Almost there...

I'm not sure how many people who used to read my blog at some point put up with the scarcity of updates.

I spent 6 weeks at home, and a few days after I came back to China, my computer decided it had had enough of being carried back and forth, and gave up on me. Perfect timing.

An improvised laptop-hunting trip to Hong Kong followed, because unfortunately, it is difficult to get by here without a personal computer. Not only does everything school-related go through the Internet or Intranet (lecture power points, homework, grades) but many of our exams include a power point presentation.
The most common sight someone visiting the dorms will see, is every student neatly seated at their desk, in front of their computer, frantically typing on QQ (the Chinese version of Msn Messenger) or watching a movie on one of the numerous Chinese streaming television softwares.

Does that make Chinese university students (and myself) anti-social introverts? Not really. But the isolation of the campus painfully limits the range of activities within our reach.

Zhuhai is a Special Economic Zone, which means that nearly everything can prosper here - except for non profitable, cultural outlets. They don't fit in the city's purpose, it seems. Zhuhai is a city of hotels, spas, restaurants, malls filled to the brim with counterfeit clothes, socks and iPods. It is a transfer zone for shopping freaks on their way to Hong Kong. It is a popular day trip for tourists in the area, who want to enjoy the coast, cheap seafood restaurants and 10 euro Gucci handbags.
So for someone who finds clothes shopping and clubbing an absolute bore, there isn't a whole lot left to do. Many Chinese students are too reasonable to go clubbing or simply too studious to go on a counterfeit shopping binge.
Taking the overcrowded bus for an hour requires a certain sense of purpose, and lately I have been yearning to be in a city in which museums, cinemas, or noteworthy areas to explore would be within my reach.

This semester will most likely be less rich in new experiences, mainly because our week of holiday in May has been cut down to one day. Then, most of the other Frenchies will take time off to visit China with their visiting families, and understandably won't go see a place with me, just to see it again a month later.
My Chinese friends will either have class when I could go travel, or won't be willing to skip it for long enough (which is also understandable.)
And since there are no other foreign students to mingle or travel with, it doesn't leave me much choice.
I would go travel by myself, but the areas I want to see are not necessarily considered safe for a girl travelling alone.

Apart from that, I'm not bored. As always, I have more to read and learn than my stress levels can cope with. There's nothing wrong with this place, and the people in it.

But sometimes, I just wish it was easier to go out and experience different aspects of China than those I have already seen too often.



I will write an entry about my day in Hong Kong, and the pictures that come with it, later.