First Week in Beijing!

   After a 13 and a half hour flight, my fellow study-abroader (Hannah) and I arrived in Beijing. We had our first taste of Beijing traffic, as the short drive took ages (not sure how long- I was a biiiit tired). We also had our first encounter with the crazy motor bikes and the ridiculous amount of stuff/people that the locals can fit on one tiny vespa. 

   We finally arrived at our hotel level dorm. My room includes a large living space with a table and TV and amazing room. 

The only downside is that the bed is about as comfortable as wood. I have since bought TWO mattress toppers, so I can sleep a bit more easily with my bad back. The fact that they sell mattress toppers at every campus convenience stores means that they must anticipate the weak foreigners and our need for soft beds (admittedly, I think I'm to only one who bought two, so I must be the weakest of the weak).

We went out to dinner as a group that night, where I discovered how cheap the food it here. We ordered a meal for 15 people for, i think, 100 RMB (about $15). We probably didn't order quite enough that night, but the cheapness remains. One night, 11 of us went out for dumplings. We had 110 dumplings for 200 RMB (about $30). 

The next day we got a tour of the Renmin University Campus. I still get lost, but I'm learning. One of the directors stopped at an illegal ID vendor to happily tell us how to get fake IDs. He told us they were very good fakes, and great for student discounts. Still not sure, if he was telling us to get them or not....

(Sorry for the cruddy video- maybe I can get a better pic later)

We then got a tour of the UChicago center in Beijing. It is super nice, and we all spend a little too much time there. I really enjoy the free water (I pilfered three bottles today and snuck them out in my backpack) and the free coffee. Coffee is very expensive here. The cafe in our dorm basement sell it for about 30 RMB. While that is only about $5 USD, it is still expensive for here. Especially when you think about the fact that I can get a breakfast for about 1.50 RMB in the cafeterias.