Moving to Beijing was a huge deal for me. Just out of university, a very socially awkward person and not the slightest clue what I was getting myself into. Three months later, here I am loving life in Beijing.
I had so many worries before coming over, what will the food be like, how difficult is it to learn the language and how the hell am I going to use the transport systems, being many of the questions I asked myself. These are questions I researched and researched until Google ran out of information and I ran out of time.
So I ditched Google, packed my bags and boarded the plane. I was expecting a place where I would starve ( as a picky eater), get lost ( it happened and wasn’t the end of the world) and never be able to communicate with the 20 million people around me. All the worries slowly washed away in my first few days here. Slowly but surely I’ve adjusted to life here (other than the people staring and spitting of course!).
So here it is in a nutshell:
The food: All of my family laughed and laughed about me, the pickiest eater in the world, moving to China. The jokes were flying about how I would come back and be so skinny and would starve within a week. I’m now a stone heavier from the beautiful food and nowhere near starvation! There is so much variety in Shijingshan alone for food, never mind venturing out to downtown Beijing. The food here is amazing. Whether your a picky eater or just plain homesick you can always fulfill a craving. From Dumplings to a nice burger, hotpots to Italian, there is something for everyone! If not, you can always head to the western supermarkets for a taste of home!
The language: Yes I wont lie, its extremely difficult. Especially when your laughed at for trying most of the time. But with three free lessons a week I have definitely improved. I can order food and get around day to day saying the basics. The main thing is to just go for it and make a fool of yourself, let them laugh, laugh at yourself and just keep trying until they finally understand you just want a bottle of water! So yeah it is difficult but sure god loves a trier!
Transport: Reading about the transport in Beijing I was so worried that all the signs being in Chinese I would never make it further than the local supermarket. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only were the subways in English but it is the easiest system to master! You will never get a seat and will be occasionally crushed and have your personal space severely invaded but hey that’s all part of the experience. The subway system is amazing and can bring you anywhere in the City within the hour. Its in English, its cheap and its fast- what more do you want?
The buses are a little trickier. But once you know what bus to get and have the bus stop written down its a piece of cake. Within the first week I had taken the bus alone, got to where I wanted to go and did not get lost (personal achievement!). I was petrified of how to know whether to get on the middle door or the front door, where to pay etc. Then I realized, just follow the other 100 people getting on the same bus as you- and don’t queue- once the bus arrives the calm, single file line turns into people suddenly panicked and need to get to where they are going NOW! But hey, just follow the crowd, you will get on eventually!
All in all, life in Beijing is pretty amazing. All my worries are long gone and as I sit here eating a chocolate bar, drinking a cup of tea I have to wonder. Why was I worried in the first place?