Today marked my 1 month anniversary in Beijing, but I didn't do anything celebratory. My brother called to wish me a happy anniversary and asked about what I thought of Beijing so far. I responded with a hasty "it's all right", as if by default, but it wasn't until now, sitting before my PowerBook typing this out, that I really started to think about how I genuinely felt about living in Beijing.
I could say with utmost certainty that time flew by quickly. Following the old adage that "time flies quickly when you're having fun", this would imply that it's been nothing but fun and games for me, but as those who've been reading up on my blogs would know, I've also been working, keeping myself busy seven days a week. I haven't done a lot of sight seeing yet, but I hope to explore my surroundings more thoroughly in due time. Heck, I've been here for a month already and I still haven't even seen T-Square* or the Great Wall!*Not Times Square, but rather the name of a famous tourist destination in Beijing known for the "disturbance" that took place back in nineteen-eighty-nine. Name shortened to work around government censorship of websites using keywords.
Looking back on this past month, I would summerise the first week as the period of settling into a new environment. The second week was a busy combination of finding new students and conducting student/parent interviews while also trying to get my banking situation in order. I would summerise the third and forth week as time spent working diligently, getting more hours booked, and discovering my immediate surroundings by foot.
As with any big changes, people generally go through the following stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. I thank my years of schooling in marketing management for drilling this into my head. Anyway, in my case, I welcomed change with open arms, fully expecting things to be a bit different from the way of life I was used to in Vancouver. I was definitely not in the denial stage. I did, however, find myself getting angry with some of the locals here by their lack of manners which I hold to be of great importance no matter where you are in the world. I do understand that cultures may be different in various parts of the world, but basic manners when interacting with other human beings should be the same. We all have feelings after-all, despite variations of sensitivity.
Aside from my flatmates, my co-workers, my students, and a few others I've met in passing, I have found that the Chinese people in general are rude, uncivilised, uncultured, self-serving, and generally lack the qualities that distinguish humans from savages. I really hate to say this but I had hoped that my first impression of the Chinese would change for the better. Sadly, from the time I witnessed several adults sitting around the table across from mine on my first night in Beijing, picking their noses openly and freely, clearing their sinus and spitting their phlegm onto the streets with the most revolting sound I've ever heard, and doing it REPEATEDLY, I had witnessed countless of other Chinese doing the same thing all over the place. I just want to whack them all on the head with an Emily Post book.
Another thing that struck a nerve with me is their awful driving and complete disregard for pedestrians, cyclists, and rickshaws who share the road with them. While I've grown accustomed to crossing the street and learned that signals are merely street decorations here, I still can't and probably never will accept drivers who pull out of driveways and side roads just ten feet away from me on a bike approaching at full speed. So far, I had to lock my front and rear brakes on two separate occasions at the same intersection, and in both cases, I cursed out loud in English like a person suffering from autism. To say that I was livid would be an understatement. These drivers should consider themselves lucky, for I wasn't carrying a long bamboo stick at the time.
I also hate those pesky rodents dressed up like a sloppy law enforcement officers who go around collecting their two jiaos (less than a Canadian penny) from those who park their bikes on streets. Though I've made many escapes without paying, I have been caught once. Just as I started gaining speed on my bike, a rodent managed to grab hold of my bike and stop me to collect this two jiaos. Don't get me wrong, it's not the petty coins I care so much about. With the kind of money I'm making, I really don't give a shit about two jiaos! In fact, these coins are so worthless to me that I'll be happy to just toss them out of my coin pouch because they jingle and jangle and add unnecessary weight. 
The reason why I resent giving them what they want is because they don't do anything to earn it. But instead of getting angry (the second stage of acceptance), I moved onto the bargaining stage when I make these rodents work for it by pulling my bike out from the sea of other bikes and getting it ready for me to cycle off. Skipping the depression stage all together (the forth stage), I learned to accept this new practice and satisfy both the rodent and myself. I will, however, still try to make a clean getaway if I don't see a rodent snooping around...
On a more uplifting note, I'll end this entry by sharing the results of my tarot reading I took on www.eostarot.com. I think it's bad luck to broadcast exactly what questions I had asked, but be rest assured that it was something to do with my career, my love life, and my future. =) I don't take this thing all that seriously anyway, but it was fun to take and I'll be asking many more questions whenever I feel like it.
Past: LanternYou had a decision of some sort you had to make, and you chose the most adventuresome path. Your quest all worked out for the best, but you needed to turn to someone close to you to seek out advice. You weren't thinking ahead and some of the decisions were made without regard for the consequences. You're still paying the price for your impulsiveness.
Present: TigerThere is little tolerance for self-doubt right now. It's time to boldly take action and go for what you want. You may need to behave selfishly and put your needs above those close to you. It's a good time to try new things, as long as you're not afraid to risk what you already have. You have the courage to do it now, so don't put your plans on hold.
Future: SunFull of joy, you will have success and happiness. Bask in your own achievement and put behind you any sense of chaos. It may seem like you're the centre of attention. Whatever you choose to do, know that you'll be able to succeed.
