finally!!

Finally!! After months of waiting and an 18 hour total plane ride, I found myself in the midst of smog, humidity, mosquitoes (though I heard that China is now on a mosquito killing campaign), and of course, the splendor of Beijing. After a pleasant interaction with a great roommate (she's from Princeton like 80% of the other students) and a good night's sleep, my roommate and I woke up early on in the morning and ventured out to find some breakfast and other necessary supplies. Our first big adventure in China. The whole entire day accumulated to five trips to WuMei (the local supermarket) with other PiB-ers, shopping in some local shops, and one successful and one unsuccessful trip to Chinese restaurants. But I enjoyed myself, being able to put some of my Chinese skills to action, and all-in-all, I think I accomplished many great feats. I bought a new cellphone, struck a conversation with an employee at the market, managed to draw money from the bank, and help my roommate bargain with some of the vendors. Other things I managed to do (negative things this time) are make my feet sore, get dust in my eyes, and fill my lungs with pollution. But overall, I'm still happy, excited, and looking forward to what else Beijing has in store for me. =)