It's A Suggestion

     Recently, I had to put myself in check.  We sometimes get to comfortable with certain things and don’t really appreciate what we have.   When we move to a new environment that seems uncomfortable, we begin to complain about everything that’s not familiar.  I keep reminding myself that all the experiences that I have encountered make Beijing—Beijing.  Adaption mode has kicked in.  What was usual for me during my first few weeks is now the ‘norm’, but that’s not for all things.

I have been culturally enlightened. 

If the traffic light in red, that’s only a suggestion.  You don’t necessarily have to stop.  If the sign says no photography, go ahead and take photos.  It’s only a suggestion.  In the U.S., the number for luck is 7.  Here, 8 and 9 represents luck.  Since the number 9 is greater than 8 and is masculine, it is the number for the emperor.  I don’t want to bore you with cultural information, you can Google it or come here yourself! ;)

Well, what have I done?

 

Ummm…nothing much but sleep.  Our internships and the commute we make every work day has drained the life out of us.  But really though...

One of our program advisors is Dutch, and he invited us to the Pecha Kucha event at the Dutch Embassy.  As it is the month of June, I had the opportunity to celebrate my 22^nd birthday here in Beijing.  What did I do?  Well, we went to the Olympic Stadium Park (where the 2008 Summer Olympics was held) and toured the “Bird’s Nest” and “Water Cube.”  The following day we visited the Summer Palace for our own cultural excursion.  Our Trinity group had the opportunity to visit the Temple of Heaven (culturally enriching) and the Beijing Coca-Cola packaging factory (received a free Coca-Cola beverage).

AND WHAT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR…   

The GREAT WALL of CHINA!

Oh what an amazing experience to be there in person on the Great Wall.  The best part was visiting the section where there isn’t a lot of tourist, and you can get amazing photos.  It was relaxing to be able to hike in peace and enjoy the surrounding environment.  The Great Wall at Jinshanling is more for hikers and campers.  It's partially renovated, which results in an intense hike.  If you've never been, I recommend that you go!

[PSA: The Great Wall cannot be hiked in a day, more like months]     

Until next time!

Weekly Photos

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你好, My name is 威丽丝!

Week 1 & 2… conquered and done!

It’s exciting to blog again about my new adventures abroad.  

I am across the world in Beijing, China!  It has been a very interesting experience here, but I’m adaptable and up for the challenges. China is a huge country and has so much happening within.  Beijing (北京) is the capital city with 15.500 million people and is considered the political district, whereas Shanghai, the largest city in China with 20.200 million people, is recognized as the financial district.  I can say that there are too many people in this country based on 24/7 traffic and packed subway lines.

You’re probably wondering if I know/speak some amount of Mandarin.  No, not at all.  All I knew before I arrived was 你好 (ni hao-hello, which is in my title) and 谢谢 (xièxie-thank you).  I didn’t know any characters before I arrived either, but after 2 weeks I can recognized about 12 characters and say about 20 phrases/words. The other set of characters in my title represent my Chinese name. I’m having language struggles, but thank the Lord for my fingers, universal pictures, and translation apps.  

Why am I here?  Well, as a recent graduate of Trinity University (May 16,2015) receiving a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business, I needed an internship abroad.  I am doing a research portion on the side with my professor, Dr. Deli Yang, and other students in this program. There are six of us from the university participating in this new program.  We’ve had some adventures, which I’m sure that’s what you’re waiting to hear about…

Our first week here was just the time for introductions with our program and getting acquainted with the university, our research partners, the metro, and our internships.  Have we been to the Great Wall yet?  No, but in due time.  With the internship and research course, we really have to plan out our excursions.  So far, we've been to the Forbidden City, the Beijing Zoo, HouHai (lunch with Big Ma), toured AmCham China, and the Great Leap Brewery. 

I know it may seem like we haven't done much for the amount of time we've been here, but know that we will be making moves soon. This work schedule and jet-lag is real. I have limited access to posting and social media due to the network blocks in this country. But, you must have patience dealing with technology in the country.  The adventures continue, so stay tuned!

Until next time 回头剑,

Photos of the Weeks