Tash Montagu

→ 24 May 12 at 9 pm During my first couple of weeks in Beijing, Miranda and I managed to go check out Houhai 后海, which literally means Queen Sea. It is a massive lake surrounded by bars, restaurant and little shops which becomes extremely lively at nighttime when they start blaring out night time tunes and people try out their singing voices in the karaoke bars.

In this picture I am drinking something known in English as Old Beijing Yogurt. It was a heavenly find. These ceramic jugs with blue and white paper sit outside almost every shop in Beijing, and the taste is just divine. I was a little skeptical at first since dairy products + China don’t make a very appealing combination but how wrong I was! It was a thick, tangy and refreshing taste! Oh, so delicious!

During my first couple of weeks in Beijing, Miranda and I managed to go check out Houhai 后海, which literally means Queen Sea. It is a massive lake surrounded by bars, restaurant and little shops which becomes extremely lively at nighttime when they start blaring out night time tunes and people try out their singing voices in the karaoke bars.
In this picture I am drinking something known in English as Old Beijing Yogurt. It was a heavenly find. These ceramic jugs with blue and white paper sit outside almost every shop in Beijing, and the taste is just divine. I was a little skeptical at first since dairy products + China don’t make a very appealing combination but how wrong I was! It was a thick, tangy and refreshing taste! Oh, so delicious!

♥ 1
→ 24 May 12 at 9 pm

misschance:

Houhai - T and I strolling around Houhai lake, in search of a drink.

The problem wasn’t a scarcity of bars but instead the overabundance of them. There were those with hideously naff decor (fluorescent pink sofas and leopard print pillows), others with the tuneless sounds of kareoke wafting from the doorway, and some with open rooftops that overlooked the lake.

We sat down at a rooftop bar to enjoy the thriving atmosphere and played with a friend’s pet snake bought from nearby Nanluoguxiang. We called him Timothy.

Reblogging a post written by Miranda Chance. She too has a gap year blog (following in my cool footsteps, of course. Check it out here: http://misschance.tumblr.com/ ) P.S. Timothy only managed to make it two days before keeling over and passing through to the next world.

→ 22 May 12 at 10 pm

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

"对面的女孩看过来"

任贤齐

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→ 22 May 12 at 10 pm

Master Oogway

"
Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
But today is a gift.

That is why it is called the present.
"

→ 17 May 12 at 7 pm

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Don’t judge me because I sin differently from you."

→ 11 May 12 at 9 pm

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

"因为爱情"

王菲,陈奕迅

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→ 11 May 12 at 5 pm

William A. Ward

"The pessimest complains about the wind.
The optimist expects it to change.
The realist adjusts the sails."

♥ 61
→ 29 Apr 12 at 2 pm somewhereintheworldtoday:

Happy Vesak Day China, Happy Birthday Buddha!

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly”

More on Vesak day by Somewhere in the world today…

Picture: Bathing Buddha by hkdigit, on Flickr

somewhereintheworldtoday:

Happy Vesak Day China, Happy Birthday Buddha!
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly”
More on Vesak day by Somewhere in the world today…
Picture: Bathing Buddha by hkdigit, on Flickr

→ 05 Apr 12 at 6 pm

It has occurred to me that I write like a simpleton.

→ 05 Apr 12 at 6 pm

BLCU

Hello everybody! Sorry for not writing, but this is the first real opportunity I’ve had to do so! My time in BLCU has been so FANTASTIC! I’ve been really lucky, I have a great room, I’ve made good friends and the FOOD is just up my street! So no complaints here. To sum up my time here in short, here are a couple bullet points to stop me from waffling:

Mandarin - I do 6 hours, 5 times a week. They were right to call it the intensive course! I have three teachers; a speaking, integrated and listening teacher who are all great at drilling what I need to know into me!
Passport scare - I had a 2 week window where I thought I lost my passport, long enough for me to believe it was lost and start on the long, tedious process of going the the British Embassy and Consulate, filling in paperwork and going to the local Police Station to get a report. Fun times.
Sightseeing - I’ve managed to go Houhai twice (once with Miranda) where there are two towers, a bell and a drum tower and lots of lakes. Which all make for some great pictures! I also hit up the Forbidden City or the Palace Museum as it is now officially known as. Sheer scale is all I have to say about that.
People - Wherever you go you will never ever feel alone. I can best describe this as an ant’s nest…..

♥ 1
→ 19 Mar 12 at 2 am

Next step, Beijing!

After a couple days of relaxation and recuperation it’s time for me to move onto the next chapter in the gap year - Beijing! I’ll be doing an intensive Mandarin course at BLCU, Beijing Language and Culture University. It’s a little daunting knowing that I’m going to have to put my rusty brain into action since it’s been on standby for awhile, but exciting nonetheless.

I will also be reunited with my two very good friends from CLC; Summer Shaw who is also doing the intensive mando course at BLCU but for a semester instead of 12 weeks and Miranda Chance who is doing a fine arts foundation course at CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts). Yay to old friends!

→ 17 Mar 12 at 7 pm

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

"La Melodia"

Joey Montana

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→ 17 Mar 12 at 6 pm One spectacular afternoon in Cajamarca

→ 15 Mar 12 at 3 pm

This year Incawasi celebrated its seventh anniversary! We had a great dinner of lasagna provided by the westerners and some Peruvian dishes. In typical Peruvian fashion we didn’t have the dinner party until late because SOME didn’t turn up on time and SOME brought people that they weren’t meant to bring. So we ended up having just enough food for everyone, but only just. In the end most people gave a quick speech, including myself, saying all the wonderful things about Incawasi. I mostly dedicated my speech to Sebas who has been my greatest friend there and the heart of Incawasi.

→ 15 Mar 12 at 2 pm

Just firmed my place at the University of Exeter!

"Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, But today is a gift. That is why it is called the present."

"Don’t judge me because I sin differently from you."

"The pessimest complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails."

"
Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
But today is a gift.

That is why it is called the present.
"

"The pessimest complains about the wind.
The optimist expects it to change.
The realist adjusts the sails."