So here I am, finally. After a childhood of inexplicable interest, two years of studying, a 10 hour flight and a 22 hour train ride, I'm in Beijing. I have the master bedroom in a large four-bedroom flat, which is nice. It's quite a way out from the university, and a half-hour walk to the compound where most of my classmates are living, but that's no worse than it would be if I'd been at Girton for the last two years. Anyway, there's two flats of Oxonians in the same compound as me, so it's not like I'm completely alone.

More importantly (and the main reason I went for this flat), I'll be living with three Chinese people. There's Lisa, whose boyfriend did his Oxford year abroad last year, and from whom, via introductions by mutual friends, I'm inheriting the flat; and Glen and Frank, two guys who can't afford to rent outright in this neighbourhood (Wudaokou), so they're informally established at one end of the very large living room. To have even one Chinese roommate's pretty rare for foreigners, so three's a huge win, and hopefully means that Chinese won't just be something I do when I'm away from home. Case in point: I spent a very enjoyable hungover hour today eating some incredibly dodgy chow mein and discussing an X-factor-style singing contest on TV in Chinese with Glen, which just wouldn't have happened if I'd been living with other foreigners. A couple of moments like that a week, and I'll be laughing.

Culture shock hasn't quite set in yet, aside from a brief waver as I decided where to eat my very first meal in Beijing (24 hours after some instant noodles on the train, but there's a reason they kept me going so long - Chinese instant noodles are INCREDIBLE). Fortunately I managed to resist the seductive smile of Colonel Sanders and went into a Chinese place next door. For 7 quid I got 2 plates stacked with delicious food, rice and a beer. Even in my famished state there was far too much, but little adverts for the Empty Plate Campaign (about which I'll talk more in a later post) pushed me into being a responsible citizen and taking the leftovers back in a doggy bag. On the way out I saw their hygiene rating (see pic), and quite frankly I think I got away lightly to have had only a mild case of Cixi's Revenge.

Other than that there's not much to report. Like so many gap year/year abroad students before me, I'll do my best to keep this blog updated, if only so I can laugh at myself in twenty years' time. 再见！