Strategic Change

Those people who have checked my blog recently have probably realized that I haven't been updating it regularly. Sorry for that! There's actually a lot I would like to share - my discoveries in Beijing, my travels and the good time I'm experiencing in China. But somehow time doesn't allow to write long posts, upload pictures and have an updated blog. Moreover I'm not sure how many people actually know about my blog and check it...

Because of all these reasons I've decided to change my strategy. From now on please refer to my facebook profile for status updates, pictures and notes. This is not only more convenient for you guys as you have only to log on to one page and are checking facebook anyway, but that way I can also reach more people that might be interested in what I'm doing here in China...

So see you on facebook! :-)

It has been a while...

Sorry guys for not updating my blog for so long. Actually I wrote some more posts, but somehow they were not published...strange! Oh well, over here everything has been going fine...I went to class for three months, went travelling (Zhengzhou, Inner-Mongolia and Xi'an) and also explored Beijing by day and night. It's an awesome place to be right now, everything is changing so fast, but still it's an exciting blend of traditions and the modern world. I enjoy my stay to the fullest and it's great to live here - uni is very interesting, my teachers are great and I also made some good friends. And also the future looks very promising. My summer course starts soon and after that I might travel to Seoul (South Korea) to visit some friends and then already my fall semester begins. And of course the Olympic Games take place soon. Good stuff coming up!

In case you want to see how my life currently looks like, please check facebook for pictures. And I will try to update my blog regularly in the future.

I'm in Beijing!

A couple of hours ago I arrived in Beijing! The last couple of days were very tough - lots to prepare for my adventure and many emotional goodbyes. I'm glad that I'm finally here, although I still have mixed feelings. On one side I'm looking forward to go to uni, to move in my apartment, to go to the city centre and so on, but on the other side I miss my family and friends, I'm worried about the pollution and the quality of the air, and if I get along at all. But I hope these doubts are gone within the next couple of days. I'll keep you updated about how my "get-used-to-Beijing-transformation" proceeds!

Change

Not only in the presidential nomination campaign in the US "change" is the dominating word, it's also the word that describes best the situation I'm in. A lot is changing these days. Some days ago my term as local committee president of AIESEC in Bern finished, some weeks ago I received my final university results and now have the Bachlor degree in Law, and very soon (on March 22nd) I'm leaving to Beijing where I will study Chinese at BLCU.

On one hand change is a good thing, it gives you the opportunity to start something new, to grow both personally and professionally, to discover a new culture for instance, but on the other hand it also means to leave your past behind, to say goodbye to your friends and family and to leave the cosiness and security of your daily life.
I'm very much looking forward to improve my Chinese, to dig deeper into a different culture, to be surprised and challenged every day and to simply have the time of my life. But I'm also worried that I have wrong expectations and that things don't turn out as I want. That's always the risk when you're going abroad for a longer time. That's difficult especially for me - a person who likes to plan and therefore to minimize risks.

But I believe you can only grow if you're challenged, if you leave your comfort zone and try out new things. And that's exactly what I will be doing in the coming months. And I know that once I'm there I will love it and forget all the worries I have now. So far that has always been the case...we'll see how it turns out this time. The level of excitement is rising...

Good times in Gstaad

Last weekend my EB and I went to Gstaad to celebrate our term, to look back, to have fun and to be together a last time before our term ends. It was HILARIOUS! We went snowboarding, ate delicious food, drank good wine and spend hours with talking, being random, laughing...here some impressions...

Good times in Japan

Here are four pictures that stand for the good times I had in Japan...Being funny before going to the Onsen (japanese hot spring) in Hakone

Warming up with a cup of hot sake between visiting temples in Kamakura
Lunch at Hitotsubashi University...good food, sunny weather, great laughs...

Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo: Sushi breakfast at 7 am...yet everyone is smiling!

Sugoi

Sugoi - great in Japanese - is the right word to describe the time I spent in Japan. Every day I visited interesting places and also learned a lot about the country. Here are some surprising, interesting and funny things I noticed during my stay in Japan:

- Japanese love coffee and sweets, so on every block you find at least one café or sweets shop...or maybe it's only because of the long working hours (for some jobs 16h)
- Taking the shinkansen train is a true experience. Not only it's very fast (300 km/h), but you can also watch the train crew bow towards the passengers when they are leaving the car after checking the tickets
- Valentine's Day is BIG in Japan, but unlike over here, there only women give chocolates to men (including their collegueas at work). But don't worry, men also have to be generous and give something back. This day is called White Day (14th March - one month later) where men have to give a gift to the women who gave them some chocolate. The mean thing is that the present is supposed to be more valuable than the chocolate ;-(
- Japanese sanitary installations are amazing: Not only they have the most advanced toilets I've ever seen (the seats are heated and the toilet is equipped with different water sprays), but the showers are even better (you can adjust the exact water temperature, switch on a heater fan (respectively a cooler fan) and after you're done you can let everything dry in the "dry mode"). And then they have the best hand dryer in public toilets ever - for once your hands actually get dry!
- Literally every 10 meters you find a vending machine with relatively cheap hot and cold drinks on offer, so you're never thirsty

Tokyo

Tokyo is an incredible city - it offers everything you could ever ask for, it's extremely safe and clean, has the best public transport system I've ever seen and is full of surprises. You find skyscrapers, but also village-like areas like Daikanyama, you find entertainment districts like Shinjuku with its neon-lit streets, but also numerous shrines and temples, you can explore the world's biggest fish and vegetable market, but also shop till you drop in one of the huge department stores or shopping streets.