Beijing

I can’t believe I’m in China! Really, I still don’t think it has sunk in
that I am here and will be until the middle of May. I am staying on an
international university campus in an international student dorm.
The hallways often smell like fried rice or a compilation of Chinese
dishes, and in the community bathrooms the toilets consist of wholes in
the floor. Fortunately I have a western style toilet in my room that I
share with my roommate from Saint Louis University. So far I haven’t seen
much of Beijing as I have been settling in and going to orientation on
campus. It is definitely going to behard to blend in here as a white,
light hair, blue eyed American.

So far I have already eaten more Chinese dishes than in my whole life previous to coming to Beijing. It is typical to have lunch or dinner with a group at a table with a lazy susan where all the dishes are passed around to everyone so I’ve been able to try tons of new food.
I’m a fan of the kung pow chicken here and have had some delicious fried
noodles with beef. I’ve also had some stranger dishes like haven’t been
so appealing to my taste buds like a soup containing fish balls, shrimp,
black chicken, bok choy, and mushrooms. My skills with chopsticks have been rapidly improving out of necessity although I’m still struggling with some foods. My friend Hung who is studying here helped me out with a very helpful lesson so I’m getting better.There are lots of cultural differences here I’ve already seen and I’m sure tons I will discover in the near future. So far it has been really overwhelming to be here, and as my jet lag is just starting to wear off hopefully I can discover more of Beijing soon.