Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Living in Beijing


Today, before class, we invited our neighbors for lunch.  Our neighbors are a German teacher who has a Chinese wife and a young lady from Spain.  As we enjoyed lunch and conversation together, it dawned on me that this is a benefit of living here.  We get to share meals with foreigners from other countries and share about our culture and our experiences here in China.  So I think I will share with you, first, the positives of living here for this season.  

Most Chinese people like foreigners, especially if you are kind and respectful to them.  Many of them think to do little extras for us and it makes us smile.  Just yesterday, Glenn and I went to a dining hall on campus to have lunch after class. We were sitting there eating lunch and a lady worker there saw that we were eating a rice dish with chopsticks and went and got us each a spoon.  When we go into our market on campus to our vegetable and fruit people, they love to throw in little freebies for us to enjoy.  Right now it seems to be cherry tomatoes.

Rather than bore you with all the details, I will just list some other benefits and if you have questions you can email me.  Cheap public transportation that includes buses galore, big subway system and cheap taxis.  Lots of vegetables and fruits everywhere.  Students always encouraging us that we should take a nap everyday.  Impromptu visits when someone wants to see you.  A culture that is so relational. Lots of good food available.  Hot pot. Lots of free tea to be had. Respectful students with lots of smiling faces.  Cheap cell phone plans.  Chinese love to bring fruit as a gift, just this week we were given watermelon and a bag of cherry tomatoes.  Two places on either side of our campus to get good coffee.  Seven very cheap dining halls and five restaurants right on campus.  Most students like to play badminton.  And best of all:  talking of the son is as easy as discussing the weather :)

Next time I'll share some, not so positive things, cause we know everywhere has them!  


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