Visual assumptions. According to Gambians, I’m Chinese. According to the Chinese, I’m Chinese. It’s interesting because they look at me in guffaw when I’m not answering/ understanding them in Mandarin. I’ve gotten by. I have things written down to hand over to taxi drivers when I need to go somewhere. I shop at the super market where I just have to look at the cash register to figure out the price. The only thing is trying to figure out what the product is. Some items have English written on the label, but most don’t. So spices and sauces, I’m screwed. But if I shop in the more expensive, expat stores, there are labels written in both languages. Things are great so far. I have a beautiful apartment in the Chaoyang District. It is a fully furnished 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, on the 22nd floor, with large windows with great views. Kinda like So Cal, on a good day you can see the mountains clearly. The only problem I have is trying to figure out the hot water system. Yes, I’ve reverted back to bucket bathing. People say that I have to leave the water running for a good few minutes. But that’s not working and I feel guilty for wasting so much water, especially since China is in a drought. I do not yet have internet access at home, will get that organized soon. So get your skype accounts ready!

Since I’ve landed (besides trying to adjust to the time difference, +15 hours, Pacific Standard Time). I’ve been enjoying the sight seeing. On Saturday, a colleague took me around my neighborhood and showed me the local market, the supermarket. This is a swiping culture. You need a swipe card to do everything.. getting into my apartment complex, bus ride. Sunday, I went to this shopping area called Sanlitun. Huge shopping area. It has the Mac store, North Face, Columbia, any store you an think of. And then enxt door to this is Yashow. This is where all the knock-offs are. It’s great! I didn’t buy anything, but you can find everything here for under $20!!! Bargain paradise!

This is my first week of work/ orientation. The school’s campus  is beautiful. Dark wood furniture, all the school supplies you need. It broke my heart. There were a couple of times when I got really teary eyed just by observing the classroom. I know that a classroom like this will probably not exist in the interior of China and will not exist in the provinces of The Gambia. There is so much disparity in the world. How do we reduce the chasm? Or do we need this chasm so that us fortunate people can be happy?

So I walked to school today. It took me about 1.5 hours from my apartment. A cab ride will take about 15 minutes. The location of the school is in the CBD (Central Business District) right where all the embassies are. There is a mall in the building next door! High end stuff.

All is well in Beijing. I will try to sight see this weekend.

XOXO,

Sov.

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