Moving to Beijing
I plan to move to Beijing at the end of this week, where I will be spending the next few months taking mandarin courses and looking for a job there. Now, many people have been (more than) a little surprised. If for learning mandarin, why not stay in Shanghai and do it there? I mean, there are Chinese language schools in Shanghai also.
Well, true enough. But I feel I really need a place where most people speak mandarin all the time. In Shanghai, you can hear Shanghainese everywhere. I am not saying that they can’t or won’t speak mandarin. But you don’t feel the same. Plus I often watch a couple of channels that have Shanghainese dialects… Certainly won’t help my mandarin like that. That’s why I also rejected moving to Guangzhou in the end. As I understand, the influence of the local dialect (Cantonese) is even more noticeable. Furthermore, I love the Beijing accent, more precisely the ‘er hua yin’. I have missed it so much.
As for work, I have a reason which I prefer not to disclose for the moment. This week I need to pack my stuffs, get a train ticket to BJ, figure out the luggage consignment system…. I hope I don’t lose anything when I arrive in BJ.
Picture taken from The Beijing Page
Posted: September 24th, 2006 under China, Housing, Lifestyle, Study, Work.
Comments
Comment from aline
Time September 25, 2006 at 3:26 pm
I hate the ‘er hua’… I have friends who went to Beijing for the hols and they say that they can’t understand what the local people are talking about half of the time because of their thick accent. Of course, there are many people who speak good & easy-to-understand mandarin too but like in most cities in China, it’s mostly the younger people( 30 and below) .
I don’t think that Shanghai is a bad place for studying Mandarin. I spend most of my time in the university after all and my teachers are not all Shanghainese. Many of them come from different parts of China. It’s the same for other universities, even those in Beijing. I’ve met some Shanghainese people (young ones) and they speak good Mandarin.
When it comes to finding a job in Shanghai, it takes some time. There are so many foreigners in Shanghai now and it’s not so easy to find a good job here nowadays.
I was hoping that the other Mauritians plan some kind of meetup but it looks like it wont be this soon. I’ll let you know asap. When exactly are you leaving?
Comment from Raymond
Time September 25, 2006 at 6:18 pm
Clive - Shanghainese is a different language, most oral words used are different from mandarin.
Aline - Yeah, but I was considering the ‘outside school aspect’. And I am unhappy at having to pack all the stuffs, and then unpacking later … God knows how I will get all my stuff to the train station and get it consigned (托运行李). Need to figure that out tomorrow. I went to the SH train station this afternoon to have a first look. Looks like I need to get there hours beforehand to be sure I got it done and still not miss the train.
I will be moving in the next few days, so better to count me out for the get together. I thought they would do it by your birthday or a couple of days after the new students came here. Just too bad. Anyway, I’ll try and get in touch with the students up there in Beijing. And BTW it’s nice to see you back online.
Comment from clive
Time September 25, 2006 at 12:31 pm
I did not know shaghainese as a dialect… What is the diff? Like creole and french? ANy way best of luck mate!!… May be one day will see u in pekin with u and yr kids!!! Who knows???