This is an email that I sent out to my family when I was in Beijing for the PwC Cup Qualifiers, an event my team put together:
Hello from Beijing! Yup, that's where I'm at. I'm helping out with an event here. Or something. HR says I can't help until I activate my visa because if I get hurt the firm can't pay for my medical bills because I'm not legal. Whatever. My boss Michelle says that I can do things that are "safe," "not dangerous," or "not life threatening". I just keep doing whatever I can. Yesterday we didn't know I wasn't allowed to do stuff so I counted a whole bunch of things. Today things have been slow because copies haven't been done. But wait, let me get there
Yesterday: the flight was good. I watched Dan in Real Life. Good movie, I really enjoyed it. My headphones were obnoxious; they only worked in one ear. I thought about switching, but I wasn't up for talking to anyone. The breakfast that they served was Sausage and egg with hash brown cubes. The sausage was white and definitely questionable- I didn't eat it. But I ate all the potatoes and some of the egg. Something about the egg just did not taste that yummy. We arrived and had a car driver waiting for us at the airport. That was fun. Oh, and before the flight we got to hang out in this lounge area with free food and nice chairs and couches. That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed that. The perks of flying for business.
The drive to the hotel, after the flight, was quiet and uneventful.
The hotel is nice, it's the trader's hotel for the first two nights and the Shangri La for the last night (dad will appreciate those details). After dropping off our stuff we got Lunch at Starbucks on the way up to the office. The conference room we are in has an amazing view. Two of the walls are windows. Don't worry; I have taken lots of pictures. I can't wait for everyone to come in December and see Beijing. So far I LOVE it. But more about that later
We came up to the office and I counted out things for the event.
(Everything is highly confidential due to it being a competition so I probably shouldn't go into more detail) we were here until right before 8 and then we went to a supermarket really quickly. I was feeling terribly, really sick to my stomach and just wanted to go home. I picked up some crackers and water, figuring that this would be okay for my stomach and wouldn't make me sicker. Plus I was thinking of skipping out on dinner because I didn't feel well.
I did end up skipping out on dinner because I felt so terribly. I stayed in my room and read a little in my book. But then I turned on the TV and Back to the Future II or III was on. It's the one where they are back in the late 1800s early 1900s, you know, the one with the train and doc falls for the teacher? Anyway, I watched the rest of that and went to bed at 10p.
I woke up at 5, boo. I finally got out of bed a little after six. I showered and got ready and was utterly board after sitting on my bed, so at 6:45 I decided to go out touring. So I did. I went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Or at least that was the plan. Nothing was open yet, however, so I just walked around. It was a great adventure and I did it all on my own.
Then we came to the office around 9 and we have had really nothing to do all day because the copies aren't done. But once they're done we'll be busy.
I really like Beijing. It's HUGE! But it's not overwhelming like Hong Kong is. Hong Kong is super crowded and the buildings are so close together. You can't see the sky, you can't breath, and you can't walk any where without running into someone. Here the city is laid out on a bigger area and it's not so over bearing. There are not a lot of people walking on the streets. Or at least it doesn't appear like that because the roads are so huge! 7 lanes ONE WAY. Craziness. Walking around the sites this morning was amazing. I walked through the most beautiful garden and loved it. It was kind of cold, which was nice.
Also, it is dry here and that is a nice change for my hair. You can actually see my curls here. Haha.
Well, I'm going to go now. Maybe I'll actually do something today other than draw and listen to my iPod and take naps.
One can hope.
I love you all and can't wait for you to come and see. I think tomorrow I might venture up to Olympic Park. We'll see though. Maybe I'll save that for later. I don't know how much the taxi would be.
Oh, one other thing. I love how they drive on the right hand side of the street. I don't get turned around at all like I do in HK because I'm going on a different side. That may not make sense, but believe me, it is definitely something to wrap your mind around when you first get here.
Yesterday: the flight was good. I watched Dan in Real Life. Good movie, I really enjoyed it. My headphones were obnoxious; they only worked in one ear. I thought about switching, but I wasn't up for talking to anyone. The breakfast that they served was Sausage and egg with hash brown cubes. The sausage was white and definitely questionable- I didn't eat it. But I ate all the potatoes and some of the egg. Something about the egg just did not taste that yummy. We arrived and had a car driver waiting for us at the airport. That was fun. Oh, and before the flight we got to hang out in this lounge area with free food and nice chairs and couches. That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed that. The perks of flying for business.
The drive to the hotel, after the flight, was quiet and uneventful.
The hotel is nice, it's the trader's hotel for the first two nights and the Shangri La for the last night (dad will appreciate those details). After dropping off our stuff we got Lunch at Starbucks on the way up to the office. The conference room we are in has an amazing view. Two of the walls are windows. Don't worry; I have taken lots of pictures. I can't wait for everyone to come in December and see Beijing. So far I LOVE it. But more about that later
We came up to the office and I counted out things for the event.
(Everything is highly confidential due to it being a competition so I probably shouldn't go into more detail) we were here until right before 8 and then we went to a supermarket really quickly. I was feeling terribly, really sick to my stomach and just wanted to go home. I picked up some crackers and water, figuring that this would be okay for my stomach and wouldn't make me sicker. Plus I was thinking of skipping out on dinner because I didn't feel well.
I did end up skipping out on dinner because I felt so terribly. I stayed in my room and read a little in my book. But then I turned on the TV and Back to the Future II or III was on. It's the one where they are back in the late 1800s early 1900s, you know, the one with the train and doc falls for the teacher? Anyway, I watched the rest of that and went to bed at 10p.
I woke up at 5, boo. I finally got out of bed a little after six. I showered and got ready and was utterly board after sitting on my bed, so at 6:45 I decided to go out touring. So I did. I went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Or at least that was the plan. Nothing was open yet, however, so I just walked around. It was a great adventure and I did it all on my own.
Then we came to the office around 9 and we have had really nothing to do all day because the copies aren't done. But once they're done we'll be busy.
I really like Beijing. It's HUGE! But it's not overwhelming like Hong Kong is. Hong Kong is super crowded and the buildings are so close together. You can't see the sky, you can't breath, and you can't walk any where without running into someone. Here the city is laid out on a bigger area and it's not so over bearing. There are not a lot of people walking on the streets. Or at least it doesn't appear like that because the roads are so huge! 7 lanes ONE WAY. Craziness. Walking around the sites this morning was amazing. I walked through the most beautiful garden and loved it. It was kind of cold, which was nice.
Also, it is dry here and that is a nice change for my hair. You can actually see my curls here. Haha.
Well, I'm going to go now. Maybe I'll actually do something today other than draw and listen to my iPod and take naps.
One can hope.
I love you all and can't wait for you to come and see. I think tomorrow I might venture up to Olympic Park. We'll see though. Maybe I'll save that for later. I don't know how much the taxi would be.
Oh, one other thing. I love how they drive on the right hand side of the street. I don't get turned around at all like I do in HK because I'm going on a different side. That may not make sense, but believe me, it is definitely something to wrap your mind around when you first get here.
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