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  Beijing, Beijing, China
Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Today was my first time going to the university, but only to enroll; the classes start on Friday.  It took awhile to get there, as it is on the other side of Beijing, and there was no clear route there.  Beijing Language and Cultural University is the largest place I have ever seen.  I think that the city of Melbourne could fit inside its gates- perhaps a slight exaggeration, but it is huge.  It contains countless multi-story buildings, making it almost a city itself.  It had several cafeterias in addition to several restaurants on campus, allowing its students a lot of choice from Japanese and Italian restaurants to Chinese food in the cafeteria. 
Enrolling was actually more complicated than I was expecting.  We had to show all types of documents from the application to my passport and visa.  I got a student ID, handbook and a food card.  I read the handbook, which me realise the magnitude of this endeavor.  If i missed more than 2 days, then "disciplinary actions" would be taken.  The money paid would not be refunded, even for illness or situations at home. I could see many of the foreign students there, but I look the youngest by far. It got me worried that this whole adventure was too much for me, but with Rebecca helping me to find rooms that I would take, and show me how to use my food card, I felt much more reassured and motivated to do it.  Someone once told me to "do the thing that scares you", so I am definitely taking their advice, and hoping that I succeed. 
Rebecca also showed me the most important sites that any student there needs to know- the nearest McDonalds and KFC places.  That is another option for lunch if I want it. 
We went to Rebecca's favourite cafe, the Bridge, which is home to locals and foreigners alike.  It was a really nice place, there were mostly uni students there with their laptops and notes to study.  There was a little library up the back to read, so Rebecca  read whilst I wrote a speech that I am expecting to be asked about on a test on Thursday to determine what class I am in.  Once we had spent enough time there, we caught a taxi back home.  The taxis here are really cheap, only 2yuan per kilometer, which equals to about 28cents per kilometer.  Driving here is quite crazy; indicators are optional as are seat belts.  I am also yet to see a person riding a bike or scooter with a helmet.  All the same, there are very few crashes here, and there is some order and mutual respect between motorists.  There is little road rage as well from what I have experienced.
Once we got home, we ate fruit. We often eat fruit in front of the TV for morning tea, afternoon tea and dessert, so I have been eating a lot more fruit than usual, which is good.  I think that everyone these days needs to incorporate more fruit into their lifestyles. 

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