Settling In

After being here for about two weeks now, I think I can finally say I'm getting into the swing of things.  Especially with classes starting now, it really feels like I'm at school again... almost.  Finding motivation to study still has been pretty hard.  Today was the first day that I pulled out a textbook and started reading it.  I'm already feeling a little overwhelmed with so much information, but at least I'm starting now and not procrastinating till later :D  It has been a little hard finding a good place to study on campus though.  They have one coffee shop called Paradiso but it gets really noisy and I can't focus.  Since I don't like studying in libraries too much I've been trying to find places off campus.  I've found a small cafe but food and drinks are a little pricey there so I'm still on the hunt.  Hopefully I can find somewhere nice to study before I really need to start hitting the books.  Now, onto the fun stuff I've been doing!

This past weekend, I went to the Beijing Aquarium with a couple friends.  It's apparently the largest in the world!  It's also a part of the Beijing Zoo.  Being there and seeing all the different types of animals right in the middle of Beijing was a little odd, but hey, Chinese families need fun places to bring their kids too, right? :P  It was pretty cool seeing all the different animals but I can't say it wasn't anything I hadn't seen in Sea World in Florida.  No killer whale either :(  But we did see dolphins, beluga whales, and pandas!  Although the name "giant panda" that we saw on the zoo map did not really live up to the hype.  They were all sleeping... or sitting... and just in general not doing anything. I wanted to see some action!  But I think pandas are known for being pretty lazy... 

Sleeping panda

Unicorn fish?

Jellyfish always fascinate me

This past weekend, my friends and I went to this area of Beijing called Shanlitun that is well known as the business place of Beijing.  So pretty much it means, where all the money is at.  We went clubbing at a placed called Vics that is pretty popular in China I would say since a guy from Hong Kong had heard about it and wanted to go there.  Walking around the clubs before going in, I have never seen so many Audis, Ferraris, Mercedes, or BMWs all lined up right next to each other.  The guys were going crazy seeing all those expensive cars haha.  When we went into Vics it was the exact same kind of feeling.  Right when you walk in you enter this area where they have booths that start at around $4000 just to reserve for the night.  That doesn't even include alcohol, food, or anything else like hookah.  Walking around, so many tables were filled with bottles of whiskey reserve that apparently start at around $1000 a bottle in the US.  And tables here had like 20 of them!  I have never seen so much money just flowing around like that.  

Pink Ferrari! :D

While my time in Beijing has been pretty great.  There are some things I miss about the US.  My biggest thing would be eating fresh fruit.  I am craving apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, etc. You name any fruit and I am craving it haha.  There is not as much selection here and many people have warned me against eating fruit with the skin here because of dangerous chemicals and whatnot.  But a couple people I know have eaten some and have had no problems.... so I think I am going to too. I think the healthiness of the fruit will balance out any chemicals anyways.  That seems logical :P I am so used to eating two or three different fruits a day so I'm struggling over here.  Also, the food on campus here, while cheap, is pretty oily and salty.  There are also many meals where I cannot exactly tell you what I'm eating.  It's mystery meat haha.  What I've noticed as well is that they do not eat a lot of protein here.  Starch makes up a big portion of their meals.  For example, I'll get a bowl of noodles and there will be 3 small pieces of beef and the rest of a huge bowl is noodles.  Just a small thing I've noticed.  

China is very different from what I pictured because I think I was thinking more like Taiwan but it isn't very similar at all.  The food (omg street food in Taiwan... drooool) the people (much nicer in Taiwan I'd say) and just the atmosphere are different.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to visit Taiwan sometime while I'm here because my Aunt lives there so fingers crossed I'll be able to go!

In China, the first week of October is the mid autumn festival which means the whole country has the week off.  A couple friend and I have planned a trip for that week that I'm really excited about.  We planned a trip to Pingyao (a preserved ancient city), Xi'an (Terracotta warriors), and Shanghai!  It's only 10 days away!  I'll make sure to report back with pictures and stories :)

Like always, I leave you with a random picture.  My friend Sara and I found a Starbucks! For how many I saw while I was in Taiwan, I'm surprised to see that there are almost none here besides the one we found a bit off campus.  But while I was there, I saw something that I don't think we'd find in the US...

Starbucks Mooncake!