Two-ish Weeks in Beijing!!!

I finally started at my new school! 

Since I last posted, life has been a crazy, fun, and stressful whirlwind, which is why It has been so long! I guess I will just start from the top:

I started my new job on Monday, August 4th. I trained for a week and reported to my new school Saturday, August 9th. By the way, I love the children here. They are the absolute cutest humans on the planet. ABSOLUTE CUTEST! I will definitely be sharing photos of them in the near future. Basically I spent my day sitting in class with five year olds, some who kept touching my hair and telling me I was beautiful, then we would sing and dance. My favorite was getting to scream Let It Go during break. I am basically a 5' 8" child and I still love that song. The kids have so much energy. I love it.........

At least for now.

  

They see me rollin', they hatin', patrollin' and tryna catch me ridin' dirty. 

I found two awesome roommates who are both into the types of shenanigans I am..... Which may be simultaneously the greatest and worst thing ever. Either way, I adore these two. Team Unicorn, unite!
I don't have any photos of our new place yet, but it is quirky. We found a place near bar street (also, may be the best and worst thing ever) that is in the middle of residential area. The apartment is..... different. I'll just say that. Staying there is going to be an adventure in itself. 

I've figured out a few interesting things about Beijing in the last two weeks that I've been here. Just a few little tidbits from me to you, if you ever plan on visiting:

Tidbit #1:
IT IS EVERY MAN FOR THEMSELVES ON THE SUBWAY. YOU SEE AN OPEN SEAT, YOU TAKE IT, YOU DON'T GIVE IT UP UNTIL YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO (unless there is a super cute child, elderly individual, or pregnant woman... because that's just what you do) . YOU FIGHT TO THE DEATH FOR THAT SEAT AND YOU ENJOY EVERY DAMN MINUTE OF IT! But seriously, I love the subway here. So fast, mostly air conditioned, but incredibly crowded. I have spent upwards of forty minutes standing up trying to get from point A to point B. Thank goodness for my kindle and Game of Thrones. At 32 cents a ride I can't really say no.

Metro App saves my life every day.

Tidbit #2: 
Be willing to step out of your comfort zone in Beijing. No one really believes in personal space. Prepare to be touched, have photos taken at any moment, and stared at every where you go. Two weeks in and I have already had people touch my hair (kids especially), people touch my hands, and many photo requests. It isn't very bothersome, but some thing we don't really deal with back home. Some times it can be really hilarious and you roll with the punches.

The usual.

This tidbit doesn't stop at personal space; be willing to try any new food too. I can't read or understand Mandarin at all. I can say beer, thank you, cold, and hello. I can recognize the Chinese characters for people, mouth, exit...... Andddddddd that's basically where Jessie's Mandarin stops.

Ordering food is an adventure. I'm still doing a lot of pointing and nodding (and praying that nodding doesn't actually mean something different/offensive to those who live in Beijing). This means that my taste buds are currently on an adventure as well. Grocery shopping is a scavenger hunt.

Mmmmmm. Chicken Essence!

This doesn't mean that Beijing doesn't have Western food- it does. You just have to find it (see above reference about grocery shopping being a bit of scavenger hunt). I must say though, I had the best burger of my life at a brewery here called Great Leap. I mean, we are talking incredible by U.S. standards. And I don't even like burgers usually.

Tidbit #3:

Beijing is basically a cheaper Las Vegas. You can get roadies for less than $1 and just roll from one place to the next. I have found it common place to see people drinking beers in the streets as early as 9 am and it's totally cool. My first night going out I was afraid to just drink openly, it was then explained to me that it isn't illegal here to have an open container in the streets. As my friend put it, "Jessie, it's Beijing. It's the land of freedom". I'll take it.

Tidbit #4:
Explore!!!This city is incredible. Beijing is vibrant. The people are beautiful. At night after I leave work there are hundreds of people dancing or rollerblading or jump roping in the large open space next to my center. This happens every night and every night it makes me smile.

 I move into my new place on the 22nd. Photos to come!