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 and then boarding the train was hampered by a single, small door everyone had to pass through. The actual high speed train ($5) to Beijing was modern and nice though.
Once in Beijing, I took the subway to the office for the homestay and to meet the man in charge. He told me I can’t begin my classes for another two weeks. That is when two other students at the same level as me are starting. I thought that was a little disappointing to tell me this now. Why did I rush through Korea just to sit around Beijing and wait?
We drove to meet the family; a different family than last time I was here. The location is closer to the middle of the city this time. It is maybe the same distance away from the school, but I think a better location overall.
I was informed the home had three people, but I was surprised to see more. Instead of one son (18 years old) like I was told, there is also a daughter (6 years old), and a maid/cook that lives there. Including me, there are 6 people living in the apartment and 3 bedrooms. The parents in one, the daughter/housekeeper in another, and the son in the last. The homestay program promises a private room, so it seems the son has to sleep on the couch in the living room for now (but he still uses the room for everything other than sleeping).
Overall, it is a very nice apartment and the family seems more upper class than the last family I stayed with. I think the best part is the hired housekeeper that ensures there is a big dinner cooked everyday. I was kind of shocked: fish, shrimp, chicken, dofu, veggies, soup, and rice. It was the first proper meal I’ve had in two or three days (was eating cookies mostly on the ferry).
The son, Harry, and I went to the gym to work out on some weight machines in the evening. He is taller and more muscular than me. Afterwards, we went to a PC Bar / Internet Cafe type place and played Counter Strike (a computer game).