As of today I've been in Beijing for 1 month. It's been a pretty quick month actually. There has been a huge mess with my housing that took the first 3 weeks to sort out and it was so stressful but other then that my time in Beijing has been amazing. I am having so much fun and have a great group of friends, even if they do spend half the time making fun of me for not being part of the Common Wealth. That's what I get for hanging out with a bunch of Canadians and a guy from England. XD And every os often a few Australians as well.
Due to one of the Canadian guys somehow knowing EVERYONE! I have met a Chinese girl named Siwen who has been hanging out with us pretty much every day during our week long break. She helped me sort a few things out and the other day while talking about what I wanted to do with my Chinese she offered to help me. She suggested translation, which is what I was thinking of doing, and told me if I figured out an area that I wanted to go into she would find me a book that would teach me the characters and vocab that I would need to learn! So that is pretty amazing.
I have settled in really well actually. The room situation has really been the only bad part of this month. The internet was also giving me problems which is why there haven't been any updates but I should have that sorted out now as well so hopefully I can get another update in before the next month is over.
I need to do a whole post about some things that people really need to know before coming to China because there were quite a few steps to the process that caught me off guard. That should be posted sometime today unless I get totally side tracked.
I'll try to post some pictures as well!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Off to China!
I leave for the airport in just 5 hours! I'm so close to being ready. I had my checked bag done hours ago but the carry on is being a pain because I have to wait for things to finish charging and things like that. Right now I'm just waiting for my netbook to finish it's updates and then I'm ready to pack everything. I hope it all fits! There is a lot that is going in that bag so fingers crossed! I am taking an extra duffel to the airport just incase something goes wrong and I end up being overweight and have to end up taking two bags.
Saying lots of goodbyes today. My 16 year old dog and cat was the worst. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Spending the next few hours with my Fiance and my guinea pig.
Also I did end up making a vlog, at the moment it's got more content then this blog regarding vaccines, my personal advise on packing and so on. I'll post a link here.
https://www.youtube.com/user/MikaylaInChina
Next time I make a post it will be from China!
Until then!
Saying lots of goodbyes today. My 16 year old dog and cat was the worst. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Spending the next few hours with my Fiance and my guinea pig.
Also I did end up making a vlog, at the moment it's got more content then this blog regarding vaccines, my personal advise on packing and so on. I'll post a link here.
https://www.youtube.com/user/MikaylaInChina
Next time I make a post it will be from China!
Until then!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
9 days!
Including today there are just 9 days left until I leave! That is crazy to me. I went out with my mom a few days ago and did a bunch of shopping. There are only a few more things to be sorted out. Part of what I want to get done before I go is some posts (maybe videos) about what I'm doing to get ready. I know that I have spent the last 3 or 4 months reading and watching everything I could find about study abroad and about Beijing. There are a few things that I haven't seen other videos or blogs cover so on the off chance that a future study abroad student stumbles upon this blog I'll be making some posts about those things.
Hopefully that will get done today! Now that I have just 2 or 3 little things left to get I'm going to start packing and making sure I don't need to eliminate anything from my list and that I didn't forget anything I needed. Still not sure how I am going to check the weight of my bag but maybe I'll just borrow a scale from someone.
Studying is way behind where I wanted to be so I'm spending a lot of time trying to get that done but at this point I'm reminding myself that even when I was in class I didn't remember every single character I ever learned so it's fine if I don't remember all of them now. I'm going to look pretty silly during my placement test since I'll be in too high of a group. They base your test group off of how many characters you said you knew on the application to the school and since I answered based on what I should have learned it's not going to go well. I didn't realize just how much I forgot! Oh well, I can deal with one afternoon of embarrassment and I'm sure I'll end up in the right class at the end of it.
Hopefully that will get done today! Now that I have just 2 or 3 little things left to get I'm going to start packing and making sure I don't need to eliminate anything from my list and that I didn't forget anything I needed. Still not sure how I am going to check the weight of my bag but maybe I'll just borrow a scale from someone.
Studying is way behind where I wanted to be so I'm spending a lot of time trying to get that done but at this point I'm reminding myself that even when I was in class I didn't remember every single character I ever learned so it's fine if I don't remember all of them now. I'm going to look pretty silly during my placement test since I'll be in too high of a group. They base your test group off of how many characters you said you knew on the application to the school and since I answered based on what I should have learned it's not going to go well. I didn't realize just how much I forgot! Oh well, I can deal with one afternoon of embarrassment and I'm sure I'll end up in the right class at the end of it.
Monday, August 19, 2013
16 days!
So not counting today (because it's pretty much over) or the day I leave (because I leave at 8 in the morning so it doesn't count) I go to China in just 16 days! That sounds like a really long time and a really short time all at once. I can't quite decide how I feel about this number.
I have pretty much finished all the things that had to be started by a certain date, ordered my glasses, sent off my passport for my visa and so on. The only other thing I still have to look into is maybe getting some shots but I just got all of them done 2 years ago so I know I don't need at least one of them. I think most of those things are good for at least 5 years. But it's best to be safe so I'm going tomorrow to ask about it.
My passport should be done on the 22nd. It was a very stressful process. We kept getting different information and were finally told "Well just send it in and we will see what they say at the embassy." I do not have time for resubmit so I'm glad that it has gone through. I figure if it was going to be rejected I would have heard something by now. It is unfortunate that you have to apply for a student visa no more than 30 days before you leave. It's good for 3 months after you arrive but if you get it more than 30 days before you go it expires. I could have dealt with this months ago but it's such a short amount of time you really can't afford for something to go wrong.
To be honest this week has been really hard. I lost a much loved pet and a very close family friend within 24 hours of each other. It was devastating and I feel bad for thinking it because obviously I would much rather have my pet and friend live long lives but I am glad that this happened before I left. It would have been so hard to deal with this during my first few days abroad. I know there is a good chance that I will have to deal with a loss while I am abroad but hopefully not this much in such a short amount of time.
My crappy week aside I'm super excited! I'm starting to work on packing. I just have a few more things to get. I still need some clothes, most of the things I own are way too thick to be worn in places with high humidity. But that's about it. It's all down to the fine details now.
I have pretty much finished all the things that had to be started by a certain date, ordered my glasses, sent off my passport for my visa and so on. The only other thing I still have to look into is maybe getting some shots but I just got all of them done 2 years ago so I know I don't need at least one of them. I think most of those things are good for at least 5 years. But it's best to be safe so I'm going tomorrow to ask about it.
My passport should be done on the 22nd. It was a very stressful process. We kept getting different information and were finally told "Well just send it in and we will see what they say at the embassy." I do not have time for resubmit so I'm glad that it has gone through. I figure if it was going to be rejected I would have heard something by now. It is unfortunate that you have to apply for a student visa no more than 30 days before you leave. It's good for 3 months after you arrive but if you get it more than 30 days before you go it expires. I could have dealt with this months ago but it's such a short amount of time you really can't afford for something to go wrong.
To be honest this week has been really hard. I lost a much loved pet and a very close family friend within 24 hours of each other. It was devastating and I feel bad for thinking it because obviously I would much rather have my pet and friend live long lives but I am glad that this happened before I left. It would have been so hard to deal with this during my first few days abroad. I know there is a good chance that I will have to deal with a loss while I am abroad but hopefully not this much in such a short amount of time.
My crappy week aside I'm super excited! I'm starting to work on packing. I just have a few more things to get. I still need some clothes, most of the things I own are way too thick to be worn in places with high humidity. But that's about it. It's all down to the fine details now.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Countdown 40 days!
In just 40 days I will be leaving the us for 10 months. That is just crazy to me but honestly it has yet to sink in. I know it's happening, I'm having a huge headache dealing with a few things needed to get ready but I don't think the reality of it all is going to hit me until I'm actually leaving. I think sitting in DIA (Denver International) I'm going to be so tempted to chicken out and just run back home (yes I'm a whimp XD) But once I get to San Fransisco I won't have that option. I am actually kind of glad that I only have a 2 hour layover because it won't give me time to sit and freak out like I did when I went to Japan (I was 16 and called my mom about 20 times during a 5 hour layover).
For someone who has traveled so much I am surprisingly nervous. I arrive in China on the 6th and take my placement exam on the 9th so arriving a day late would actually be really annoying to me. Not to mention I really don't want to have to stay in the airport for an entire day.
For now though I am working on getting everything together. I can get my visa soon and I am almost done collecting everything I need. I'm going to do a few trial packs and see if I'm overweight, I can only have 1 50lb bag, and see about adding anything or leaving anything behind.
And studying. Lots, and lots of studying...
For someone who has traveled so much I am surprisingly nervous. I arrive in China on the 6th and take my placement exam on the 9th so arriving a day late would actually be really annoying to me. Not to mention I really don't want to have to stay in the airport for an entire day.
For now though I am working on getting everything together. I can get my visa soon and I am almost done collecting everything I need. I'm going to do a few trial packs and see if I'm overweight, I can only have 1 50lb bag, and see about adding anything or leaving anything behind.
And studying. Lots, and lots of studying...
Welcome to My Blog!
Hello internet! Welcome to my blog!
In just over a month I will be heading off to Beijing China to spend 10 months studying abroad. I am going through a program called China Study Abroad (CSA) and will be attending Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). I will be staying in the dorms with another student from the program, that should be interesting if nothing else!
If I can get over my shyness there will also be videos to accompany many of these posts. I will be sure to link them.
For now I'm getting ready to go, buying all the things I need, working on my visa (Such a pain!!!) and studying like crazy! It's been over a year since I was last in a Chinese class and I've forgotten a lot! So I had better get back to it.
More exciting posts to come soon!
In just over a month I will be heading off to Beijing China to spend 10 months studying abroad. I am going through a program called China Study Abroad (CSA) and will be attending Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). I will be staying in the dorms with another student from the program, that should be interesting if nothing else!
If I can get over my shyness there will also be videos to accompany many of these posts. I will be sure to link them.
For now I'm getting ready to go, buying all the things I need, working on my visa (Such a pain!!!) and studying like crazy! It's been over a year since I was last in a Chinese class and I've forgotten a lot! So I had better get back to it.
More exciting posts to come soon!
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