First Anniversary in Beijing

The temperature has dropped drastically over the last couple of weeks and the wind has picked up significantly. As I took a walk at the park of the apartment where we stayed, I noticed that the leaves have turned yellow and a little orange and the path were strewn with withered dry leaves, signalling that the Beijing harsh and chilly winter is at hand.

Leaves had turned yellow and orange as the temperature drops and the wind picks up. Autumn is almost over and winter is at hand.

While trees are perpetually green back in Malaysia, living in a country with four different seasons in a year is indeed interesting, seeing leaves, turning yellow and orange, withered and drop off as winter sets in, covered in layers of pure white snow, which soon melts away as spring comes on, followed with blooms of colorful flowers and fresh young leaves signalling rebirth leading to a hot and humid summer. And soon, before you realized it, autumn is here yet again for another cycle of life ....

As I pull up the hood of our winter jacket, I vividly remembered this almost exact scene about one year ago, when we have just relocated to Beijing. Yes. 6th November 2013, marked the first year anniversary that we have been here in land of our ancestors, a place that I have never in my wildest imagination, thought that I would be visiting, let alone stayed and call home. And yet, here I am, still alive and kicking after one year living in a land where the inhabitants have a totally different culture, where shouting at the top of their lungs and being LOUD is NOT rude but merely to ensure that they are heard, where the streets are considered public dumpsters for convenience to spit upon and the best way to cool down body temperature during the hot summer is simply to roll up your shirt, exposing that mid section called belly.

Please do not get me wrong. I am still perpetually SHOCKED, almost daily when I read the local newspaper or tuned to the local TV stations. News where pork are injected with water to appear heavier, woffberries are dyed red to appear more inviting, god knows what meat were apparently sold in some local wet markets to pass off as pork, beef or lamb are just some that kept me constantly weary when I go about doing my marketing and shopping.

If you heard that the rich here can get away from almost anything, well, you are right. This is a land where MONEY almost literally TALKS. News of an owner in Haidian, building an entire rock formation and garden, complete with ponds and posh dining halls on top of the roof of their apartment, where they occupied the penthouse, totally disregarding the safety and convenience of other occupants was just the tip of the iceberg of what these super rich would and could do in fulfilling their ravish lifestyles.

This is also a land where you can get anything copied, and even the big famous YELLOW DUCK that makes her way round the world was not spared. One day before she arrived in Beijing, we already had one almost similar swimming in a lake somewhere. Anything and everything is possible here. They said that when there is a WILL, there is always a WAY.

Strangely though, I have begun to love this city of which I have made home. I have learnt to ignore the loudness, or maybe my own volume has began to drown out the rest and I am not sure which is which. I have learnt to pay attention when I walked on the streets, constantly on a lookout for those who display the slightest inclination to have the urge to clear their throat. I have learnt to accept that cars are meant to be driven as close as possible to the next in order to get ahead but they will never collide because someone will always give way at the last dying moments. I have accepted the fact that almost all taxi drivers spot the same hair cut and behind that grumpy look, are actually rather pleasant people to start a conversation, even in my stammering putonghua.

I have accepted the fact that education for children will cost you an arm and both legs (YES, both legs or should that be both arms and legs!) and a fifteen minute consultation with the doctors for a simple running nose and cough for the little ones (after waiting in line for 2 hours at the ER) will set you back as much as RM750!

Moving around has always been our first initial concern when we arrived. I sure miss my car back home and the freedom to drive to any destination at anytime I wish. The talks of how difficult it is to hail a taxi during peak periods especially with little ones and how unsafe it was to take one of the many illegal taxi were quickly put to rest, when we befriended a group of illegal taxi drivers who have now become our permanent pool of drivers, ever willing to drive us to whichever destination we desires, wait for us should the need arises without us having to worry about direction or car parks, and it is still cheaper than hailing a taxi back home in Malaysia.

China is certainly a huge country and very diversified culture and landscape, rich in history and dating back several thousands of years. So rich and diversified is she that it would take several life times to see and appreciate all she has to offer, and among all her lovely attractions, I have started my love affair with one of her most awesome, the GREAT WALL OF CHINA. In my last 12 months, this magnificent structure has both bewitch and intrigue me, so much so that I have constantly been a look out to see more and more of her.

They said that kids will adapt easily and they are right. Both Ryan and Chenya have adapted well to their lives in Beijing and have both achieved some significant milestones individually here.

The children has made progress too in the last twelve months. While Ryan had always refused to speak Mandarin or Cantonese while we were in Malaysia, he is now able to hold a conversation in Putonghua with almost anyone on the street. Chenya's daily addition of a new Putonghua word to her growing vocabulary is astounding and almost always, shocking to say the least, because they were always used at the most appropriate time and situation.

Both have adapted well and Ryan in particular is so into his school and his teacher that not going to school is a sad moment for him. Chenya on the other hand has just started going to school and as expected, is a challenge every morning.

If there is one single achievement that we will always associate Ryan with his stay in Beijing, it would have to be his ability to swim now like a fish, thanks to the lessons that we have signed him up for and his very dedicated, not to mention rather handsome trainer. With 40 hours or so lessons under his belt, he swims faster and better than me in both breaststroke, free style and back stroke. He is now half way learning his butterfly!

Lastly, living in Beijing has also brought more quality family time. Instead of just spending weekends, walking around aimlessly in shopping malls like we used to do back in Malaysia, our weekends are spent traveling, walking in parks and boating whenever the weather permits, or simply lazing around at home.

We have one more year to go according to our initial plans. Whether or not we will extend our stay on is still uncertain. However, one thing is certain. We are now looking forward to the coming winter, getting ready to welcome the snow and snow fights, the short but refreshing spring and the places we could go during the next summer. We are drawing up plans to ride horses on the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia, hike up the beautiful sites of Juizhaigou or a skiing holiday up on the mountains, or attend the ice lantern festivals at Harbin, or should we be making a trip to visit some of the interesting minority groups down at Yunnan, but then, why not hike up Huangsan, the most beautiful mountain in China. Wait, should we not visit the famous Shaolin Temple but it would not complete without visiting Ermei San or Wutong San right? Decisions, decisions decisions... So many places, so little money and so little time....Like I say...it will take several life time to see it all ...For now...I am looking forward to the next 12 months!