First Experiences In Beijing

Today marks one week since I arrived in Beijing. There’s so much to talk about and so much that has happened that I can’t possibly include it all, but I will try to give a quick overview of what I have done since I have arrived and my first impressions of the city of Beijing and of life in China in general.

After arriving at school last Thursday evening, I met my host mother, who picked me up and brought me to our apartment. It was an adventure to lug my two checked bags, which each weighed 49.5 lbs, up the five flights of stairs to my new apartment!

This is my room in my new apartment. I’m very glad I have my own room to live in, and though it is small and there’s not much room to move around, it is comfortable. I have learned that mattresses in China are incredibly thin. The first time I sat down on the bed, I didn’t know how I could possibly sleep in it; now, I am already getting used to it, though!

Friday was an orientation day at school, where we went over SYA rules, went out to lunch, took math placement tests (though I was exempt and automatically placed in calculus), and participated in a scavenger hunt to learn about the neighborhood around the school. This picture shows Xinjiekouwai Dajie, the street where Beijing Normal University Second Affiliated High School is located.  SYA occupies a small part of this high school.  My apartment is also very near here.

The first weekend at SYA is called the “closed weekend”, which means that you must spend it with your host family and cannot go out with friends. On Saturday, I had a difficult time because only my host mother was around, and she didn’t want to do anything, plus my Mandarin isn’t very good, so we couldn’t really talk. We did however go to buy me school supplies, a bike, and a SIM card for my phone (getting the card was crazy! I’m still not completely sure what I bought!).  The photo to the right shows the alley where I bought my bike and school supplies.  It was just a short walk from my apartment.

Sunday was much more fun. I told my host mother I wanted to go to Tiananmen Square, so we went along with Caitlin, another SYA student who lives in the same apartment building that I do. Our outing to Tiananmen Square was my first time venturing out into the city of Beijing, and it certainly was an interesting experience. I learned how to use the bus in Beijing, but I also got a taste of how long it takes to get from place to place around the city with its terrible traffic. Once we got to Tiananmen Square, I loved seeing the area and taking my picture next to Mao’s portrait. I think it's very fun to be a tourist sometimes! 

On the outing to Tiananmen, I also got a taste of what it is like to live under a very…hmm…let’s say security conscious government. Tiananmen Square was covered with these security cameras, there were metal detectors and x-ray machines at every entrance to the square, and on the sidewalks there are checkpoints every quarter mile to ensure that crowds cannot accumulate in one place too quickly.  There were also soldiers running around in formation, and I witnessed people almost get run over on multiple occasions.  It is clearly a blatant show of force in such a public place.

I also got a sense of how Beijing's many contradictions. Not a half mile from the ancient Forbidden City lies the ultramodern National Performing Arts Center, and surrounding the small Hutong alleyways lie gigantic glass shopping malls.

On Monday, I had my first day of classes, where I was introduced to my Calculus, English, AP Environmental Science, and Chinese History teachers. Now, I am just getting into the rhythm of school and homework. Yesterday, we took a really cool trip to the Confucius and Lama Temples, and today I had my first day of Mandarin classes, but I will save that until my next post.

I hope everything is going well with the first week of school at GFA.
Until next time,
Jack