One week at a time?

We've been here just over a week. It seems weird to me that we'll be here for a year but given how long it's been since I lived in my house (having moved out about 4 weeks before we left), it doesn't seem weird that I'm not living there.

The time has flown by, there's so much to do to get settled and so much to do in the city as well that it feels like we've been here a month instead of a week. So even though I have seen friends and family recently, I am missing them. Hopefully we'll get some visitors soon anyway. We are heading back to Aus at the beginning of October though so we might get a chance to see people while we are back.

I think I've pretty much gotten over my culture shock. I still see things that are strange and odd, things that I find kind of disgusting, things that are awesome and things that are hilarious but I don't quite feel like I'm on another planet any more. Until I try to communicate with someone and then I remember that there are very few people here (at least that I'm interacting with) that speak my language and I had better get on and learn theirs.

I'm definitely enjoying the pace of life and the change from Aus. I see why people like to live overseas (and why some people get fed up, the language barrier makes it easy to have sympathy for people who give up) and like the expat lifestyle. It is possible to live here without knowing Mandarin (makes it hard though!!) and even without eating any local food but it isn't a life I want to lead.

So having got ourselves reasonably well established now, the apartment is sorted (I had some issues getting the power back on after it ran out today, a story for another day :), we have transport internet, we know where the shops and markets are, we know how to use the subway and pretty well how to get around town. Time for some new challenges. We start Mandarin lessons tomorrow (assuming I can get to the bookshop to buy the textbook) and I would like to start getting a little further afield and find out more about this city we are now living in.

If anyone has any suggestions on things to do and see then let me know. Definitely a return to the Forbidden City is on the list as well as the Great Wall, but I think we might add some more local stuff in as well.