Hello... from China!

The Temple next door: Yonghegong.

 

Well... I guess it has been a while... hasen't it?

So where do I start?

I guess the title gives it away: I am in CHINA. Beijing more specifically. When I first got here I was faced with 2 major problems that prevented me from Blogging:
1) No laptop of my own (only from my company), therefore:
2) No VPN (which you need in China to get access to websites such as Facebook, Twitter AND Blogger.
For the ones who haven't heard it yet: China likes to block websites. Nuff said.
After I had solved 1) - remind me to tell the ordeal of buying a laptop in China one day - and finally even 2) I was simply so busy enjoying my life here that blogging was always on my mind but never on my schedule. But today I am off so instead of enjoying the glorious weather I finally get around to explain.

If you have been reading my blog carefully you will know that I had been planning this for a while but if you don't here is the story:

Last year I graduated from Uni in June. I partied for one month and then decided to get serious and find a job. And so I did... After a couple of months it just so happened that I got offered an internship in Shanghai and when I told them they offered me to work in our office in Beijing. So in February 2013 the day finally came, I packed all my belongings in about 400 boxes (give and take 300), locked it in storage and flew off to Beijing.

Now I have to say I am not someone who plans things through and through; I wanted to live in Asia... so I took the chance I got. I did have a crash course of Mandarin but it was nowhere near sufficient as I found out soon enough - when I tried to check into a Hotel. None of the staff spoke a word of English and if it hadn't been for my lovely colleague I would have been lost from day 1. Said colleague helped me with everything (which I will be forever grateful for); getting a 3G sim card (don't even ask), finding a flat, registering stuff and principally surviving in China.

I have decided that I will not tell the whole story in one post because that would take forever and I doubt anyone has the patience to read it so here is just a first batch of Instagram pics of the journey:

   

On my first plane at Heathrow Airport and sunset in Amsterdam before boarding an incredibly big Airbus filled with 90% Chinese travelers. I guess I have to get used to that. As well as getting used to using hand signs instead of language because the flight attendants don't seem to speak English... sigh.

   

Finally relax at the hotel... Chinese water is my highlight of the day.

And because I am particularly lucky I got one of the first flu of my life the next day. Struck down in bed for 5 days while there are fireworks outside like the world is ending. Happy lantern festival!

Enough time to watch Chinese soap operas. Needless to say I have no clue what's going on. Not that it matters in Soap Operas anyways.

   

Best thing to settle in: Start working! My savior and little angel: My colleague Lucky aka Little Panda. | The view from our office on the 16th floor. | Work.

   

Time to start exploring the city. My first visit: Tiananmen square! Hi Mao! | Just 5 min from my house: Great restaurants and old traditional Chinese houses: Hutongs!

 

 

Queuing for IKEA. | People where actually sleeping in the beds and on the sofas. The Chinese take "Try before you buy" very seriously.

 

LUNCH. Ususally between 1-2 Euros. Can get used to that.

   

SMOG. Will never get used to that.

 

COMFORT FOOD.

New friends. It’s starting to feel like home.

 

Don’t forget the parties!

Finally feel like I arrived in China.

 

xxx

 

Ines