Amazing times

 Hello!

  I hope you enjoyed the photos on my last blog post. When I get home on Saturday I will add lots more photos and hopefully some video footage as well. 

 Just after my last talky blog post - which I believe was last Wednesday - I went out with a small group for a massage. The massage parlour we went to is not far from campus and the massages are done by blind masseurs. 

 I was a bit put out when I found out that everyone intended to have full body massages; I had been expecting just head and neck. I had never before had a full body massage, and was more than a little apprehensive, yet it turned out to be quite a pleasant experience. Certainly it was a new experience, and I'm glad I went through with it in the end. Thank you to Hai and Abi for being very kind and reassuring to me.

 After this there is not a lot to report for a few days as I was ill - as was a large proportion of the group - with some kind of flu-like virus. I was laid up from Friday to Sunday, but on Monday I was beginning to feel a bit better. In class on Monday we had our first taste of the HSK exam, which is the Mandarin Chinese exam we have been working towards during our language classes here. 

 We did a practice paper and I got something like 67%, 60% being a pass. We have done two papers since and I got 85% on both, which I am quite pleased with.

 Anyway, back to Monday - New Year's Eve. After lessons we went to Laker's and ate together, then some people went clubbing, and those of us who were ill, had been ill or just fancied a quiet night in gathered in Ziggy's room, which was converted into the best cinema in Beijing, and we watched the DVD of Miss Congeniality. I had never seen this film and I really enjoyed it. Thank you, Ziggy! It was a lovely night.

 New Year's Day saw us scaling the Great Wall of China, or part of it anyway. I only made it part-way up the bit we were climbing, but some people got right to the very top. To say it was freezing cold is an understatement. But it was worth the cold to see the beautiful views we got from up in the mountains.

There were lots of souvenir stalls and I bought something I'd been hoping to buy for a long time - a cloth wall-hanging thing of the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals. I will post a photo as soon as I can. It is lovely.

 A group of us then went to a restaurant which was really cool because you had a little barbecue stove in the middle of your table, and you would select raw meat, seafood and vegetables from a buffet and cook them on the hob in front of you. Obviously you have to be a good judge of when things are cooked properly. As I am not an experienced food-y chef (baking is more my thing than meat and stuff) I relied on Hai to be the judge, and she did a great job of picking out nice pieces of meat for me, so thank you, Hai ♥ I also found out she is a Pisces like me!  ><))))> <((((><  <- Supposed to look like two fish.

 Then it was yesterday, the second of January, and after lessons and an economics lecture I jumped upon a group who were going to the Bird's Nest Stadium, as this was the one place I was absolutely determined not to miss at any cost. We got a cab there, and when I first saw the stadium it was the most amazing moment. 

 I had thought it would be all grey, but it is lit from the inside in the most glorious ruby and amber colours. It is a truly beautiful and spectacular sight. I think of the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics as the great TV event of my lifetime so far, and seeing the place where all of that happened was a really special moment for me. 

 The Olympic Park as a whole seemed very beautiful and a nice, peaceful place to spend some time. What I liked was that you can see the mountains in the distance, between the buildings - the natural beauty of China is always there if you know where to look.

 When we got back from Olympic Park I joined a group who were going to the Legend of Kung-Fu, which promised to be, "More energetic than River Dance." (according to the Deputy Irish Ambassador to China). It is in the highly impressive-looking Red Theatre, which was what felt like quite a long taxi ride away from our accommodation, but it was so worth it. 

 The show was amazing. It is the story of Chun Yi, as he grows from a little boy first learning kung-fu, to the Abbot of his monastery. I have a phobia of loud bangs and was afraid loud pyrotechnics may be used, but thankfully for me it soon became pretty obvious there wasn't going to be any of that kind of thing, so I could relax and enjoy the show. All the effects were created using lights, dry ice ( a LOT of dry ice) and on one occasion, bubbles. It was a real spectacle.

 I really liked when Chun Yi and the beautiful fairy were dancing together in the bubbles; however there was so much dry ice being blown into our faces at this point I could barely see some parts of this beautiful scene, which was a shame. 

 Another scene I loved was when Chun Yi, having fallen from grace, is sitting in remorse and the old master comes up to him and wraps his cloak around his shoulders and passes him one of the small bells that all the monks play. He begins to gently strike the bell, and the other monks appear, all dressed in white like angels, and they perform a very simple but extremely beautiful and emotional chant, as Chun Yi realises he is forgiven and is in good hands, among friends. As a scene it is so simple yet so effective.

 Today, those of us who are studying the economics module did our presentations - my group's presentation was about inequality in China with regards to wealth and income. I then went with some others to a fish restaurant, where we shared fish stuffed with vegetables, noodles and tofu. It was a lovely evening, so thank you to Abi for inviting me!

 Tomorrow we have our final lessons and then the closing ceremony, where each of the three Mandarin classes will do a performance - my group are singing Beijing Huanying Ni. I can't wait to see all of the performances!

 Thanks for reading my blog, I hope you are enjoying it.

 Liz x

PS the moon here is amazing!

Christmas in Beijing!

 Hello, everyone! 

 It is Boxing Day, and I am going to tell you about my Christmas in Beijing! It is the first time I have been away from home at Christmas, and I have been missing my family. However, I have still had a lovely Christmas with some amazing friends.

 I last updated this blog on Friday, so I will tell you what has happened between then and now. On Saturday a group of us decided to visit Beijing Zoo to see the giant pandas, which are so lovely! I also got the chance to see a golden eagle, a polar bear and boto dolphins! So many amazing creatures I had never seen before.

The aquarium, which had the dolphins and also a big turtle, looked really interesting, but my group didn't give ourselves much time to spend there and had to hurry back to our accommodation for lunch. Maybe one day we can go back and explore the aquarium properly - it looks fascinating.

 That afternoon we had our visit to a Chinese family. I was in a group of five, and our host was a lady who works with international students at Beijing Normal University. We spent the afternoon and some of the evening in her incredibly comfortable apartment, chatting in Chinese and English, making dumplings, eating a delicious meal our host made for us, and generally feeling really relaxed and cosy. It was a lovely, chilled finish to our Saturday.

 Sunday morning we got up early to go and visit the body of Chairman Mao in his mausoleum at Tiananmen Square. We then went to the Forbidden City, which was very beautiful. It was rather surreal looking over the walls of this ancient city and seeing the modern Beijing skyline beyond. Beijing really is a city of old and new combined.

We then went back to the Silk Market where I bought a few things, though I often feel uncomfortable in that place as the lights are really bright and white and make me feel claustrophobic. But it was wonderful spending time with Marvi, Sarah and April - three truly lovely people with whom I have become good friends.

 We had pizza together and then got a taxi back to our hotel. The taxi took us through a lot of skyscrapers and other cool buildings, such as the amazing new CCTV building (I'm hoping my Mam - who copies my emailed blog posts into my actual blog as Blogger is blocked here - will be nice and insert a photo of said building).

 That night we went to karaoke with Hai, one of the student volunteers here, who is really kind and lovely. Karaoke was good fun - there were memorable renditions of Small Things, Gangnam Style, Someone Like You, We Are Young, Mr. Brightside, Hotel California, 1,000 Miles, and L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.; the latter of which has been stuck in my head since! I don't mind because I really like it.

 Monday was Christmas Eve and we had lessons and then an economics lecture, which was on the sixteenth floor of the main university building. The view from the windows of the sun setting over Beijing was so stunning! I wanted to go to the very top of the building to see what the view would be like; I couldn't find any easily accessible windows on the top floor - the twenty third - so I went down to the twenty second floor where there was a lovely big window at either end of the corridor and I could gaze at, and photograph, the magnificent city and the gorgeous sunset.

 That evening some people were talking about going to karaoke again, but I decided to stay in, and I phoned my family to wish them Merry Christmas and that was lovely. Then the next day was Tuesday and was Christmas!

 We had lessons in the morning and learnt to say Merry Christmas in Mandarin - Sheng dan kuai le! We are also learning the song Beijing huan ying ni (Beijing Welcomes You - it is from the Olympics) and we are going to sing it at our graduation ceremony! I really like it.

 That evening we all met up for drinks in a coffee shop called Sculpting in Time, where I had some nice hot chocolate and a lovely chat with Scott. Then a large group of us went out for a meal together, which was really tasty. It was so lovely to have so many of us in one place on Christmas Day.

 We then went to play pool, and I played with Fay against Sarah and April. Fay had to teach me quite a lot as I am not a seasoned pool player, but by the end I had learnt quite a bit and potted a couple of balls! Fay also showed us some really amazing card tricks. It was a brilliant night and such a unique Christmas Day. I am glad I got to share this surreal but really enjoyable experience with such wonderful people as the Study China crew.

 Today after lessons we had a Tai Ji class, which was good fun, and the teacher was so talented! He showed us some of his skills and everyone was flabbergasted. We then went to see an acrobatics show which featured juggling as you will probably never have seen it, extreme bike riding, tightrope antics and umbrella juggling, which was something I had never seen before. It was a really well-choreographed and beautiful show, but it ended too quickly for me - I want to see more of it!

 Some of us then went to a little bar on campus called Laker's, where the lads in our group requested Gangnam Style and danced en mass, to the bemusement of half of the bar! I sat more serenely with some of my friends and had a pizza and a milkshake and both were delicious. Another really nice night with friends.

 So, that is you up to date with my antics! I don't think I need to say that I am having an amazing time. I feel so lucky to be here; it is just incredible being able to experience China in this way.

 Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

 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