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My last weeks learnings!
Visits: During the last weeks, I've been discovering a bit more about my city. I've been to the Summer Palace, a big park with a lake in the middle, to the art district named 798 art district, to the natural history museum and to the Xiangshan park, a big forest in the West of the city. I've been appreciating Autumn here with nice colors. I also went to a cats coffee, a great experience! And more recently to an antique market, full of discoveries from the past.
Food: As you can imagine, I ate a lot during the last weeks. And, of course, I discovered many tasty dishes! First, I started to eat at my university canteens. My favorite meals there are: noodles with ratatouille, duck and vegetables wrap, and Chinese crepes.Second, I've finally been to good restaurants in Beijing. The first one to taste the famous Beijing duck, which was delicious. And the second one was to taste an hot pot: a table with boiling water in the middle in order to cook your food (please refer to the picture, it might be a better description). Third, after having spent 7 months in South America, I finally found a great kebab in... China! Unbelievable but it's true, I found a really good kebab place, I was almost crying while I was eating it.
Classes: My classes are getting more and more serious everyday as I have assignments and mid term exams. It's complicated in some classes as microeconomic and macroeconomic. But I got my first grades and it's encouraging! It's finishing soon so I've to work in order to pass all the courses.
Sports: As I might told you, I was training every week playing football. And now, I'm part of a team in a competition. For the good of the team, I'm the goalkeeper, which is not easy at all. We already won 2 matches (1-0, 2-1) and lost one (1-3). And we'll play the semi final this week, cross fingers.
Events: 2 weeks ago, there was a big reunion of the Chinese gouvernement. And they closed all the night clubs in Beijing. So we had to find other places to go and we found the most luxurious place in the city: Equis bar. The bar is situated at the top of a 5 stars hotel and offers the best mojitos I've ever had (and for me, it's for free). After that special week, they inaugurated a new club named 1/3. Probably the best club in the city but the music is so loud, we could loose our earrings.Last week, I've also been to the Mexican embassy for the "Día de Muertos". My first time in a Mexican territory. I had some sweet bread and hot chocolate, I felt like home during Christmas!
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My Golden week thoughts
The Golden week has been full of learnings for me, that’s why I wanted to share them.
- Good highway stops with toilets, 24h convenience store, sometimes wifi
Everybody eats noodles soups for 5 yuans, there is always the queue for hot water
- Artificial cities exist, there are so strange. Everything seems fake. And the prices are higher than in Beijing
- In Inner Mongolia, they sell interesting alcohol and some Staline chocolate
- The concept of toilets and shower aren't separated in China, as I had to shower in the same place where I shitted before
- Also the concept of bed and piece of wood is not separated. I'm wondering how they can sleep on it. Fortunately I good a sleeping bag
- Sunsets in China are amazing, especially after a good day of sun and without clouds
- Walking in the nature is great, when you're with your bros, it's even better
- Sunrises in China are also amazing, don't have any explanation about this, it's just beautiful
- At 5 am, it's really cold outside. This is crazy, but in the afternoon it could be really warm. It's a strange climate
- Sometimes it's better not to eat meat in some places, as many people thrown up after having eaten a strange kebab
- You can find really kind Chinese in all the country. They are more distant but always dedicated
- You can find crazy Chinese everywhere. But be careful of the baiju, it's an hard alcohol
- Getting sick in the bus isn't a good idea. You don't know where to seat, where to throw up, where to sleep...
- Chinese people are crazy about taking pictures. This is clearly another level of instagramers
- Going down from a sand mountain is one of the best sensations I had since a long time
- Golden week queues are really crazy! And Chinese people love to cut the lines..
- You can eat noodles everywhere in China. There are 24h shops and hot water for that in all the country
- Salted lakes are really impressive. And walking on the salt is a strange and amazing feeling. You really should do it once in your life
- Car/bus issues can happen everywhere. Parties can also happen everywhere! You just need party people, some beers and a speaker
- In China, you can order beers even if you are blocked in the middle of nowhere, as a highway
- In karaoke, people sing really really badly. So I took part of it, and apparently, I'm not that bad, or just as bad as the others
- Depending on the region of China, buddhism is different: the way they pray, the incense, the people
- In every religion, there is a bad part. And buddhism doesn't escape to the rule, after I saw so many dead animals in a temple
- Landscapes in China are nice and beautiful, but there is always a Chinese part which I don't like: electric pilone, constructions, plants...
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My Chinese Golden week: an incredible experience!
Last week was the Golden week in China. Almost everybody is traveling in the country. That's why I wanted to travel and I took part of an organized tour to the "Silk road" at the West of the country.
I'll explain you the details of what I did, and all of what I learnt!
Day 1: we started the trip on Saturday, at 7 pm. This day we only took the bus and made a stop in a highway area.
Day 2: a long day of bus and we finished at 7 pm in an hostel of Inner Mongolia. We were just in the South of Mongolia. The hostel was really basic: the bed was really hard and the shower was at the same place as the skat toilets. We just went to eat and sleep.
Day 3: we discovered the surroundings of the city: a free trade area, an artificial lake and a forest. It was a bit strange because everything was in the middle of nowhere as an artificial city in the Middle East. But fortunately enough, I was with my friends and we spent some quality time together. Also the day ended with a beautiful sunset in the forest.
Day 4: Early wake up to see the sunrise in the Inner Mongolian desert. It was hard with the sleepiness and the cold. But it was amazing to see the sunrise like this. Even more in the desert. After, we had 7 hours of bus and arrives at a part of the Great wall. It was totally different from the parts I already known, as it was a wall but more a fortress. I didn't really liked it and we took the bus for 4h more until arriving to a superb hotel. We went dinner in the hotel and we met a really kind Chinese man. He was so happy to meet us and to speak English. He offered us cigarets and a local alcohol named baiju. We all finished by dancing with him and he had a hard night after drinking so much eheh.
Day 5: The best and worst in one day. It started really well with the best scenic spot we have been: the colorful mountains of Zhangye. It was amazing, there is no other word for that. I was afraid of being disappointed after having seen the pictures and also because I went to the one in Peru last July. But it was huge and beautiful!! After that we had 10h of bus, and because of my breakfast, sleepiness and the baiju, I felt really bad with my stomach. I threw up 3 times in the bus, but a lot. So I had a hard route to the next point. After that we arrived to an hotel, where I barely ate a cookie and I slept to better myself. So the best and worst in one day.
Day 6: We went to a desert with oasis spot. It was impressive with the bug sand dunes. I walked to the top of one and had a rest there as I lacked of energy after what happened the day before. It was the perfect moment for me to appreciate the landscape and observe the Chinese people. I noticed their way to take pictures everywhere. Apparently, they just go to touristic places to take pictures and show off. And some of them wear princess clothes just to take the beat pictures!After that, we went to a beautiful place: the Delingha mysterious caves. Some old caves with paintings, a giant buddah and so on. It was amazing. But worrying also because we had to make a 2h queue to be able to enter to the caves and we could only stay 30 seconds in the caves. That's the bad part of the Golden week with so many people.
Day 7: We went to a salted lake. An amazing place and a new experience for me. Basically it's like the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia but with water. A lake full of salt. I came into the water to live the experience. The first time for me I was walking on salt. I also took some really nice pictures there.After that, we had to go to another lake to see the sunset but... we had a bus issue: the motor died. We were stopper in the middle of nowhere, in an highway. As you know, there is always a good part in a bad experience. That's why we decided to order some beers and make a party there. It was awesome!After 4h there, we took another bus to our hostel where we had dinner and we were part of a karaoke. A great first experience for me.
Day 8: We were to a buddhist temple. It was a really big one. Really different from the Lama Temple I knew in Beijing. It was impressive but at the same time, it wasn't really a touristic place, more a place for prayers. So I didn't feel totally in my place there. And after that, we took the bus back to Beijing.
Day 9 and 10: we had an issue with the rain, and weren't able to take the highway. After some negotiations with the local government, we managed to take the highway with a policeman help. And we reached Beijing after a 48h trip!
Finally, I've been really far away from Beijing. I can say that I discover the Western China. The landscapes and scenic spot were amazing. Also, I've been to 3 different regions: Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai. It was hard with all these hours of bus but the place did worth it.
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5th week in China
Cinema: this week I had the chance to go to the cinema with my buddy! We had dinner with two of his friends first and then we went to a mall where there is a really fancy cinema. We watch the new Spider Man movie in 3D. It was really good, also because until now, I hadn't the chance to be able to watch any movie or series. A great moment.
Wifi: the explanation of non-watching movie behavior is deeply linked to the bad wifi we have in the hotel. Especially this week. It was almost impossible to watch a YouTube video or to send an email. It's really hard when we live in the 21st century.
Courses: I'm continuing to study in my university. The class routine doesn't change that much. But I had to send my first assignment this week. A macroeconomy one. This is not my specialty but I managed to do it with some pleasure. The assignment was strange as the biggest part was about commenting arguments that proved that the US economy was in decline. I love the Chinese point of view on it ;)
Golden week preparation: In China, between October the 1st and the 8th, everybody is on holidays. It's named the Golden week and almost everybody is traveling. That's why I'm actually leaving Beijing to do a 8-day trip to the Silk road. I will explain you all the details in the next article.
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One month in Beijing
My 4th week in China has been full of experiences. I visited the city, discovered peaceful places and became a it more Chinese.
Visits: last Sunday, I've been to the Lama Temple. An incredible place where I saw people praying. It's the biggest Buddhist temple of China, and the place was incredible. I took part of the pray with incense. Such a peaceful place. This week, I also welcomed a friend in Beijing and we went to the Great Wall (the renovated part), the Temple of Heaven, the Lama temple and the Confucius temple. Great discoveries, especially the Temple of Heaven park where I discovered some Chinese sports and dances.
A part of Europe next to my hotel: this week, I had the chance to go to Decathlon and Ikea. The two European store companies are settled in China, and two of their stores are close to my hotel. It was incredible to enter in these stores, I felt in Europe for a while. I also had meatballs in Ikea, so much memories of childhood. I didn't need to come back home but it was a pleasure after both my experiences in Chile and China.
Bikes: I recently downloaded an app to rent bikes all around the city. Ofo bikes, or the yellow bikes, are present everywhere. The system is pleasant: you put the bike everywhere you want, you just have to lock it. So it's really convenient and I'm using them almost every day. That’s why I feel more Chinese now.
Food: I love Chinese food. I'm really surprised about how tasty, cheap and fast it is. There are so many restaurants in Beijing and in my neighborhood. I try to test as many as I can in order to discover the most. But it's incredible. I think I will miss it when I will come back home.
My first month balance: I feel really good in this country. I love the way of life: food, discoveries, cheap life, big city, parties, student life... I just want to meet more Chinese people and speak a bit more of Chinese. But, I didn't expect much about China and I'm really surprised in the good way!
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