones as they did.
After that we had lunch at a place where only western people that did trips come. The restaurant was western orientated. They even had cutlery, what you normally won’t find in a Chinese restaurant and the dinner wasn’t spicy at all.
After the lunch we went to the temple of heaven. It is a big piece of ground with grass and trees and some place to walk. At some places there are some Chinese temples. These were different than the ones in the forbidden city. The roof of these buildings were blue, which means the sky or heaven. The Chinese people used this place to make sacrifices for a good harvest for that year.
After the excursion we were hungry and we decided to eat with 4 people. My Korean friend knew a Korean bbq restaurant where we were going to eat. In the restaurant was a big round bbq from glass in the table where the meat was prepared by a cook. Several Korean side dishes comes served with the meat. Everything tasted delicious and we were all stuffed. And again we laughed about the price.
The Monday morning I discovered there was something wrong with my timetable. Some of my courses clashed and I wasn’t able to take all courses and I wouldn’t have my 30 ECTS. After some mails to my academic advisor and my exchange coordinator a solution was born.
I’m now allowed to take 2 courses of the Master level to solve the problem.
That also meant I had to go to class on Monday already and not on Wednesday. So my holiday was 2 days earlier over than expected.
So I actually had my first class on Monday; Managing across cultures. Almost all lectures last for 3 hours, what is very long. In Tilburg the lectures will last for 1,75 hours with a 15 minute break, while here you have to sit and listen for 3 hours with a 10 minute break. If you’re lucky you will get 2 breaks. Wednesday I had my 2nd and 3rd lecture, Marketing channels and Chinese economy. The first one will be nice I think, but the 2nd one will just be a book of facts that I will have to learn. Today I had a class of introduction to programming. That will be a nice course too. However it takes much concentration to listen for 3 hours to the teachers!
Furthermore I received my bankcards yesterday, so I will have money again:D
With that same person I’m also looking for another room to stay in. The place we live in now, is small, not very suitable for studying, and quite far away from the university. We will try to find an apartment in the Wudaokou area. That is the place were practically all students live and the place to hang out.
On Sunday we went with a bunch of people to the forbidden city and the temple of heaven.
It was organized by the university, but all people knew each other already. We first went to the forbidden city for 3 hours. It is very big there and not possible to see everything in one day. However I don’t think it’s necessary to see everything. It is a place you want to see, because it’s a part of China’s culture, but every building looks the same there. So after an hour I was a bit bored there, just like all the others. All the buildings there look the same. They only differ in size and the purpose what they were used for in the past differ. It is funny even though that all the emperors and empresses have walked there in the past and that I was walking there at that moment on the same stones as they did.
After that we had lunch at a place where only western people that did trips come. The restaurant was western orientated. They even had cutlery, what you normally won’t find in a Chinese restaurant and the dinner wasn’t spicy at all.
After the lunch we went to the temple of heaven. It is a big piece of ground with grass and trees and some place to walk. At some places there are some Chinese temples. These were different than the ones in the forbidden city. The roof of these buildings were blue, which means the sky or heaven. The Chinese people used this place to make sacrifices for a good harvest for that year.
After the excursion we were hungry and we decided to eat with 4 people. My Korean friend knew a Korean bbq restaurant where we were going to eat. In the restaurant was a big round bbq from glass in the table where the meat was prepared by a cook. Several Korean side dishes comes served with the meat. Everything tasted delicious and we were all stuffed. And again we laughed about the price.
The Monday morning I discovered there was something wrong with my timetable. Some of my courses clashed and I wasn’t able to take all courses and I wouldn’t have my 30 ECTS. After some mails to my academic advisor and my exchange coordinator a solution was born.
I’m now allowed to take 2 courses of the Master level to solve the problem.
That also meant I had to go to class on Monday already and not on Wednesday. So my holiday was 2 days earlier over than expected.
So I actually had my first class on Monday; Managing across cultures. Almost all lectures last for 3 hours, what is very long. In Tilburg the lectures will last for 1,75 hours with a 15 minute break, while here you have to sit and listen for 3 hours with a 10 minute break. If you’re lucky you will get 2 breaks. Wednesday I had my 2nd and 3rd lecture, Marketing channels and Chinese economy. The first one will be nice I think, but the 2nd one will just be a book of facts that I will have to learn. Today I had a class of introduction to programming. That will be a nice course too. However it takes much concentration to listen for 3 hours to the teachers!
Furthermore I received my bankcards yesterday, so I will have money again:D
Friday, September 3, 2010
Registration day
Yesterday (Wednesday) I had to register at my university. They said it wouldn’t take so long. Actually the registering part only took 5 minutes of my time. The waiting time however was 90 minutes before I could register. After registering they told me to sign up for the medical insurance. I don’t know why, because I’m already insured, but I had to else I couldn’t register…
So another 300 Yuan is wasted.
On every piece of paper the Chinese people put a stamp. I don’t know why. I think they love to do it. Even in the supermarkets they put stamps on all the receipts, preferably 2 or 3.
The only thing left is collecting my student cards. Not 1, but at least 5 I think. One for use on campus, one for getting food at campus, one for the library, one for sporting and one ID card. Why not one card? They couldn’t answer.
I was surprised in the bus too. All the people will stand up for the older people. In Holland we will look to the older people and won’t offer if they want to sit on our place. In Beijing the younger person stands up and the older person must sit there, even if he/she doesn’t wants to.
Then there is the area Wudaokou. That is an area near to where I live and where almost everything is happening for the students. Like pubs, bars, shopping malls, etc. The Asian people say they don’t get drunk fast, but yesterday most of them failed to prove it. After a few drinks they were almost wasted..
Before going out and discovering the nightlife we went with a group of people to the other side of town to eat the roast peking duck (peking eend). This was in one of the most famous restaurants where you can eat the duck. You order it and after 40 minutes preparing time a cook will come to your table with a trolley. On the trolley is the duck and he will chop off all the eatable pieces for you. He starts with chopping of the ducks’ head and afterwards he will start preparing the other pieces. He puts it on the plates and a waiter serves them to you. As last surprise the head is chopped into 2 pieces and you should eat it too…
I passed for it.
I already had tasted something else I didn’t like. As a side dish somebody ordered one plate of jellyfish. Just as I thought it looked liked jelly, but it didn’t tasted like jelly. It is very though and you have to chew very hard before I could swallow it. The cook soaked the jellyfish with vinegar, so it actually tasted like vinegar.
After finishing the duck we went outside to a food market. All kinds of ‘strange’ dishes are prepared there except for coconut juice and sugared apples and grapes. You could eat there small and big scorpions, hearts, starfishes, lizards a complete young chicken (kuiken) and more like that…
After the jellyfish I didn’t had that much appetite anymore, so I didn’t try anything of it.
I can’t post any pictures due to the Chinese firewall, but soon I will post some on my Hyves profile page!
When I have more news you will hear from me again!
So another 300 Yuan is wasted.
On every piece of paper the Chinese people put a stamp. I don’t know why. I think they love to do it. Even in the supermarkets they put stamps on all the receipts, preferably 2 or 3.
The only thing left is collecting my student cards. Not 1, but at least 5 I think. One for use on campus, one for getting food at campus, one for the library, one for sporting and one ID card. Why not one card? They couldn’t answer.
I was surprised in the bus too. All the people will stand up for the older people. In Holland we will look to the older people and won’t offer if they want to sit on our place. In Beijing the younger person stands up and the older person must sit there, even if he/she doesn’t wants to.
Then there is the area Wudaokou. That is an area near to where I live and where almost everything is happening for the students. Like pubs, bars, shopping malls, etc. The Asian people say they don’t get drunk fast, but yesterday most of them failed to prove it. After a few drinks they were almost wasted..
Before going out and discovering the nightlife we went with a group of people to the other side of town to eat the roast peking duck (peking eend). This was in one of the most famous restaurants where you can eat the duck. You order it and after 40 minutes preparing time a cook will come to your table with a trolley. On the trolley is the duck and he will chop off all the eatable pieces for you. He starts with chopping of the ducks’ head and afterwards he will start preparing the other pieces. He puts it on the plates and a waiter serves them to you. As last surprise the head is chopped into 2 pieces and you should eat it too…
I passed for it.
I already had tasted something else I didn’t like. As a side dish somebody ordered one plate of jellyfish. Just as I thought it looked liked jelly, but it didn’t tasted like jelly. It is very though and you have to chew very hard before I could swallow it. The cook soaked the jellyfish with vinegar, so it actually tasted like vinegar.
After finishing the duck we went outside to a food market. All kinds of ‘strange’ dishes are prepared there except for coconut juice and sugared apples and grapes. You could eat there small and big scorpions, hearts, starfishes, lizards a complete young chicken (kuiken) and more like that…
After the jellyfish I didn’t had that much appetite anymore, so I didn’t try anything of it.
I can’t post any pictures due to the Chinese firewall, but soon I will post some on my Hyves profile page!
When I have more news you will hear from me again!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
What Happened:
After I got out the club, I discovered that my wallet was stolen…
All my money and my bankcards were stolen, so I could nothing..
When I was in my room, I called to my father and he arranged I could have cash money the next day. However, receiving the cash money wasn’t that easy. I have underestimated the level of English the Chinese people speak. They all speak very poor English, only at the university this is better. Due to the help of my dictionary I could explain the most and I got my money. My mom will send the bankcards to me, so I will have them next week and I will have the important stuff back.
Even though most of the Chinese people people speak poor English, they are very kind and helpful. I told to the taxi driver that my wallet was stolen and he offered me a bottle of water. Also on the street or at the reception they want to help you as best as they can! However due to the language barrier this is not always possible.
The Chinese people always spit on the streets, just like some people in The Netherlands, but they really make a strange sound if they spit. That was funny when I heard it for the first time.
The first night I also discovered the subway(metro) in Beijing. At the very first moment it looks very difficult, but it is very easy actually. You pay 2 Yuan (0,25 Euro) for a single ticket and you can get everywhere with the subway where you want! However it can be very busy in the metro just like the bus and that’s no fun :P
Then the traffic in Beijing. Of course it is very busy. There are 4 or 5 ring roads which Is 4/5 roads on each side and when it’s busy all roads are completely full and a lot of gasses. It really stinks. They don’t drive too fast here, but a car always comes first. If the lights for the pedestrians is green you still have to be careful crossing the street. Also the ‘zebrapaden’ means nothing here. The cars will simply yank the horn and keep on driving. For me that was a bit strange the first day, because I’m used to that cars will stop when you’re on the ‘zebrapad’.
In my room I don’t have a wash machine… I think I have to wash my clothes by hand, since I also couldn’t find any store where I can wash my clothes.
Also the toilet is somewhat different from The Netherlands. You can’t flush the toilet paper after using it. You have to throw it away in a dustbin and luckily a cleaning lady cleans it every day.
Furthermore I discovered that the Chinese government really blocks the access to some websites. I thought I would run into trouble using Google, but Google works fine, just like home.
However sites like Facebook, Youtube and the site for my blog are blocked…
Really strange how thet can deny access to Facebook, since it is the website to get international connections.
Furthermore I had today (Tuesday) a welcome meeting and a campus tour. At the welcome meeting I met some new students and at the campus tour we get to know each other better.
As I already said the campus is really huge. It has 2 lakes, sporting facilities, housing facilities, supermarkets etc. For Dutch standards it could be a village.
One of them is an Italian guy who’s name is Anush. I immediately started laughing and everybody looked at me, since I was the only Dutch person. So they asked what was so funny, but I didn’t explain it yet.
Well this is all for now what I have experienced so far. Tomorrow I will register at Peking University and you will be hearing from me soon again!
All my money and my bankcards were stolen, so I could nothing..
When I was in my room, I called to my father and he arranged I could have cash money the next day. However, receiving the cash money wasn’t that easy. I have underestimated the level of English the Chinese people speak. They all speak very poor English, only at the university this is better. Due to the help of my dictionary I could explain the most and I got my money. My mom will send the bankcards to me, so I will have them next week and I will have the important stuff back.
Even though most of the Chinese people people speak poor English, they are very kind and helpful. I told to the taxi driver that my wallet was stolen and he offered me a bottle of water. Also on the street or at the reception they want to help you as best as they can! However due to the language barrier this is not always possible.
The Chinese people always spit on the streets, just like some people in The Netherlands, but they really make a strange sound if they spit. That was funny when I heard it for the first time.
The first night I also discovered the subway(metro) in Beijing. At the very first moment it looks very difficult, but it is very easy actually. You pay 2 Yuan (0,25 Euro) for a single ticket and you can get everywhere with the subway where you want! However it can be very busy in the metro just like the bus and that’s no fun :P
Then the traffic in Beijing. Of course it is very busy. There are 4 or 5 ring roads which Is 4/5 roads on each side and when it’s busy all roads are completely full and a lot of gasses. It really stinks. They don’t drive too fast here, but a car always comes first. If the lights for the pedestrians is green you still have to be careful crossing the street. Also the ‘zebrapaden’ means nothing here. The cars will simply yank the horn and keep on driving. For me that was a bit strange the first day, because I’m used to that cars will stop when you’re on the ‘zebrapad’.
In my room I don’t have a wash machine… I think I have to wash my clothes by hand, since I also couldn’t find any store where I can wash my clothes.
Also the toilet is somewhat different from The Netherlands. You can’t flush the toilet paper after using it. You have to throw it away in a dustbin and luckily a cleaning lady cleans it every day.
Furthermore I discovered that the Chinese government really blocks the access to some websites. I thought I would run into trouble using Google, but Google works fine, just like home.
However sites like Facebook, Youtube and the site for my blog are blocked…
Really strange how thet can deny access to Facebook, since it is the website to get international connections.
Furthermore I had today (Tuesday) a welcome meeting and a campus tour. At the welcome meeting I met some new students and at the campus tour we get to know each other better.
As I already said the campus is really huge. It has 2 lakes, sporting facilities, housing facilities, supermarkets etc. For Dutch standards it could be a village.
One of them is an Italian guy who’s name is Anush. I immediately started laughing and everybody looked at me, since I was the only Dutch person. So they asked what was so funny, but I didn’t explain it yet.
Well this is all for now what I have experienced so far. Tomorrow I will register at Peking University and you will be hearing from me soon again!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Arrival in Beijing!
It was 9 a.m. when I arrived in Peking and I didn’t knew what to expect.
First of all the journey started well in Amsterdam where I had to pay a fine of 155 Euro, because my suitcases were to heavy…
The flight went well however.
When I left the airport and stood in the open-air I had expected much more smog, were everybody was talking about. However this is not the case and in the center of Beijing there is also not much smog.
When I asked a Chinese person if it is always like this, he said: ‘well not always, it has’nt been as clean as it now is for years. So I think I’m just lucky.
The weather here is warm, the 2 days I have been here it was around 35 degrees and due to the bit of smog it keeps hanging till late in the night.
The taxi drove me to the hotel where I will be staying for my semester here, and when I tried to check-in my name was not on the list.
People that know me somewhat better could imagine how I felt at that moment. However I controlled my emotions and stayed calm and friendly and explained in English that I had reserved and paid everything. Then I came to know that the people of the reception don’t speak any English.. So in my best ‘Chinese’ (the book I got from Davey at my party) the puzzle was solved after half an hour
After unpacking my bags I walked around the area where I live(Haidian district) and actually everything I need is in minutes walking distance.
A hypermarket is located next to my hotel, so everything I should need I can buy there
And everywhere in Beijing there are small restaurants where you can eat food for almost no money.
In the night I made an appointment to meet with other students that are here too and we met at the campus of Peking University. I walked a small round around campus and it is really huge. I think it is just as big or even bigger than the village where I used to live. After that I met the people where I was going to hang out with. I really amazed that people come from all over the world and everyone is friendly and hospitable.
First we ate some noodles in a restaurant what costs nothing. We paid about 3 Euro’s for a bowl of noodlesoup. However not a bowl like in Holland, this bowl was comparable to a bowl where Dutch people put the fruit in. So really huge!
After that we went to the club to drink something and discover the nightlife in Beijing.
You are really a kind of strange happening for the Chinese people here, some are really staring at you. Just as they have never seen an European of American person before. The same happens when I walk on the streets. The prices in the pubs and clubs are also a bit strange. A beer costs 40 Yuan and a cocktail or some mixture is also around the 40 Yuan (5 Euro). That was a bit of a surprise for me compared to Holland. Where the beer is twice as cheap as a mixture. After a while it was time to go home and when I got out of the club something happened…
But what you will read the next time;)
Bye bye for now!
First of all the journey started well in Amsterdam where I had to pay a fine of 155 Euro, because my suitcases were to heavy…
The flight went well however.
When I left the airport and stood in the open-air I had expected much more smog, were everybody was talking about. However this is not the case and in the center of Beijing there is also not much smog.
When I asked a Chinese person if it is always like this, he said: ‘well not always, it has’nt been as clean as it now is for years. So I think I’m just lucky.
The weather here is warm, the 2 days I have been here it was around 35 degrees and due to the bit of smog it keeps hanging till late in the night.
The taxi drove me to the hotel where I will be staying for my semester here, and when I tried to check-in my name was not on the list.
People that know me somewhat better could imagine how I felt at that moment. However I controlled my emotions and stayed calm and friendly and explained in English that I had reserved and paid everything. Then I came to know that the people of the reception don’t speak any English.. So in my best ‘Chinese’ (the book I got from Davey at my party) the puzzle was solved after half an hour
After unpacking my bags I walked around the area where I live(Haidian district) and actually everything I need is in minutes walking distance.
A hypermarket is located next to my hotel, so everything I should need I can buy there
And everywhere in Beijing there are small restaurants where you can eat food for almost no money.
In the night I made an appointment to meet with other students that are here too and we met at the campus of Peking University. I walked a small round around campus and it is really huge. I think it is just as big or even bigger than the village where I used to live. After that I met the people where I was going to hang out with. I really amazed that people come from all over the world and everyone is friendly and hospitable.
First we ate some noodles in a restaurant what costs nothing. We paid about 3 Euro’s for a bowl of noodlesoup. However not a bowl like in Holland, this bowl was comparable to a bowl where Dutch people put the fruit in. So really huge!
After that we went to the club to drink something and discover the nightlife in Beijing.
You are really a kind of strange happening for the Chinese people here, some are really staring at you. Just as they have never seen an European of American person before. The same happens when I walk on the streets. The prices in the pubs and clubs are also a bit strange. A beer costs 40 Yuan and a cocktail or some mixture is also around the 40 Yuan (5 Euro). That was a bit of a surprise for me compared to Holland. Where the beer is twice as cheap as a mixture. After a while it was time to go home and when I got out of the club something happened…
But what you will read the next time;)
Bye bye for now!
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