Monthly Archives: October 2007

Today I visited the main 2008 Olympic site after class. The Olympics are less than a year away and the location is a huge construction yard. Today I wish I had a mask because I had to walk along a … Continue reading →

This week I have a private Mandarin Chinese class from 9:30AM – 12:00. Today was mostly review so I can catch up for the group class starting November 12. After class I was able to ride on the new subway … Continue reading →

Today the skies really cleared up and it must have been one of the clearest days I have seen in the city. I made it to Peking University to meet up with a student and look around the campus. The … Continue reading →

Today began with a power outage that lasted until about 1PM. The surrounding block had no power and I’m not sure why. For the past two days, the skies have been filled with fog and apparently smog. I also read … Continue reading →

Today I took a trip over to the Beijing Underground City. I ended up paying $2 to a pedicab driver to get me there. I didn’t want to, but he kept asking and I didn’t know for sure where it … Continue reading →

When I first arrived in Beijing, the home stay guy said that people have changed a lot in the three months I’ve been gone. There have been politeness campaigns such as billboards in an attempt to make the city more … Continue reading →

I should note the Internet situation is much better at this home over the last home in Beijing. Instead of paying by the minute, they have a proper unlimited service. Still, it is only 1Mbit and I’m trying to talk … Continue reading →

Today I went to the home stay office to get my classes and visa organized. I get there and they say it is now 3 weeks until the class begins. But I was able to change to a week of … Continue reading →

I’m not sure what the long term sleeping arrangements are here. There was talk of the son sleeping in the same room as me on a cot or something, but as I said before he slept on the couch. The … Continue reading →

From the hotel, I took a taxi to the Tianjin train station. It must have been the most unorganized station I’ve seen. It was old and undersized. It took me a while to find out where to buy a ticket … Continue reading →