The end of my adventure in China, part I.

The weather is getting a little bit unbearable, for example today, the pollution was so bad, I couldn't even see buildings that were 300m away from my window. Nice to know I'm living on the 11th floor. It's not only the pollution that makes it unpleasant, but also the high temperatures, nowadays we get 35 to 37°C during the day, in combination with the high percentage of humidity you're basically sweaty and sticky the whole day. Taking several showers during the day doesn't really help, from the moment you leave the apartement and feel the hot breeze, you immediately start sweating again. I know, doesn't sound attractive at all. The weather during the months July and August will be like this, somehow I'm kinda relieved that I'm not going to be here. But when the sun is shining, blue skies and white clouds, it's lovely to be outside. Yes, occasionally the weather tends to be like this and I love sitting outside, enjoying the sun. That's what I did last weekend during the day, sitting outside at the park with some friends, or taking powernaps. 

The girls at the BBQ.

The whole group at the BBQ.

Last Friday, we had a barbeque at our friends' place. He moved a couple days ago and got his own apartement, it's nearby our area. It's not only a nice neighborhood, nice apartement, but he has a big terrace. We had our first barbeque here in Beijing. Drinks, friends, food, music, nice weather,... The invited ones were the ones we all knew, we decided to keep it small. The host took care of the meat and guests would bring some more food and/or drinks. Usually when we/they organize some kind of party, loads of people will show up and we don't really know them. That's a fun side of being abroad, you meet people every day. But for this, we just invited friends, people we hang out with every day, getting dinner together, hanging out at one of our apartements, etc. After the barbeque, we headed out to KTV, it was my last one before I leave Beijing. At 6am in the morning we left the room and about one hour later I came home, all exhausted and longing for my bed. 5 hours later I got a call from my favorite English guy, and we met up at the park to chill some. Eventually we ended up with 5 people: sleeping/reading/talking nearby the fontain. Our rugs were placed right next to the fontain and our feet into the 'cool' water. Nast water actually, but hey, it was tons cooler. Pretty surprised it was 38°C that day, and there we were, sitting outside in the sun, trying to get some tan. In the meanwhile the Chinese people were hiding between bushes and trees in the shadow, staring at us. 

The guys at the BBQ.

That same day, Saturday, we were invited to another barbeque at our friends' place, there were tons of leftovers. This time the group was a little bit smaller than the day before, but it was lovely. Eating outside, with a nice view - for as long you can see something with the pollution - and a nice breeze. We ended up at Kokomo that night, trying to watch the game, but I gave up and went home around 3am, got some sleep and ended up in Chaoyang park the next day with 2 friends. Again, it was extremely hot, but the sky was blue and I just want to enjoy my last days here in the summer in Beijing. Followed by some Beijing Kaoya in Dongzhimen and just chilling in front of the Russian store for an hour and then went home and fell asleep like a baby. I've been checking the Belgian weather, I think I might freeze to death there, or better, get all rained under. I'm kinda hoping the summer will come pretty soon, I've been checking the weather since the last 2 months and it's ALWAYS raining and temperatures don't even reach above 20°C. I'll try to take the sun to Belgium and like 10°C, but don't shoot me if I don't.Today I had a nice day with one of my good friends here in Beijing, he's going to be my roommate when I come back in October. He specially took the day off from work and we spended the whole day and evening together. Getting lunch, talking, getting dinner. I kinda appreciate that a lot! 

I'm all packed and ready to go, I think. Moved all my stuff to Chris' apartement untill I get back and I'll just some clothes back home. I'm started to realize I'm leaving China within 48hours and my friends for a bit. A lot of them won't be here anymore when I come back. Mixed feelings tho. I've been counting off so badly and time just flies by here. I still remember when I started to say "3 more months, 1 more month" and now it's only a matter of 2 days. I'll be going to class tomorrow, to have my last class and say goodbye to everyone and get my certificate of studying Mandarin for 10 months. Wednesday will be just checking if I have everything, review some Chinese, have a dinner with my closest friends here and off to the airport around 10pm. 

I've learned a lot here in China, not only about the Chinese culture, or the language, other cultures, but also about myself. Loads of people didn't really understand why I was going to China for a year. I had the vibe that they thought I would end up in some dump, feel lonely and totally be lost because I didn't speak the language. It was kind off overwhelming the first day. Not because of the people, but because of the MANY Chinese people EVERYWHERE. Every intersection looks alike, every high building looks alike, the weird characters that I saw the first days, the dirty streets in China, the little hutongs hidden next to the big building. China definetly has it charms. It's an interesting city, it doesn't only offer modern aspects, but also the historical aspects. We all have come to the conclusion, if you've never been to China, you'll probably don't love it. Once you've been here for a bit, you definetly want to come back and learn more about China itself. Coming from speaking no Mandarin at all and ending up with almost level 5 in speaking and writing. I couldn't even buy foodstreet the first days and now, I can watch the news on TV and understand what they're talking about. For me, I'm satisfied, ofcourse level 6 would be way better, but that will be the challenge for when I come back. Sometimes I sit in my room and I think to myself  "Holy sh*t, I'm in China, I'm all by myself" and then I realize how far away I am from my family and friends. Other times I feel home here. But, it's time to log off and head to bed. 

I'll keep you posted once I'll back in Belgium.

Big kisses from Beijing.