The last two days

 Hello!

 I am home from China, and I want to tell you about the last two days of my Chinese experience - one day completely in China and one travelling.

 Friday morning we sat our HSK level 1 paper. It isn't official, but it gives us a good idea of our level of Mandarin Chinese so that if we want to sit the official paper in the UK we can. 

 I certainly intend to do the official exam - the next one in Manchester seems to be in May. Conveniently for me it seems that the exam is held in the Confucius Institute, which is part of my University, so I can get there easily when the time comes.

 Anyway, we did the HSK paper in Beijing and then had a final practice for our Graduation Ceremony performance of Beijing Huanying Ni. Then Naomi, Abi and I went to buy bouquets for our Mandarin teachers and the student helpers from Beijing Normal University.

 On the way to the florist we found a bookshop - I think it belongs to the university  though I'm not completely sure of that - and I had an amazing time looking at a huge variety of Chinese books. 

 I bought some really beautifully illustrated children's books - the stories are in Mandarin but the pictures make them easy to follow.

 We then progressed to the florist's and had four beautiful bouquets made up, as modelled by Naomi and Abi below, for our wonderful teachers and student helpers.

 I then went to the BNU university shop, as I really wanted some kind of momento of this amazing place where I have spent the last three weeks. They have lots of cool things, but I finally settled on a pretty blue keyring and a mug with the Uni logo on it, so that I can drink Horlicks and remember Beijing.

 Then it was time for our Graduation Ceremony! We were in the same beautiful room in which we had our Opening Ceremony, and the same pretty music was playing, and it made me think of what we have all achieved since that day three weeks ago. It has been truly wonderful.

 Hai did a brilliant job of presenting the ceremony, and there were lovely speeches by Natalie, Ziggy and Dinesh as well as from senior figures from BNU. There was also a slideshow of photos and video footage from our Study China experience, which was really nice.

 We then found out that we had ALL graduated, which was brilliant! We were then called up to collect our certificates, which are not just on pieces of paper but in gorgeous little books with our photographs in them! Really special things to keep. Thank you, BNU! (By the way, I got 195 out of 200 on my HSK, which I am really chuffed with!)

 We then had our performances! They went really well and all three songs are now stuck in my head. See the videos on the blog post, "Graduation Ceremony performances."

Me and Hai ♥

 Sarah, Marvi, April and I then posed for "jumping photos" outside the magnificent main university building. 

 We bought bubble waffles - an amazing snack that I had never tried before. They are gorgeous - I am a bit sad that I only discovered them on the last day.

 I did some of my packing, then went to meet some of the others at Laker's, an amazing bar on campus, where we had a really brilliant last night and danced one last Gangnam Style. 

 Writing your name on the wall seems to be the norm in Laker's, so I wrote the address of this blog alongside my name. If you came here from the wall in Laker's, an extra warm welcome to you! I hope you enjoy my blog!

 April and I then walked back to our accomodation together, and we said goodnight, then I finished packing and went to bed, setting my alarm for five in the morning.

 I got up at five and got dressed and breakfasted, then Marvi helped me to carry my bags down to the lobby - Marvi, if you are reading this, you are an absolute gem, thank you so much for everything ♥

 The group of us who were catching the early drop-off to the airport got onto our coach, said goodbye to the student helpers who were with us to the very end, checking we got our coaches - you guys are amazing, thank you so much - and then we were off to the airport.

 I was there early - better safe than sorry - and I had a bit of a wait before they started checking-in for my flight. I went through check-in and security, which is perhaps the most comfortable and efficient I have been through: other airports can learn a lot from the Chinese. 

 I was then free to wander and eat some ice-cream - vanilla Häagen-Dazs if you are interested. I will always associate Beijing International Airport with vanilla ice-cream now. Silly but true.

 Finally I got on my plane and we flew out of Beijing. We had an entertainment system on the plane with films. I tried to be cultured and watch The Godfather but gave up out of sheer boredom about twenty minutes in - sorry, Godfather fans - and instead watched Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and then American Beauty. Both of which were very enjoyable.

 We touched down in Moscow and I bought a Russian stacking doll. I then had my flight from Moscow to Amsterdam - the food on that flight was so amazing, thank you KLM - then from Amsterdam to Manchester, then I was HOME!

 Then I slept.

 It's lovely to be home; little things surprise you like how quiet it is compared to Beijing; how wide-open everything seems without all the skyscrapers; and the rain: I don't think it rained once while we were in Beijing. 

 It is so beautiful to feel rain on my face again. Some people may not like rain but I think it has its own very special beauty, and I love the sparkle of light catching on raindrops on tree branches.

 I will post lots and lots of photos of China, and probably more videos, so watch this space! Thanks for following my travels; this has been an amazing experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

 Thank you to Study China, Manchester University, Beijing Normal University, Natalie, Hai, Sally, all the student helpers, our teachers and lecturers, and all the participants for making the Study China experience truly fantastic and life-changing for me ♥

 Xiexie! Zaijian!

 Liz x

One week in!

 Hello everyone! Ni hao!

 We have now been in China for a week, but it feels like we have been here for months! We are now accustomed to the system of Mandarin lessons in the morning, economic or cultural classes in the afternoon, and going out exploring in the evenings. I am getting to know more and more people in the group, and I feel I am making some good friends.

 Wednesday afternoon we had a calligraphy class, which was fascinating. We were taught by a Professor who I understand to be very well-respected in his field. 

 He taught us about the ancient art of calligraphy; what it is that makes calligraphy so different from ordinary writing; then he showed us how to do the eight different strokes of Chinese calligraphy. We had special brushes made from - I think - bamboo, and very black ink which from the nautical smell of it may have come from a squid but I can't be sure. We practised the brush strokes on special paper and those of us who have Chinese alternative names wrote our names in calligraphy. 

 The Professor then told us all about the dragon and its significance in Chinese culture, and showed us many different ways of portraying the dragon in calligraphy. He finished by offering to write up all of our names in Chinese calligraphy, which is extremely kind of him. It was amazing to learn such an ancient and special art form from a true master.

 That evening the whole Study China group went to see the Beijing Opera, another ancient and respected art. There are truly spectacular costumes - I cannot emphasize enough how amazing some of them were. The performance we saw was made up of four famous scenes from the Beijing Opera. The first was called, "A Dance With a Sword," and was about a woman singing and dancing with a pair of swords with great skill to try to comfort the King who has lost a battle and may be about to lose his kingdom. In the end she threatens to kill herself with the sword and it wasn't obvious to me whether or not she succeeded... hopefully she lived. 

 The second piece was entitled "The Crossroads," and was about an encounter at an inn which leads to a martial arts battle. I know this was a favourite for a few of the lads on the trip who were impressed by the kung-fu, but personally I preferred the other pieces which had more dialogue and singing. 

 The third piece was called something along the lines of "A Pact and a Promise," and was about a husband revealing to his wife that he is actually from a different background to what she had thought, and that he changed his name so he could marry her, as she is above his level socially. He wants her to steal a token that will get him past a border of some sort so he can see his mother. That is the gist I got. I must say, I think she took very well the revelation that he lied to her and is not who he said he was - she sung about it for a few minutes and then seemed to be completely over it - not very realistic, I don't think!

 Finally we had, "The Drunken Concubine," about a concubine who becomes "charmingly drunk" as the intro put it, when she finds out the King has left her to spend the night with another concubine. This was the most bizarre performance, but I really enjoyed it, and I found it the easiest to follow.

 So, the Opera was a great success and I really enjoyed it. Also, I don't know if she'll ever see this, but I want to thank Natalie again for being so kind and doing what she could to help me enjoy the show despite my phobia of loud noises - I had been afraid there would be fireworks used, though in the end there weren't any so my fears were unjustified. But Natalie got me a seat on the aisle so I could leave if I needed to, and was very kind, so xiexie! (That's "thank you" in Chinese.)

 Thursday morning we had lessons as usual, then we had a lecture on "Demographic Change and the Social Security System in China," which was really interesting. Then a group of us went to Tienanmen Square, where it started snowing, and it was lovely. The Square is magnificent and we all took what seemed like hundreds of photos! 

 We then met by happy coincidence with another group of Study China students, and we all went for a Chinese meal together. We got our own little room within the main restaurant, and were given mango juice and watermelon juice. We ordered various dishes to share between us, including the famous Peking Duck. I had been expecting it to still look like a duck, but it was arranged in slices. I liked it at first, then it became a bit too fatty so I left it. So far my favourite Chinese dishes have been sweet and sour pork/chicken and a dish you can get with chicken and roasted peanuts. (Peanuts the way they do them over here are absolutely amazing.)  

 When we left the shopping mall that the restaurant had been in, it was really snowing, and the landscape was very beautiful. The ground was very slippery though! But it was lovely, walking along in the snow, and it is one of the main memories I will keep with me of Beijing.

 Today we had lessons, then Abbie, Scott, Sally and myself went to a Cantonese restaurant and shared a delicious meal. Sally is a student at the University and is one of the student volunteers who is there to look after us Study China people; to guide us and help us out when we need her. She is absolutely lovely. 

 Today is the winter solstice which is celebrated by a festival in China, which was partly why we had our meal (and partly just to spend time together). Today is also the apocalypse according to some; I really hope we live to see tomorrow because I love it here in China and want to see some more of it!

 This has been a wonderful first week in China; I was a bit homesick at first but I am settled in now and am really having a brilliant time. Here's to another two amazing weeks! And to the world not ending!

 Thanks for reading my blog! I hope you are all well! ♥

 Liz x

Hello from China!

 Hello, world!

 I am writing to you from Beijing! It is my second day here - I arrived early yesterday morning after what was by far the longest journey I'd ever made in my life. 

 I'd been to some amazing places - Barcelona, Montpellier, Paris, Brussels - but I had never been outside of Europe before Friday. So it feels like a milestone in my life, to have travelled this far, to a new continent!

 First I flew from Manchester to Amsterdam, then from Amsterdam to Moscow. I had a bit of a wait in Moscow Airport so I had a look around. There are a lot of near-identical licence-frees selling chocolate, Russian stacking dolls, wooden Santas and little painted boxes, which I may be tempted to buy on the way back. 

 I then flew on to Beijing. This last flight was seven hours long, which is shorter than those of some other people I've spoken to, but still it was a lot for me to cope with, considering the longest flight I'd been on before this trip was probably about two hours long. I tried to sleep, which was difficult, and at one point I woke up suddenly and spilt my cup of water all over myself, which was not a very nice experience. 

 But at least I had an amazing new book to read: Origins, the third in a trilogy of books called the Fourth World trilogy, by the brilliant Kate Thompson. I heartily recommend these books; they are about what makes us human and where we came from, and they contain some very out-there ideas that will really make you think. Thank you so much to my Mam and Granma for getting me this wonderful book.

 Finally we reached Beijing and I was able to say I had been in the two biggest countries in the world (by land area)  in twenty-four hours, which is pretty amazing. My world has suddenly got a lot bigger.

 I got a taxi to the accommodation at Beijing Normal University, and as we were driving along I got my first glimpses of China through the windows. It was very snowy, and there were trees that looked new to me, which were quite pretty. I also saw two magpies, which I will take as a good omen. I was a bit surprised to see magpies so far from the UK. 

 I slept for most of yesterday, then today I met my room-mate  also called Elizabeth, and some of the others on the Study China programme. We ate together in the University canteen; I had some kind of meat with rice and it was very nice. 

 We ate with chopsticks which was a bit of a challenge! When I tried I couldn't hold them properly, but one time I picked them up absently-mindedly after we had been talking and started eating and I realised I could do it! Must have been in my subconscious somewhere.

 We then went to a little supermarket and it was amazing - it looks from the front like a small shop but inside it's really big! I bought some lemon cookies and they are delicious, some bread/cake that looked interesting, and some coconut-flavour Ferrero Rocher-type things which were also very nice. 

 Tomorrow we have our opening ceremony, which I am looking forward to. It is so amazing being in China, and I can't wait for the lessons to begin! I am studying Mandarin Chinese as well as a module on "China's Economic Development and Current Issues," which should be fascinating.

 Beijing is beautiful, especially at night with all the lights, and I hope to be able to upload some photos soon.

 Thank you for taking the time to read my blog,

 Thank you especially to my brother for sending me the very first Chalet School book which I had wanted for ages to be able to read but couldn't get hold of.

 Thank you to everyone who has sent me lovely, kind emails - computer access here is difficult at the moment but I will reply to each of you individually when I can.

 Love to you all,

 Liz x

The night before

 Hello!

 A bit about me: my name is Liz, I am eighteen and I am a student of French and Spanish at the University of Manchester. Since April I have also been studying Mandarin Chinese at night school, and I am fascinated by the Chinese language and culture.

 So when I received an email telling me about the Study China programme, which is managed by my university, I thought it looked like a wonderful opportunity, and I applied to take part in it. After sending off the application form, I had a telephone interview, and then I got an email telling me that I had been given a place on the programme!

 I was amazed and delighted. Not long afterwards, I found out that I was destined for Beijing, which was the city I had been hoping for, so I was even happier. The whole thing is so amazing - even now, the night before I am due to set out, I still cannot completely believe that I am actually going to China.

 I have never been outside Europe before, so this will be a big journey for me not only in terms of distance but also in terms of the difference in culture. I will get the chance to explore a country and a way of life unlike any I have ever experienced, and that will, I feel, broaden my horizons and teach me more about the world.

 One of the reasons why I applied for Study China was simply to go somewhere completely different to anywhere I'd ever been, and China promises to fulfil that wish. It will be a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I feel so lucky and privileged to have had this opportunity. Thank you, Study China!

 So, the plan is that I fly out tomorrow, get there Saturday and have a day to get my bearings before the programme begins on Sunday.

 I can't wait to go to China, but I am rather nervous - this is the furthest from home I will ever have been, and the longest period of time - three weeks - for which I will ever have been away. I am really hoping I won't get too homesick, especially as I am staying over Christmas. However, I have been promised a second Christmas when I get home ♥

 I hope you enjoy reading my blog and joining me on my adventures! It promises to be the trip of a lifetime!

 Liz x