I've been here in Beijing for almost two weeks now.

I haven't been getting that home sickness thing really since I'm with my Pinoy team.

Some basic facts I learned here:
- when walking the streeets of Beijing, you have to be wary of the ground your walking on because the natives spit on the streets like there's no tomorrow. (Ewww)
- when shopping, if the tag says 40% then that would mean you will only pay 40% of the original price. (so unlike the sales in Manila)
- when riding the bus, you have to be careful in identifying where the entrance and exit is if you don't want the conductor to shout some Chinese what-have-you's once you've entered the bus.
- if you're on board the bus and you know you're stop is just around the corner, make sure you stand near the exit because if you so only miss a beat and lag behind the crowd then expect the bus driver to close the doors even before you can say 'Para!'
- bargaining in tiangges and flea markets here is considered an art. One shouldn't feel guilty when haggling a 200RMB-worth sweater for 90RMB coz these guys wouldn't sell you an item if they're really not gonna benefit from the sale. I've never enjoyed shopping this much!!!
- renting an apartment here wouldn't cost you an arm and a leg compared to renting condos in Manila. It's cheap and fully furnished! With the population in Beijing..it's no wonder they never resorted to building bungalows. It was smart of them to put up dozens of apartments and leave the bungalows to the outskirts and provinces.

So you can tell I'm pretty much enjoying my stay here. I'm just having a hard time reminding myself that I'm not a tourist but an OFW here...coz geez..everything's so cheap here!

*pics to follow..

Surreal

2 days and 3 nights..

So far, I've yet to adjust to the fact that I'm already in Beijing. I've to learn how to work the chopsticks (but I always bring a fork =P) and to learn basic Chinese to survive the daily what-have-you's like commuting and shopping!

The friggin' cold makes my sniffles appear and disappear depending on whether I'm inside a building or out in the streets...
I've bought a pair of knee-high boots because my stilletos I brought with me is making my feet ache like hell. We hafta do a lot of walking as there are designated bus stops here. It's crazy how we have to wait for a number 702 or 653 bus and somehow miss the stop because we were a couple of seconds late in approaching the bus exit. It's crazy here!
I also bought a down-jacket so I can brave the streets without my teeth chattering and without me having to wear layers and layers of clothes that makes me look like I'm twice my weight. *Can't imagine what it would be like when it's already snowing. We'd all look like penguins waiting for the bus.

The apartment we're able to find is cool becuase it has everything. My room even has a computer with dial-up access..and I even have a terrace where I can smoke and lounge. **Double star

The thing we have to get familiar with since we're not tourists but OFWs is to not convert everything in Peso. Everything here is cheap..the appliances, the phones, the food (o yes, the food!!) and I can't wait for my reimbursement and my first pay check to buy stuff.

The thing I miss eating is rice. We ate at this restaurant and the rice took so long for them to serve that we ended up eating everything without it! Arghh..I hafta get used to this!