In Case you Missed it...UPDATE #2
CHINA | Friday, 27 June 2008 | Views [678]
I plan to send out updates weekly. This week had a lot of new situations,
and I wanted to let you know that I arrived and was adjusting well, so I
sent out a few more frequently. I have regular email access at work if you
want to contact me, but please remember to censor your emails. J I am also
planning on getting a blog up with pictures at some point and will send the
link out for that when it is up and running. I am putting my p*er requests
first for those of you who will get bored with reading this by the end. I
can't tell you how encouraging it is to have your support - I can definitely
feel it.
1. That I would get over being homesick and really bond with the
people here.
2. That there would be opportunities for me to share.
3. That I would be diligent during long and sometimes boring work
days.
4. That I would encourage the other members of the team and be a
good leader for the girls (I forgot to say that, but Steve asked me to be
the leader for the girls since we have separate living areas)
5. That I would be safe when I travel. My commute is oftentimes
alone and sometimes I have to go to restaurants or stores by myself during
the day and since I don't know the language, it's a bit intimidating for me.
(don't worry, I am never by myself at night)
much love,
Sarah
AND NOW FOR THE DETAILS.THE LENGTH OF THIS EMAIL IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF
HEART!
Life in Beijing
2 I have quickly adjusted to the flow of life here. Everything is on
Asian Standard time, which means that when my boss says work starts at 9,
nobody in the office arrives till at least 9:20. Traveling is unpredictable
due to traffic and mobs of people, so I have to plan a good hour to get
anywhere and often things take twice as long as I think they will. Some
people have been asking me about the food. The great news is that I am not
a picky eater so I can find something to eat almost anywhere. I really
don't like the tofu or mystery meats, but the rice and noodle dishes are all
pretty good. Everything is cooked in oil basically and a lot of the food is
spicy. For breakfast, we usually have vegetables cooked in some sort of oil
like sesame oil, and this porridge which is like water with barley or
something in it. We also have some sort of roll thing (not like our
American rolls - no butter in it). Dinner and lunch we eat in restaurants
and are served family style. A bunch of dishes are ordered and everyone
just uses their chopsticks to get what they want (except for your individual
bowl of rice). Bottled water costs 7-15 cents USD and you can buy an ice
cream pop on the street anywhere for 15 cents. Today I had lunch with a
coworker and the main course and a drink cost for both of us together $3.50
USD or 30 RMB total. I just think that's so cool. I wake up between 5 and
5:30 to shower and have my personal time with HIM before we have group time
at 6:30. Breakfast is at 7:00ish and I leave for work at 8. I get home
around 7:30 each night unless we have social plans. Our host mom is
teaching us Chinese in the evenings now for about half an hour and there are
different BS that we can attend on Wednesday and Thursday nights. I
personally really enjoyed the Thursday night gathering of Cs. They all
speak English and are a really on fire for HIM. Sundays we have plugged
into a registered international Ch*h that has probably 1,000 people in it.
Oh, we also have the opportunity to volunteer or tour on Saturdays depending
on the week. This past Saturday we visited the Summer Palace and this
coming Saturday we will be volunteering at a migrant worker's kids' school
and probably in the future at a blind school.
Work at Canmay
2 I started work at Canmay, an Oriental International Investment
Consulting Co. Basically they audit people's finances and provide other
services for people who are preparing to immigrate to Canada and the US for
school or living purposes. It's a very American looking office and I have
my own cubicle and computer. Right now I am working to edit the grammar of
documents that have already been translated from English into Chinese.
There is a department here that does all the translations of things like
reference letters and financial papers, but I check over all these documents
to make them sound professional in English. I was discouraged the first day
because I felt very isolated, but I have continued to meet people here each
day. Chinese culture has insiders and outsiders, so I am happy to be
invited to the "in crowd" at work. The translators have to work really
hard, but I got to talk to them yesterday and one point blank asked me what
I bel**ve in, and I got to share with him. Today, another girl who speaks
English pretty well invited me to lunch and made a big effort to be my
friend. I am optimistic about open doors here.
Team
2 This is a quick summary of my team.
n Steve Norman: age 22, team leader; looking to work long-term in
China and lead groups every summer who come here for the exchange program
n Kevin Chen: age 24; born and raised in Taiwan for 12 year, lived
in US, looking to return to Japan as a fulltime M
n John Paul Wilkens: age 22; design student at Cincinnati
University, doing a 6 month internship here
n Alex Lee: age 22 (I think); Chinese Born American, student at Ohio
University, here for 3 months
n Nick Dormeier: age 22 (I think); studied a semester in Hong Kong,
graduated from Illinois State University this eyar, will be here for 1 year
studying and looking to pursue a graduate degree
n Katie Delong: age 20; junior Linguistic's major at Ohio State
University, here for 3 months
n Stephanie DeOlveira: age 21, senior at Ohio State University
majoring in Psychology, here for 3 months
n Lily Lui: age 18, graduated high school and entering Ohio State
University, born in China and leaving beginning of August to visit family
here
Cultural Differences
2 Driving is crazy and I almost got run over by a bike yesterday when
I was crossing the street. The traffic is just incredible and there aren't
many rules so every day I think we are going to hit someone or something.
Crossing the street is scary and I forget sometimes to check for both cars
and bikes. The best advice I have been given is to just find a national and
walk with them because you don't see them running across the road like a
chicken with their head cut off J
2 I feel like a freak of nature sometimes the way people stare at me.
Its not culturally rude to stare here. I counted yesterday how many white
people I saw and got to 5. We are not in a part of the city that caters to
westerners and most of the white people I see are Australian or European. I
am sure that will change once the Olympics starts.
2 Its not unacceptable to pick your nose in public or noisily spit on
the ground. You can imagine my shock to see grown men picking their nose
while staring at me.
2 You are not supposed to step on the threshold of the door for
superstitious reasons. A lot of restaurants and public places have a
barrier that you have to step over.
2 It is polite to fight for the bill. Its probably for show, but if
you are with a group, you want to pay, and people will fight you for it or
engage in sneak tactics to make sure they pay.
