Some colleagues suggested that I start a blog narrating my experiences in China (although I think that the difference in lifestyle between being a finance manager and being a house husband may be just as stark as those between living in the UK and living here).
I do not want to create a new blog for such a purpose, because I will inevitably stop writing in it, and it will end up being as sad an endeavour as the thousands of unfinished novels started by hipsters in Starbucks. However, I might as well write a few facebook posts before I get bored. EDIT: I've started a blog.
So, China. I've only been here for a few days, and as I'm staying at an expat compound, bordering a mall, it's not like I've had much interaction with the real Beijing. Still, here are my first impressions:
- Beijing feels huge. Obviously it is a massive city by any standard, bigger than anywhere I've lived before, but it is built in such a way that it emphasises its scale. London and Athens are large cities, but you don't get the same impression as you do here. The streets are gigantic, as are the buildings, malls, restaurants etc. Certainly not a place you want to be if you are agoraphobic.
- The pollution doesn't feel half as bad as I expected (feared). During the first few days, the pollution was actually very low, but even today, when the pollution level is classified as "very unhealthy", I can still walk outside without it being a problem. That said, you do often perceive a sort of chemical smell when walking around, but nothing major. EDIT: A year later, I have to say the pollution can be very annoying.
- Beijing is surprisingly green. There are lovely parks and trees everywhere around. Unexpected.
- I never, ever, thought I'd say something like this, but there is something comforting in seeing western restaurants or chains around (Zara, McDonalds, KFC etc). For the first time in my life I understand how one can feel homesick, and how seeing something familiar, even if it is something you'd detest in your native environment, may evoke a pleasant feeling. Now, of course I do not plan to shop or eat in any of the above - see the note on food further down - but I was genuinely surprised to feel anything other than indifference or annoyance at the sight of a multinational fast food chain. EDIT: later on I moved by myself to a flat in Tianjin for a few months. I gorged on Pizza Hut (it was an easy take out option).
- Speaking of feeling at home, driving behaviour here is strongly reminiscent of Greece. Cross-roads are a free-for all: cyclists, drivers and pedestrians all cross the street indifferent to one another's presence. I'm not sure I understand how traffic lights work - they do seem to restrict the number of cars that will cross the street, but do not eliminate them. Like in Greece, crossings here are a game of chicken: pedestrian and driver assess each other's resolve and either give way or march/speed ahead. Unlike Greece, the pedestrian here often wins.
- The food here is excellent, and ridiculously cheap. One of Jessi's colleagues said that although she loves cooking, she hasn't eaten at home in 6 months, and I can totally see why. A lot of people warned us before leaving that what we think of as Chinese food in the UK has nothing to do with real Chinese food in Beijing. That is not quite true - the basic concepts and dishes are similar. It is true that rice features far less prominently in Beijing cuisine than in take out menus (at least based on the small sample of restaurants we've visited so far), and some dishes are served differently (e.g. Pecking duck comes in slices, not shreds), but if you like Chinese food in the UK, you'll like it here.
On the same topic, people's eating habits are a bit strange... unlike western restaurants, menus here don't seem to follow any logical structure - one cannot really speak of appetisers and mains given that people order a lot of things to share, but still, you'd expect small dishes first, then large dishes, then deserts. But no - here you get them all mixed around. And dishes do not arrive in any particular order either - you can see people around you mix their Kung Pao Chicken with their desert. Very peculiar.
- Weather be crazy. Two days ago the temperature was subzero (heh, as a Mortal Kombat fan it's always a pleasure to write "subzero" - also makes me giggle as I remember that in Greece, the character was literally translated to "ο υπό-το-μηδέν") and today it is 18 degrees.
- The internet situation is a bit annoying. All Google services and facebook is blocked - you can use a VPN to bypass the firewall, but it slows down your device, to the extent that they may not work (our mobiles and tablet work fine, but the VPN doesn't work on the laptop). To post this, I have to email it from my laptop via a Microsoft account to myself, so as to post it via the tablet.
So, China. I've only been here for a few days, and as I'm staying at an expat compound, bordering a mall, it's not like I've had much interaction with the real Beijing. Still, here are my first impressions:
- Beijing feels huge. Obviously it is a massive city by any standard, bigger than anywhere I've lived before, but it is built in such a way that it emphasises its scale. London and Athens are large cities, but you don't get the same impression as you do here. The streets are gigantic, as are the buildings, malls, restaurants etc. Certainly not a place you want to be if you are agoraphobic.
- The pollution doesn't feel half as bad as I expected (feared). During the first few days, the pollution was actually very low, but even today, when the pollution level is classified as "very unhealthy", I can still walk outside without it being a problem. That said, you do often perceive a sort of chemical smell when walking around, but nothing major. EDIT: A year later, I have to say the pollution can be very annoying.
- Beijing is surprisingly green. There are lovely parks and trees everywhere around. Unexpected.
- I never, ever, thought I'd say something like this, but there is something comforting in seeing western restaurants or chains around (Zara, McDonalds, KFC etc). For the first time in my life I understand how one can feel homesick, and how seeing something familiar, even if it is something you'd detest in your native environment, may evoke a pleasant feeling. Now, of course I do not plan to shop or eat in any of the above - see the note on food further down - but I was genuinely surprised to feel anything other than indifference or annoyance at the sight of a multinational fast food chain. EDIT: later on I moved by myself to a flat in Tianjin for a few months. I gorged on Pizza Hut (it was an easy take out option).
- Speaking of feeling at home, driving behaviour here is strongly reminiscent of Greece. Cross-roads are a free-for all: cyclists, drivers and pedestrians all cross the street indifferent to one another's presence. I'm not sure I understand how traffic lights work - they do seem to restrict the number of cars that will cross the street, but do not eliminate them. Like in Greece, crossings here are a game of chicken: pedestrian and driver assess each other's resolve and either give way or march/speed ahead. Unlike Greece, the pedestrian here often wins.
- The food here is excellent, and ridiculously cheap. One of Jessi's colleagues said that although she loves cooking, she hasn't eaten at home in 6 months, and I can totally see why. A lot of people warned us before leaving that what we think of as Chinese food in the UK has nothing to do with real Chinese food in Beijing. That is not quite true - the basic concepts and dishes are similar. It is true that rice features far less prominently in Beijing cuisine than in take out menus (at least based on the small sample of restaurants we've visited so far), and some dishes are served differently (e.g. Pecking duck comes in slices, not shreds), but if you like Chinese food in the UK, you'll like it here.
On the same topic, people's eating habits are a bit strange... unlike western restaurants, menus here don't seem to follow any logical structure - one cannot really speak of appetisers and mains given that people order a lot of things to share, but still, you'd expect small dishes first, then large dishes, then deserts. But no - here you get them all mixed around. And dishes do not arrive in any particular order either - you can see people around you mix their Kung Pao Chicken with their desert. Very peculiar.
- Weather be crazy. Two days ago the temperature was subzero (heh, as a Mortal Kombat fan it's always a pleasure to write "subzero" - also makes me giggle as I remember that in Greece, the character was literally translated to "ο υπό-το-μηδέν") and today it is 18 degrees.
- The internet situation is a bit annoying. All Google services and facebook is blocked - you can use a VPN to bypass the firewall, but it slows down your device, to the extent that they may not work (our mobiles and tablet work fine, but the VPN doesn't work on the laptop). To post this, I have to email it from my laptop via a Microsoft account to myself, so as to post it via the tablet.
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