The Dorm - 我的宿舍
Hey all,
Well, I finally decided to get off my butt and post some photos from my time studying at the Beijing Language and Culture University. To be honest, in Beijing, blogging was the last thing I wanted to do after class. I was pretty tired from getting up early and then having 4 hours of language classes. China's firewall just gave me a a better reason not to blog ;-)
Today's pictures are of my dormitory. It was called the Beijing Foreign Students Activities Centre (BFSAC). I really have no idea why it was called the Activities centre since there was nothing ever going on. On my floor, I didn't meet one person since the halls were always empty. Maybe it was because I lived on the 6th floor (top floor) and since there was no elevator, no one wanted to live up there. You have to understand that after walking 35 mins back home in the 35 degree Celsius weather, the last thing you want to do is climb 6 stories!
I began my search for housing at the campus dorms. After going to wrong building after wrong building, a lady finally sent me to the "foreigner" dorms. The room cost around 90 RMB/night (divide that by 7 to get CDN). I looked at the room and the walls were blue which kind of made the room dark. The washroom smelt bad and it was small. So what made it the foreigner dorm? It had a western toilet instead of a hole in the ground. I decided that I didn't really want to live on campus anyways so I went to visit the BFSAC which was recommended to me by some previous students who attended BCLU. The room was only 60 RMB/night and the room seemed much brighter due to the white walls. It had a better vibe so I decided to take it. The washroom had what I call the integrated toilet/shower where the water from the shower would splash all over the toilet seat. Obviously I trained myself to use the toilet in the morning first before taking my shower ;-).
After a few days, I did begin to notice that the washroom smelt a bit (like sewage). It didn't bother me too much at first but at the end of my term, I really wanted to get out! After 1 month, I came home from class one day and noticed the water on the floor did not drain! I called the 服务员 (fuwuyuan - a term used for servants in China. i.e. maids, waitresses/waitors) for help and she lifted up the white lid which was covering the drainage. Oh my god was it ever gross! All the hair just gets clogged up there. I wish I had a picture to show you how poorly designed it was but you probably wouldn't want to see it. So what does she do? She just takes the shower head and sprays the big clump of hair straight down the drain. GOOD AS NEW! After that experience, I decide that I should clean it myself regulary instead of waiting for the next flood. Also, you can tell it was getting bad when you see little insects crawling out of the drainage! BUT I KILLED THOSE LITTLE BUGGERS ;-) 
Speaking of little buggers, I noticed my room would occassionally have some spider-like bugs crawling on the walls. It usually didn't bother me but sometimes they would be chillin' on my bed! Let's just say, everynight I would have to make sure that my single bed was still a SINGLE bed! BTW, if anyone can identify this insect, please let me know. I'm kind of curious if it could bite....it might explain some things ;-)
Alas, even though I talk so negative about the room, it was still my...uh...home...and I was glad to be there...sometimes. Besides, I didn't go to China to act like a prince....I was there to learn Mandarin.
Later in the term, I found out there was another dormitory on campus that was very nice - otherwise known as "BUILDING 17". I would hear "you're in 17?? #$@ lucky bastard!" Oh wait, that was me saying that. Turns out the only way to get into this dorm is to either go through a middleman agency (which rips you off because you couldn't find a place on your own) or you would have to know someone powerful (like Bruce Lee, Yao Ming, or some dude with a lot of money) that can get you in. Being a student of the university wasn't good enough to get you in as I quickly found out. I asked the front desk if they had any rooms now or in Septemember. She just looked up and said "No". Now I knew there were empty rooms because my friends live there and they told me the room beside them was empty. It's ok though, a single room was double the price of my room. I've included a picture of my friend's room just to give you an idea of the difference!
Well I'll end this post here...stay tuned for more...
Well, I finally decided to get off my butt and post some photos from my time studying at the Beijing Language and Culture University. To be honest, in Beijing, blogging was the last thing I wanted to do after class. I was pretty tired from getting up early and then having 4 hours of language classes. China's firewall just gave me a a better reason not to blog ;-)
Today's pictures are of my dormitory. It was called the Beijing Foreign Students Activities Centre (BFSAC). I really have no idea why it was called the Activities centre since there was nothing ever going on. On my floor, I didn't meet one person since the halls were always empty. Maybe it was because I lived on the 6th floor (top floor) and since there was no elevator, no one wanted to live up there. You have to understand that after walking 35 mins back home in the 35 degree Celsius weather, the last thing you want to do is climb 6 stories!
I began my search for housing at the campus dorms. After going to wrong building after wrong building, a lady finally sent me to the "foreigner" dorms. The room cost around 90 RMB/night (divide that by 7 to get CDN). I looked at the room and the walls were blue which kind of made the room dark. The washroom smelt bad and it was small. So what made it the foreigner dorm? It had a western toilet instead of a hole in the ground. I decided that I didn't really want to live on campus anyways so I went to visit the BFSAC which was recommended to me by some previous students who attended BCLU. The room was only 60 RMB/night and the room seemed much brighter due to the white walls. It had a better vibe so I decided to take it. The washroom had what I call the integrated toilet/shower where the water from the shower would splash all over the toilet seat. Obviously I trained myself to use the toilet in the morning first before taking my shower ;-).
After a few days, I did begin to notice that the washroom smelt a bit (like sewage). It didn't bother me too much at first but at the end of my term, I really wanted to get out! After 1 month, I came home from class one day and noticed the water on the floor did not drain! I called the 服务员 (fuwuyuan - a term used for servants in China. i.e. maids, waitresses/waitors) for help and she lifted up the white lid which was covering the drainage. Oh my god was it ever gross! All the hair just gets clogged up there. I wish I had a picture to show you how poorly designed it was but you probably wouldn't want to see it. So what does she do? She just takes the shower head and sprays the big clump of hair straight down the drain. GOOD AS NEW! After that experience, I decide that I should clean it myself regulary instead of waiting for the next flood. Also, you can tell it was getting bad when you see little insects crawling out of the drainage! BUT I KILLED THOSE LITTLE BUGGERS ;-) 
Speaking of little buggers, I noticed my room would occassionally have some spider-like bugs crawling on the walls. It usually didn't bother me but sometimes they would be chillin' on my bed! Let's just say, everynight I would have to make sure that my single bed was still a SINGLE bed! BTW, if anyone can identify this insect, please let me know. I'm kind of curious if it could bite....it might explain some things ;-)
Alas, even though I talk so negative about the room, it was still my...uh...home...and I was glad to be there...sometimes. Besides, I didn't go to China to act like a prince....I was there to learn Mandarin.
Later in the term, I found out there was another dormitory on campus that was very nice - otherwise known as "BUILDING 17". I would hear "you're in 17?? #$@ lucky bastard!" Oh wait, that was me saying that. Turns out the only way to get into this dorm is to either go through a middleman agency (which rips you off because you couldn't find a place on your own) or you would have to know someone powerful (like Bruce Lee, Yao Ming, or some dude with a lot of money) that can get you in. Being a student of the university wasn't good enough to get you in as I quickly found out. I asked the front desk if they had any rooms now or in Septemember. She just looked up and said "No". Now I knew there were empty rooms because my friends live there and they told me the room beside them was empty. It's ok though, a single room was double the price of my room. I've included a picture of my friend's room just to give you an idea of the difference!Well I'll end this post here...stay tuned for more...
posted by Jeff at
12:23 a.m.
2 Comments:
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! Why don't they provide a good accommodation!? After all, China is dirty, I thought... Do you thinks so?
I know my uni doorms but they are not so dirty! And, staffs support the overseas students.
By
erika, at 8:49 a.m.
haha..don't be sorry to hear that. It was definately an experience that I won't forget. I would definately say that Beijing is a bit dirty but I believe it's because the sandstorms dump sand everywhere. As for dorms, there are definately some nice dorms which have good service. Plus, I'm not sure if you can do much about the small little bugs..you really get used to them so it's not a big deal. Even in Toronto, a lot of the places downtown near the University may have roaches or rats.
By
Jeff, at 10:20 a.m.
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