A post about nothing

I never really write anything here any more. I'm sorry. But it seems like whenever I have something to write I don't have access to blogger and whenever I have access to blogger I don't have anything to write.

I went to Tianjin last week, and at the time I had lots to write but didn't bring my computer, and by now I've forgotten all the funny anecdotes.

Anyways, I went to Tianjin with Luna and Maja. Whit us on the trip we also had some random boy from class who just tagged along. I, of course, had to share a room with him. Even though the weather was quite cold he insisted on sleeping with the air con on every night. Not only is that wasting a hell of a lot of electricity, I was also freezing every night and now have a throat infection.

Other than that, we had a nice trip. We did not find a beach, but we did find a red panda in Tianjin zoo and ate absurd amounts of ice cream.

Exams

So I said I'd keep you updated and then I didn't? Well, I've been busy.

I have three exams next week. Written and oral Chinese on Wednesday and reading comprehension on Thursday. I have about 1000 new words that I need to know by then. 200 for written Chinese, 200 for oral Chinese and 600(!) for reading comprehension. Lucky me. As I'm writing this I'm kind of realizing that I'll never manage to learn a thousand new words in three days. You wonder if I weren't supposed to have learned those thousand new words in the four weeks I've already been studying? Well, we all know that's not how it works.

One of the things I've learned since I moved here is that reading in 36C is really quite difficult. Fore one, studying is kind of boring in the first place, and the fact that I'm sweating like a pig and generally feeling uncomfortable doesn't make it any better. The result of this is of course that not only don't we get our studying done, we also spends a fortune on our air condition. Also we suspect that those of our classmates who actually get their studying done are really aliens from outer space.

Anyways, I have to go and pretend I'm studying now. I'll write more after Thursday. Have a nice back to school week (my last week of school before my two weeks vocation, muahahaha).

Running on the Great Chinese Wall

Our class went on a trip to the great wall today. Seeing as we are currently in China, and Chinese people don't get the concept of weekend, Eilin and I had to get up at 07.00 on a Saturday in order to catch the bus that left from school at 08.30.

As the bus left so early everybody but me and a guy who got a really good idea about something that he had to write down(!) slept the entire way there. The destination was, of course, the exact same site as I visited last time I saw the great wall.

We had all actually hoped for rain today as that would have been less hot and would have also meant less other visitors, but no, we weren't that lucky.

Thinking that I haven't worked out in about a month I chose to walk up to the wall instead of riding the cable car. I kind of hated myself for the next thirty minutes. I think as we climbed the steep stairs in 38 C degrees for thirty minutes we all kind of hated ourselves. Not only was it hot and the stairs were steep, they were also filled with whiny Chinese girls (Chinese girls can not sweat, so they always walk veeeeery slowly and whine a lot, the exception is one of our student contacts who will even help push the wheelchair one of the girls in our class have to use) and even whinier American tourists who had never before walked further than 200 meters at once. Oh. My. God. At least we got to feel extremely sporty...

When we reached the top (twenty minutes before our other, very whiny, student contact) we were told we had to go to the top in one end of that part of the wall (only parts of the wall is open to visitors), only to discover when we reached it that we could take the boggy-thingie* down if we wanted to. Which was of course situated at the other end of that part of the wall. And that we had to be down again in an hour. The Chinese student contact claimed it would take us an hour just to get there (of course), but we chose not believe her. It took us less than half an hour, and yes, we walked fast, but still.

After that we ate and drove back to Beijing. That time even I slept.

The rest of my China trip

will be blogged.
It's just that I'm kind of busy these days.

The great Chinese (fire)wall

I just got home from China and wanted you all to know that I'm okay. The reason I haven't written anything is because the great Chinese firewall kicked in due to the Tibet situasion and made it imposible to do anything on the internet. I will write more about my trip later. Right now I just need some sleep befor my exam tomorrow.

Singing in Beijing

I'm sorry if I don't answer all my comments, but I'm having problems logging on to my e-mail, actually I’m having problems connecting to the internet at all. Aaand, I’m using a PC, not a MAC, so I haven’t got a clue of how to do this....

The reason I'm in Beijing is that I'm here to sing Mozart's requiem and Lloyd Webber's requiem here with my choier. The Bergen Opera choier. This leaves me with a lot of time spent in rehersals and very little time off.

We arrived Beijing early yesterday morning and were all tired after a long flight. The ride form the airport to our hotel took almost an hour, as the hotel is in the opposite side of town. As you all know, I usually don’t stay at hotels, actually, I’ve almost never done it before. And espesially not a fancy hotel, so I was kind of exited about that. I think the rest of the choir may think I'm crazy.

The rehersal started at six (I think) and took place in the childrens palace in the forbidden city. Yes, that’s right, we got to reherse inside the forbidden city. No, white people don’t usually get to do that. We are so cool:)

First going from the airport to the hotel and then from the hotel to the forbidden city and back means I’ve managed to see a lot of Beijing in a short time. From a taxi window, that is. And I must say. It's very big and very modern. I mean; VERY big and VERY modern. This is more Manhattan than Manhattan is. I'm not sure what I expected, as I've never been here befor, actually, it's my first time in Asia. But maybe more obvious poverty, maybe a littel less big, fancy skyscrapers.
I'll probably have to get back to this at some time.

Anyways. The toilets. And the sockets. I was plesantly surprised to find that the hotel has european sockets. Hurrah! I can charge all my gadgets. Also, my phone works here. Very nice. The toilets at the hotel are western, you know, chair-like. The toilets everywere else are mostly holes in the ground. Sometimes in really smelly roomes. Like in the forbidden city. Except for the smell-thing it works for me, but I know some of the other choier members really hate it. I just think it's really exotic.

Today we went out to eat peking duck. I don't eat that, so for me it just meant really, really expensive rice and fruit. But hey. Afterwards we saw a acrobat show. It was very good, however, the feminist in me got a little mad. The boys got to do all the fancy balance and jumping stuff and the girls got to do more girly stuff like dancing and balancing plates on sticks + destroy their backs. You know, when they bend backwards and it looks like they have no spine. It's not very healty. It destroyes your back. All the girls in the show were really young. I don't think any of them had passed twenty. I sat on the third row, so I could tell.
So, a bit mixed fealings about the show.

During the day I've thought of so many things to write here, but now I can't really remember them. Probably I'm to tired. I have to get up in less than seven hours to go to rehersal anyway, so I think I'll call it the night.

Fun fact: Chinees musicians have problems with playing in 7/8. Because most chinese music is in two or four. Aparently. Quote the conductor (translated to enlish by me); "This is not gonna work. Can you *** play it on the piano really loud to help them?" It almost worked like, the 36 time. Almost. I'm seeing a lot of "Hosanna" from Lloyd Webber's requiem in my near future.

China

I'm going to China. Tomorrow actually.
This means I've gotten a visa. The last time I had to have a visa to go somewhere I was 11 and didn't take care of it myself.

Getting a visa actually caused me som trouble. Not because China didn't want me, no, it was the Norwegian post system that ate my passport and visa on it's way from the Chinese embassy to me. Not so good.
So I had to start searching for it. At first I tried to make the post office tell me where it was. However, the post office didn't want to do that. They clamed it was impossible to find it without the reference number (which I know isn't true, as the reference number is connected to my name and can therefor be found by using my name in the search). So then I had to call the Chinese embassy to get the reference number, but they didn't pick up the phone (and note, this was today, I'm leaving early tomorrow). Luckily, I found an emergency number on their website, and, as this, I think, was an emergency I callled it. The phone was answered after just tree rings, by a man who spoke very well english and found my reference number in no time!

Now, with my reference number and a heartbreaking story of my badly needed passport and visa the post office was suddenly som much more helpeful. They told me it was still in oslo (that's on the compleatly different side of Norway), however it would reach bergen this night. They would check some things out and then call me back.
Half an hour later they called me back and told me it wasn't in Oslo at all, actually it was already in Bergen and would be taken to my lockal post office. Only a short walk from where I live.

I suppose it's no need to tell how relived I was.

Hopefully the actual trip to china will be a little less stressful...



My oh, so pretty, visa.