I arrived in Beijing yesterday afternoon, and it's now 6 am and I am uncharacteristically awake, thanks to all this time-changing business. Beijing is huge and overwhelming, but I'm excited to start exploring it. I did a little exploring yesterday, with a trip to Wu Mart, a grocery store a few blocks away to buy the essentials -- water and toilet paper -- which was pretty amusing. Grocery stores are always one of my favorite things to see in foreign countries since they are a window into people's daily lives. This one was set up almost like a bunch of separate stalls at a market, with people sitting in little booths to sell electronics and watches, in addition to all of the things you would expect a grocery store to have.
I wasn't sure exactly what to expect about the pollution, but the air here seems pretty clear and breathable. It is, however, a little disconcerting to be able to stare directly at the sun, which looks like this at 7 in the evening, a couple of hours before sunset.
The program doesn't waste any time getting started; my placement test is at 8 this morning. I don't have too much to worry about, even if I have forgotten a lot of characters, since I'm only going to be doing second year no matter what.
Well, that's it for now. I'm sure there will be much more later!
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