I shall recount my first few days in my next post, but for the moment here is today and yesterday:

Saturday — Chinese New Years Eve

Got up at 4am. People still in the streets of Beijing. Went to airport. Plane delayed by fog. Asked for how long: they replied “20 minutes”. Hah! Waited. Got on plane via bus across tarmac. Uneventful plane trip. Really good airline food (pick the “Chinese”, avoid the “Western” food [that they provide] like the plague. Some foreigners got suckered.) Landed. Very Very Foggy. Collected Luggage. Met GAP people, and link teachers. One of the GAP managers for Jiangsu was really cute. Met Huang Yao (William) for the first time in person. Car journey. Napped. Stopped for a really good lunch. Continued journey. Napped. Arrived in Sheyang. Got shown apartment. Only bedroom is heated. Still it’s all good. Unpacked. Went out to dinner with the principal of the school. Really really good food (again)! Learnt how to determine the head of the table on a round table and sundry seating arrangements in a formal situation (look for the special napkin, the door, and eggs). Came home. Lots of crackers and fireworks. Watched the celebrations on TV. Rather amusing. Very tired. Slept.

Sunday — Chinese New Year!

I got up at 8am today. Still lots of crackers. We walked with Huang Yao to his parents’ place, and had an excellent lunch (must be a universal constant that home cooking is pretty good). Had quite a few toasts (”ganbei!”). I like the rice wine and the beer here. Met Jerry Yang, a former student Huang Yao and now Joe and my school. He showed us around. The atmosphere here is very lively and friendly. The built environment is more dense compared to Melbourne, and there were plenty of people around. Had a great dinner. Then we (Jerry, Joe and I) went to Karaoke. I wasn’t expecting it, but it was good fun!

So for now: Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year!)

I arrived in Beijing at about 7am this morning. It was cold, but definitely bearable. The airport wasn’t bad (we arrived in the 2nd extension as the 3rd is not completed yet), and there was surprisingly little red tape (compared to Australia).

The city is huge! The traffic is pretty much chaos in motion. The only method of crossing the road is J-walking. And somehow it works. :-o

Zaijian!

Just arrived in Changi Airport, Singapore. It’s quite humid — even inside. Thank goodness I don’t have to go outside! :-P

The airport is huge! Think multiple terminals and multiple levels. There are trains between them. And inside each terminal are horizontal “escalators” which transport lazy (or tired) people like me… :)

Have fun everyone. I shall be in Beijing next!