various things

 Man chopping fresh noodles from a block of noodle dough.  

 My next door neighbor / fellow PiA-er, Lily, eating said noodles.  

 Me sneaking a candid shot in my Chinese class.  Back to the ol' 中文.  CFAU offers 4 Chinese classes everyday Mon-Fri (from 8:00-11:40 AM) which I can audit for a small fee.  I really like this convenient way to 'turn on' my Chinese in the morning and usually dip in on 1 or 2 classes.  Added cool points for the diversity in the class room: my classmates are from Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Italy, Botswana, Egypt, Tanzania, plus 1 other American.

Colorful kindergarten behind my dorm (not connected to CFAU lol)

  

 I got a 'blind massage' (a lot of blind people in Asia give massages professionally) for 13USD/hour!       

A Beautiful Mosque in Beijing

 The Islam in China totally surprises me!  Apparently it came over from Persia 1,300 years ago.  Last week I visited a mosque about 40 minutes from CFAU.  It was built in the Yuan Dynasty in the 1300's.  The mosque was stunning and the mood was very tranquil.  My favorite adventure so far in Beijing!

 A Chinese-style minaret      

 The mosque was busy with visitors for noontime Al-Salat/prayer.  

.  I have no idea about this script.  My assumption would be Arabic, but it looks more like Mongolian or Manchu? 

There were government officials milling about in the front (pictured on right).  They monitor for "proselytizing" which is illegal. 

Cute little boy on the bus.  He called me a-yi which means auntie :D 

Today's Air Quality Index

The Air Quality Index measures how much smog, dust particles, toxic stuff, etc is in your air.  Check out today's reading in your city!   

Atlanta GA             54

Elk Grove CA        49

Princeton NJ          40

Miami FL               21

Charlotte NC          21

  Beijing China           332

Woo-wee, check out that triple digit number next to my home sweet *cough* home!  My eyes are red and itchy and I have a headache.  On the bright side,  the AQI varies wildly from day to day.  It's going to rain later in the week, which should bring the number down significantly (as low as the 30s).  Until then I'll be wearing classes instead of contacts, drinking lots of water, and staying indoors!  

My image darkened by the hazardous Beijing air!

One of my adult students emailed me the above video.  Lots of Beijing ren (can't speak for all of China) really enjoy Yanni.  This is the first time I've ever (consciously) listened to his music.  I kinda dig it...it's soothing.  

Student emails also introduced me to some new emoticons (Can I even call these emoticons?  They're more like....electronic folk art?)

O(∩_∩)O                                       

\(^o^)/                                 

 ~~~~(>_<)~~~~   

You can take the girl out of Nan Ao...

A year out in the jungle of Nan Ao gave me a lasting appreciation for the beauty and peace found in nature.  Yu Yuan Tan/Jade Lake Park is only 10 minutes biking from the CFAU campus.    

Even Beijing, City of Worst Air Quality on the Planet, preserves some space for trees, flowers, and lakes.  

 I found a grassy plot to lay down and do some reading.  Yep, my addiction to electricity knows no bounds. 

This couple takes a more aggressive approach to the park.  Two hiking sticks each!  

Teaching Schedule

Monday

Tuesday              8:00-9:40 AM     Oral English

                          1:10-2:50 PM     Oral English 

                          6:00-8:35 PM     American Literature  

Wednesday         6:00-8:35 PM     American Literature

Thursday

Friday                  7:00-9:00 PM      Tutoring 

Saturday             10:00-11:40 AM   American Literature 

Sunday 

I traded my Economics classes for Literature classes and welcoming the change.  I teach 2 night classes and 1 weekend class so my schedule is a bit unorthodox.  But I don't mind at all.  I still have 3 days off!   

View from My Balcony

Four floors up, across from the Main Building where classes are held.
Strangely enough, I also lived on the 4th floor at the Teacher's dorm
in Nan Ao and in my freshman dorm at UGA.

I bike Beijing

Beijing loves bikes!  Like seriously loves bikes.  It seems like just about everyone has one-- young, old, rich, poor, etc.  It's pretty necessary given the hellacious traffic in this city.     

And check out the bike lanes!  Spacious avenues protected by medians.  Mao pushed the bike as the "people's vehicle" and city planning clearly reflects government endorsement (although making left turns is a major pain).  You guys probably know I kind of need a bike where ever I go so I'm ecstatic to see so many cyclists on the road.  

My new ride!  Typical cheap China-made plastic.  But it's been getting me around just fine and as a fellow customer said when I was making the purchase, "Better to go cheap.  They get stolen sometimes."    

My new home: China Foreign Affairs University

Ah, CFAU, my new home.  The school has less than 2,000 students so the campus is quite small--a gated square on a city block.  It has one building for classes, some apartment and dorm buildings, and a few canteens.  

 Lots of faculty, past and present, live on campus.  Families often at play :-)

The campus has lots of trees, ivy covered buildings, and this pretty little garden.  

 Old Beijing men love bird-keeping!

Strange mushroom that distracted me.

Temple of Consumer Heaven

During my year in Taiwan, getting a "basic" item (anything that can be found at Walmart) often turned into a journey involving maps, interviewing multiple locals and Google translate.  With this in mind, I devoted today to hunting down some stuff for my dorm.  

Turns out about 15 minutes walking from CFAU is one of Beijing's many multi-storied, packed to the brim, indoor shopping centers.  Ai-yao!   

In addition to the yoga mat...

and French press I never thought I would find...

It also had... 

everything...

else...

you could possibly...

want.

Plus 1, Beijing!

Fellow PiA-ers, Lily, Daniel and David, scoping out the goods :)