So… as most of you have probably guessed, I am now settled down at Beijing Capital Normal University and have started my studies. I moved out of the Red Lantern Hostel a couple of days after the family left home and got a bus with all my gear to the International Culture Plaza, the student residence I am now staying in.
The Residence
The residence itself is actually a lot more like a hotel than a student hall of residence. Most rooms are double rooms with two single beds although a few single bedrooms are available. The rooms are en-suite and really modern with Ikea-style fittings. They have air conditioning, a fridge, big television, phone, computer with internet, plenty of wardrope space and… they are massive! Furthermore, there is hotel cleaning service here so the rooms are cleaned every day.
Besides the rooms, if you are staying in the residences then you are entitled to use the gym and swimming pool along with the Japanese and Chinese Restaurants on site.
Swimming Pool!
The pool is just a 3 or 4 minute stroll from my room and is brand spanking new. Even better, very few people tend to use it so you pretty much always have a lane to yourself. After you’ve tired yourself out, you can also sit in the steamroom for a while or sweat off last nights meal in the sauna. All of this comes to just over one pound per session!
Canteen
If only school cantines were like this back in England… At lunchtime and dinner (and breakfast too apparently) the university canteen opens and has a massive chinese buffet menu on offer. You just go along and point at what you would like then hand over the dosh. Whats more, its unusual if the total price of the meal goes above 4 kuai (28 pence). The food is very fresh and there are lots of vegetables available (something that cannot be said about some chinese restaurants!). If you pay a little more you can also get certain dishes made to order which are even nicer.
Room Mate
I was moved into a room with a Thai room mate. Initially this was slightly daunting as he spoke no chinese and very limited English. However, it has worked out well. He’s a really friendly guy and I have been out and about quite a lot with him and his other Thai friends. Some of them can speak Chinese or English so we can translate amongst ourselves. Learnt a couple of words of Thai too…
Classes
After the initial placement test, I was moved into a lower level 2 chinese class which I found slightly too easy. I got moved up into a higher class which is a lot more demanding and I am really enjoying it. I was initially snowed under with work as the level was slightly hight but I am starting to get on top of things now. Classes are from 8:00am until 12:00 and then we are free! A big bonus is that the classrooms are only a 5 minute walk from the hotel/residence so we can get up last minute and still make it in time! There are lots of Italians in the class along with Koreans, Japanese and French students and we all get along well. The teachers are also LOVELY and can actually teach which is a pleasant surprise!! Apparently some other Leeds students have much worse teachers who make them recite entire texts off by heart each week so I consider myself to be very lucky!
Beijing Rock Festival
Last weekend I managed to get tickets to the Beijing Rock festival on both Saturday and Sunday along with some friends. The weather was brillliant, the music was brilliant and the beer was cheap… what more can be said? On Saturday night they had a free drinks tent running which was novel, far too many double whiskey + cokes consumed (or were they triples…?). Still managed to get up on Sunday in time to see the Nine Inch Nails (NIN) play, absolutely awesome. Great weekend.
Well, I don’t think that there is much more to be said for the moment. I’m just enjoying the freedom of the weekend now before the next week of hard work. From now on I’ll try and keep a more regular update going! Things to come: some photos of the university and campus, photos of friends, some photos of the music festival… keep posted 
On our last day together in Beijing, we wandered around Beihai park during the morning then visited Wangfujing shopping street in the afternoon where everyone spent their last pennies. We went to a lovely restaurant in the evening where the non-vegetarians amongst us had Beijing duck! On the Saturday, it was an early start as we got the airport shuttle bus to Beijing International where Mum, Dad, Ceri and Bethan were to fly home. Little did I know when I left that 8 hours later and after some rather unpleasant experiences, they would still be on Chinese soil due to a delayed flight (engine problems). After further waiting around in an airport hotel in Helsinki, everyone arrived home safely quite a bit later than expected at Manchester. All in all though, a great trip! Thank you and see you next year
Day two required an early start and we all clambered wearily into a bus at 6:00am to head off to the great wall. The section we visited was a two hour drive from Beijing but there being no shops on the wall itself, it was quite clear of the major tourist routes and so it was a fairly peaceful spot. We got the cablecar up and walked for a good few hours in the sweltering heat before getting a speedly ’street luge’ back down to the bottom again. If one thing surprised me slightly, it is just how steep the wall is at some points. After a shower and some food, we headed out to the shops where the girls did some bartering. We also managed to find an off-the-beaten-track monsoon factory outlet which someone had recommended where they sold the current range of monsoon clothing at 75% off the UK price which kept Mum and Bethan happy!
After the forbidden city, we made it back to the Red Lantern Hostel who had kindly booked some tickets for us to go and see an acrobatic show. The show was spectacular with a real mix of acts; juggling, contortionism, ribbons, poles, ropes…! It was exhausting enough watching it as every second you fear that somebody might get something wrong and come to a sticky end…
If you come to Beijing then this is something you have to see!
Jono
