Trip to London

The past few weeks I've been studying for my much dreaded oral exam that I have on Friday. I even had a small melt-down yesterday - even though I'm pretty well prepared, and will be even better prepared by the time I actually have the exam.

But sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed, by the fact that all my hard work and effort throughout these past six months will be judged based on how I perform during an 15 minute oral exam. Six months away from home, away from my job and everyone I love - and the grades I got from Beijing University don't count for anything, other than that I passed - and now hundreds and hundreds of hours diligently studying is supposed to boil down into a 15-minute performance.  

Oh, the pressure. 

So then I cry.

And then I pick myself up and try to put everything in perspective, and even write myself a little note that I keep in my pocket at all times, basically saying that everything is going to be alright.

I'm smart and I've studied hard, still it doesn't mean I'm spared for a few pre-exam anxiety attacks now and then, haha!

(And any attempt to consolement I easily consider as patronizing, unless YOU've studied Chinese yourself - and are familiar with the horrendous curriculum I'm being tested in)

Anyway.

A couple of weeks ago Dag and I went to London to shop for makeup.

Dag, especially, loves shopping for makeup, as you can imagine. 

And buy outrageously expensive food at the airport in Oslo. 

I'm telling you, the prices in Norway make me embarrassed to be Norwegian and thinking that we even have tourists coming over here... Poor people. This baguette cost the same as a week's worth of groceries in China.

I remember the first time I met my speaking partner, Zhou, in Beijing, she was talking about how she wanted to study abroad in either the US and Norway, and I was like "don't come to Norway, it's too expensive!!", and I immediately got the feeling that one of my fellow Norwegian classmate that heard me saying it thought I was being rude. But I think it would have been even more rude not to warn her - considering that a bottle of water at 7/11 in Norway cost as much as four meals at the campus cafeteria at Beijing University. I almost feel ashamed. I feel bad for the Chinese students in Norway.

.. escaping a world of snow and ice..

England!

I've never been to England, so I was pretty excited.

Unfortunately I make a lousy tourist, practically uninterested in seeing any touristy sites.

I was there to shop for cosmetics!!

Spent way too many of these..

I was looking forward to get my hands on some cosmetic brands that we don't have in Norway, like Urban Decay and Too Faced - sure, I can buy it online, but it's much more fun to get my hands dirty, which I literally did, constantly having the back of my hands covered in swatches throughout the stay.

And they've got a Mac Pro store in London as well! That I didn't knew, and it was a big treat, since I got to buy a few items that they only sell at the Pro stores (- and I'm talking about Mac Cosmetics - not, Mac as in 'Apple', hello)

We stayed at a nice hotel with a bath tub! Hallelujah! So we went to Lush to stock up on bath bombs and bath melts, and-bath-whatever-they-had-that-I've-always-wanted-to-try-but-I-don't-have-a-bath-tub-stuff.

God, I wish I had a bath tub

At some fancy Indian place

I don't know this lady

Omg! Metallic-bronze colored

Ferrero Rocher pie thing!

Dag bought a couple of cupcakes, 

but we didn't have time

to eat them before we got on the plane heading home,

and they'd been in his bag the entire day, lol

I bought so much stuff at Lush.

I'm a sucker for products and cosmetics in general, and you'll be able to sell me anything - just throw it at me, my arms are wide open!

I've fallen in love with this scrub

from Lush,

luckily we have Lush shops in Norway as well

- even though it's a lot cheaper in the UK!

I hate my new camera.

I don't enjoy taking photos anymore.

So I don't.

My idiot proof Nikon D60 died a couple of weeks before leaving Beijing, and I got a new one, D5100, which also is supposed to be for idiots. Seemingly I'm too much of an idiot, because I can't seem to just switch it on, set it on idiot-mode and immediately be able to take photos that I'm happy with.

In England I even had a dream that I was so depressed that I wasn't able to use my new camera and that I cried - I even think I cried a little IRL while dreaming.

I don't want to learn any technical stuff! I hate technical stuff! I just want to take nice photos. Bah

Final Supper & Going Home

 

Sad about going home?

Ich don't think so! 

On Saturday Lotte and I had a farewell dinner together with two Japanese friends, Ayano and Natsuki.

It's been a great semester in Beijing, but I suspect that those of my fellow Norwegian class mates who are single and unloved have enjoyed it a bit more. Lotte and I have both been counting the days until we could return to our loved ones. Still that doesn't mean we haven't enjoyed our time in China!

School has, as mentioned, been hard and demanding, but at least I feel that I've got my money's (and time's) worth.

As a Norwegian student in China you're rich, so we've enjoyed a fairly "luxurious" lifestyle, living in a nice apartment and being able to go out whenever we had the time.

But now it's finally time to go home!

 

At my favourite restaurant in Beijing

- a Thai all-you-can-eat-and-drink-for-48-kuai joint 

 

Ayano

Goodbye, Chinese beer!

(It's QINGDAO, not tsingtao, argh Wade Giles..)

 

Natsuki

 

 Thailandsk tress-is, haha

- strawberry, pineapple and taro

 

Ueh, taro flavoured ice cream

 

Being at the Thai restaurant

was like being at my mom's house:

all decoration for every kind of festivity

out at all time during the entire year 

 

Yum, yum, YUM

- LOVE this restaurant!

Awesome Tom Yum Goong, Som Tam and Green Curry!

I could eat here every day! 

 

The Thai chef and I

- he's been living in China for the past six years 

 

No wonder I get mistaken for a ladyboy whenever I'm in Thailand

- LOOK AT THE SIZE DIFFERENCE!!

God, I'm more manly than Thai men are 

Early Sunday morning Lotte and I were super hyped about going home!

So, at 8 am our sweet landlord arrived, we returned our keys, said our goodbyes and went to the airport.

 

Lol, we arrived at the airport five and a half hours before our scheduled flight.

But the time flew and suddenly we were boarding.

However, despite everything having gone so smoothly, something was wrong with the aircraft and we had to wait onboard for two hours before we could take off.

And then awaited 9 slow hours before we got to Stockholm.

Both Lotte and I were being slowly driven mad after a while.

And let me tell you, the food they serve at Air China, suck, suck, SUCK!!

I was so hungry and the first meal we got after almost waiting for four hours was pretty disgusting - the "side dish" even suspiciously reminded of cat food (though I don't think most cat owners would even serve that to their cat), I even gagged a little. And I eat everything.

But I was so hungry, I wolfed most of it down.

Then, for our final "meal" almost four hours later we got some super dry "sandwich" and I was like "this cheese doesn't taste of anything" *Eats the entire thing*, and then Lotte was like "that's not cheese, it's ham!" - I mean, when it's next to impossible to distinguish cheese from ham, then it must suck.

Luckily we were given some crackers and some cream cheese, which we apparently were supposed to spread on using a spoon, so we survived.

Still, the worst food I've had since leaving Norway six months ago.

Goodbye China!