A Change of Scenery

Before returning back to Finland, I was offered the opportunity to travel to Beijing, China for a couple of months starting from just before the New Year. Again it was not an easy decision but after thinking about it for a while, I said yes. The flight was moved out a week from the original plan so I got to spend five weeks in Finland including Christmas and New Year.

The hotel and the office are in the Chaoyang District in Beijing which has most of the embassies and the central business district. The traffic is quite chaotic but you don't really see any old cars in the streets. This cute pink Porsche is no exception.

The trip to Colorado didn't offer any kind of a culture shock but I knew this was going to a be a different animal. The language barrier is one thing but that's only a part of it. I did not really know what to expect so I went in with an open mind. I was most worried about the food situation as I am kind of a picky eater and Chinese food (or rather, the western perception of what that might entail) has never been my favourite. I'm not exactly a pro with chopsticks and the first few times when having lunch, I felt like a total idiot and had to revert to the strange spoon that's only really meant to be used with soup. The locals did get a few chuckles out of that.

The whole city seems to be full of skyscrapers and more and more seem to rise out of the ground all the time. The Chaoyang District alone has roughly 3.6 million people so it's no wonder that old buildings get torn down and replaced by these high-risers.

The first work week has been mainly spent inside the office and in bed. Getting used to the jet lag takes a while but the worst is now over. The week when I arrived had been a really chilly one but it has warmed up a bit and now the highs in the daytime are above freezing. The smog had varied quite a bit and opening up the curtains in the morning can reveal anything from blue skies to just a wall of grey. One night I woke up twice thinking that something was burning in the hotel based on the smell but it was just the smog creeping in from the outside.

A surprisingly clear sky in one morning

My hotel is right next door to this place

I have not ventured too far away from the office and the hotel area yet since it's already been dark when I've left the office. I'm not really sure what to do in this first upcoming weekend but I'm sure I can think of something :)

Walking to work on a foggy Friday morning. Those electric rickshaws make almost no noise so be sure to double check when crossing roads.