Out and About in Beijing: Thoughts

Photo by Ronnie Macdonald on Flickr, used via Creative Commons license.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my time in Beijing... rather, the time I've spent in my sister's house in Beijing, rather than out in the city proper. That time far exceeds the time spent in the city, and after talking with a good friend of mine, I realized what a great opportunity I've been missing out on. And I have no one to blame but myself and my anxieties.

What if I get lost?

What if I get pickpocketed?

What if I get mugged?

I'm scared about going out into a strange city by myself!

Total Control over Life= Illusion

All of these are legitimate fears, of course, but if I stay alert and prepared (phone with my sister's number, extra cash, etc), I think I will have done all I can about those fears. I can't control every outcome of my life. Do I want to stay huddled up indoors, scared of my own shadow, and not take a chance on an adventure?

I mean, seriously. Girl from a college town in Texas gets to go to China... not once, but twice. Doesn't learn any Chinese the first time, doesn't try to explore the city, either. The second time is a second chance. Will she bomb that chance, too?

Helpful e-book to the rescue!

So I've been reading this e-book Serena sent me the first time I came over to China. It's called The Beijing Newcomer's Guide, written by an expat who's lived over here for about two years (at the time of the writing of the book, that is). And it's incredibly helpful... it has tips on how to navigate the bus system and how to buy groceries, for instance. There are little anecdotes of the writer's experiences here as a newcomer, herself, and most helpful are the basic Chinese phrases she included.

Along with that information and good ol' common sense, I feel a lot more prepared to go out into the city, now. I'd want to take the bus or the subway, especially because it's a busy time for my family and they're fully utilizing the drivers that they hire due to Beijing's driving laws.

Know Where to Go

Now I'll want to research places I might actually want to go to. I remember learning about an English-language bookstore or library somewhere... that's definitely high on my list. I'll also want to check out events that may be going on in the future, as well. I'll keep you guys updated on what I find out!

Your Turn!

Do you have anything you're nervous about? Do you have any tips on how to forge on through that anxiety to do what you really want to do? Share in the comments.

An Update! Sorry for the Wait

Fireworks! Photo taken by my sister Serena. Please don't use without permission.

Hi, everyone! To be honest, I haven't felt like writing this blog much since I got here. I've been feeling myself slipping a bit back into that depressed rut I was in last time I was here... not as bad, thank goodness, but enough for me to notice. Fortunately, I've got work to do for the nonprofit and my family to hang out with, so that's been keeping me from sinking totally into a state of, "I want to do nothing but blob about today."

I've been feeling like I haven't been doing anything particularly blog-worthy or exciting. But I have to remind myself that I'm in China doing volunteer work with an amazing nonprofit. Living with my family, who I love a lot. What's not exciting about that, really?

Sometimes I guess I take for granted what's right in front of me that I'm so fortunate to have been given.

Some things that I've been up to since I got here:

1. I went to see a short play.
2. I've eaten out at several excellent restaurants. Yum!
3. I've started living with a very sweet cat in my room. She feels safe here and it's better than keeping her in the bathroom all the time, because she hates the other cats and hides from them wherever she can.
4. I saw a spectacular fireworks show during Chinese New Year. My ears were ringing by the end of it. Seriously, some of those fireworks lit up the sky so brightly it could've been daytime.
5. I've been working in my sister's online store, and also I've been organizing photos for Little Flower Projects.
6. I've been watching movies (most recent: The Princess Bride) and playing games (namely Just Dance) with my family.

So I guess I've been up to more than I thought! Funny how I didn't really realize that until I wrote it all down.

I can't promise regular, clockwork-like updates, but I will do my best to post whenever I have something to share... and maybe even sometimes when I don't. So, I guess stay tuned!

It's been a while since I've posted, and also since I've heard from you all. What have you been up to?

Visa Update & Current Favorite Songs

Visa Update

Hi, guys! I'm just letting you know how things are going. My visa application got to the processing place fine (according to the tracking system on the USPS site), so I will hopefully be hearing from them about how long I can stay in China soon. Sooo it's been pretty quiet around here.

I did get some packing done, and sorted through my boxes of stuff that were in the attic. I ended up taking most of it to the thrift store, where hopefully it will be reincarnated to a better life (or something).

Current Favorite Songs

I also thought that, for fun, I'd share with you a few of my favorite songs of the moment!

First up: Ellie Goulding's "Anything Could Happen." I first heard of her through her song "Lights," liked the style, and looked up some of her other music. So far I haven't heard anything beyond those two songs and "Only You," but I have to say I like what I hear. Here are two videos: the music video for "Anything Could Happen" and also a cool freerunning video set to "Lights."

Next is a beautiful song from an anime that I recently finished watching called Hakuouki. The song is "A True Love Tale," from the ending of a special episode made for the series. It's in Japanese, but even if you don't know the meaning behind the words, it gets across to you anyway. I love that about music.

And last but not least, Lindsey Stirling. She's an amazing violinist... it's apparent that she truly enjoys playing music, and I admire that. I particularly love this video and song put together of hers of a time that she spent in Kenya.

Your turn! What is a favorite song of yours, and why? Share in the comments.

Beijing Bound! Pre-Volunteering

Hi, everyone! This is my first post for this blog that will be dedicated to my year doing volunteer work in Beijing, China. I'll be volunteering with the nonprofit Little Flower Projects; they do wonderful work with babies and children, so please check them out.

Really Quick Background:

My sister Serena co-runs the charity with my brother-in-law (aka her husband). I've actually gone to volunteer with them once before, from August '11-May '12 (I'll go into more detail about how that went in a future post). They asked me to come back to help out just this Christmas... no really, literally on Christmas Day, I opened my e-mail to see a message from them. I won't lie, I kind of jumped out of my chair with excitement!

A Week (and a few days) Later...

They've now sent me all the paperwork I need to send in to apply for a visa. I'll be busy today working on sorting out things to pack and other things to get rid of so they're not clogging up my parents' house while I'm away. I might not be able to get to the post office today, so sending that stuff out might have to wait until Monday. Fun fact about me? I hate waiting.

Goals for the Year

Hey, it's the New Year, so I should be setting goals anyway, right? So, here are a couple of goals I'll be setting for myself during my time volunteering.

1. Learn Chinese! I want to be able to carry out a conversation and be able to make it on my own around the city.
2. Visit more places around Beijing. Like restaurants, and events such as plays. Mmm, food and entertainment. I can dig that.

This list may or may not change in the future, who knows?

Stay Tuned...

This was just meant to be a quick introductory post of sorts. I'll be making more posts later on about my previous volunteer experience, preparations for the flight over there, and of course be documenting my time there in general, volunteering and otherwise. I'll be putting up a page soon about what you can expect to see on this blog on a regular basis once I get over there. 

Have you ever volunteered, abroad or otherwise? Where did you volunteer and what was it like? Share in the comments!