Goodbye Scotland, Hello China
Nĭ hăo
On 2nd September, we boarded our flight to Beijing and prepared to study in Tianjin for 10 months. The weeks spent before our departure were hectic as there were loads of things that had to be done such as getting our visas and sorting out bank accounts. My biggest struggle was trying to fit a 10 month stay into one suitcase but I eventually managed it. On my way to the airport, I felt scared of living on the other side of the world away from my family but also excited to start my journey in China. It was hard saying goodbye to everyone but I knew that I could contact them every day to let them know the adventures I’ve been on and how well my Mandarin had improved.
The journey to Beijing was long and exhausting. An hour and a half flight from Edinburgh to London and a 10 hour flight from London to Beijing. Once we arrived we collected our luggage and prepared for another journey from Beijing to Tianjin. I knew that the weather was different from back in Scotland but I was surprised by how warm it was as it was 30 degrees when we stepped out of the airport. We finally made it to our accommodation and began to unpack our suitcases. During our first week, we spent time getting to know our surroundings and trying new foods such as dumplings, duck and hotpot.
On our second week, we decided to take a trip to Italian Street for Amy’s Birthday. We all split up to explore the mini stalls and to get some food. I ordered a burger and chips as that day I was beginning to miss the food back home.
We started our classes on the third week and looking back I feel like my Chinese has improved. I’m in the F class which is for beginners of Mandarin which has 4 separate classes. We start at 8:30 every morning during the week and finish at 12 except from a Monday in which we finish at quarter past 3. At the beginning it was difficult to pronounce the tones of different words and also write the characters but now I feel like I’m understanding it a lot more. I’m glad that my Chinese is improving as I’m able to understand a few basic characters and can pronounce words very easily now.
It is now my fourth week in Tianjin and It’s finally hit me that I’ll be living here for another 9 months. The amount of things that have happened in a short period of time is mind blowing and I cannot wait to update everyone on the next step of my journey. Next week, we have a holiday were we have a week off and a lot of us will be travelling to different places in China. I can’t wait to show you pictures of my trip on the next blog.
Zai jian
Jody x