Beijing, my love....

Wow. Who would've thought that within barely two weeks I would settle in this crazy city as if it was the most natural thing to do?! It's hard for me to put my experience in words, but Beijing has really, REALLY grown on me this past few days. I cannot grasp the luck that has occured to me from the first day I set my foot on this land. I left the adversities and disappointments of the past year behind me to experience a whole new world full of unknown opportunities and countless joys. I pray and hope that luck won't fail me in the next six months, so I'll be having the time of my life!

For all of you who have no idea how I got here and what the heck I'm doing in a city like Beijing, I give you a little introduction. After months of unsuccessfully searching for a traineeship abroad, I finally got the offer to work as an editor for a bilingual lifestyle magazine here in Beijing. Within two weeks I packed my stuff, organized my stay and got on the plane. Since the internship was arranged by AIESEC (www.aiesec.org), my reception was all planned out before my arrival. Yaodi and Valentine, two very kind AIESECers, picked me up at the airport after a sleepless nine-hours flight and escorted me to my apartment. I was shocked by the impressive entrance of the building that reminded me rather of a four-star hotel than a regular apartment complex. According to Yaodi my company provides this apartment for the whole duration of my stay although the rent alone is about ten times higher than my salary. Insane! But who am I to complain? I pay my share for electricity, room service and such and will have this three-room apartment all to myself until the company decides on a second intern. Sweet life! I don't wanna tantalize you for too long, so here are the first pictures of my lovely apartment.


The living room as seen from my front door. I have my own TV and, to my delight, several foreign channels to choose from, such as CNN, HBO, Star World and National Geographic.










King size bed, baby! With a lovely view over the neighbourhood...

Buildings, buildings, buildings! What can you expect from an overpopulated city? You gotta put 'em somewhere!

Apparently, this picture was taken before rush hour which begins by half past eight and does not die down until late at night.









My neat bathroom. Equipped with western toilet, thank god! No acrobatics over a hole in the ground...



















Spot the difference! My kitchen before the massacre...

...and after. I was cooking yummy dumplings with Yaodi on my second day in Beijing, when suddenly a loud crack and a million pieces of broken glass scared the shit out of us. Note to myself: The glass top of the stove has to be removed before use! I don't even start ranting about the tiny burns I suffered from a hot sherd that landed in my T-Shirt. Thanks for mutilating me within my first 48 hours in this country!

So this is where I live. I haven't taken too many pictures yet, but I promise to put up more from work and city life some time next week. Believe me, as crowded, polluted and chaotic Beijing is, you can't fail to see the unique beauty of this city. I've been mainly to the central business district (Chaoyang, where I live) and university area (Wudaokou, international students everywhere!), but have yet to explore the historical parts of Beijing in the immediate future. Can't wait to see more! I'll keep you updated...

So what happened during my first two weeks of my stay here?

• I explored my neighbourhood including the gigantic supermarket where I found myself surrounded by hundreds of Chinese people hunting for the best offer and staring at me for being the only person standing in the aisle with cornflakes and jams. Service is great though. A shop girl took her time to explain the special Buy-3-Get-1-Free offer in Chinese and using her boundless creativity.
• I learned about the frickin' crowded buses in Beijing and that using your elbows is a crucial concept of survival here.
• I started my first week at work and couldn't be any happier. Everybody congratulates me on getting probably the best internship ever and until now I couldn't agree more. I love it! Cool staff (most of them don't speak English, but we're working on the non-verbal communication), relaxed atmosphere and interesting stuff to do. They've given me my first page and article now, so they're testing my skills at the moment. Hope to have more opportunities to prove my talent in the future.
• I've been to a wedding dinner of a colleague (OMG, yum!), a farewell party of another German intern, a pub quiz with my lovely trainees (which we only lost after four bonus questions in tie with another group. Still won a free pitcher of Long Island Ice Tea, though.), a media party (where the Chinese showed their passion for games and the urgent desire to make complete fools of themselves. Loved it!), a housewarming party and a birthday dinner in a Japanese restaurant (Unfortunately my stomach didn't approve and sent me to the bathroom a little later). How's that for the first week?
• I met the most awesome people right on the first Saturday of my stay. The AIESEC trainee community in Beijing is quite strong at the moment, so I had the incredible luck to get to know a bunch of amazing people I learned to love from the first night! You'll get to know each and everyone of them, once I have some decent pictures. I love you guys!
• I tasted countless varieties of Chinese food and, surprisingly, loved them all! I never thought Chinese food could be so diverse. No comparison to German Chinese food!
  I seriously have no struggles whatsoever to get my stomach filled and enjoy the taste. What a stretch to hear that from the pickiest eater ever! I'm progressing! And using chopsticks...my hidden skill! I'm faster and more adept than some of my colleagues.
• I settled here within a ridiculously short period of time. No jetlag, no culture shock, no fear of the unknown. From the third day on I pretty much found my way through everyday chaos, risking my life when crossing the street, pushing my way through crowded buses everyday, telling the taxi driver where to go with knowing barely three words of Chinese, exploring the supermarkets own my own and buying things whose use I can only guess, joining social events every other day and not being afraid to ask and learn new things. I hardly recognize myself, but I guess that's just life. Learn and grow with every challenge. And this challenge is definitely meant to happen or, as I put it yesterday when talking to an Irish expat journalist: "I didn't choose Beijing. Beijing chose me."