Peking University (PKU)

When I arrived i didnt speak any Chinese, but I thougth my english was enough, big mistake, in china almost no one speaks english. Well with the international students no problems because we communicate in english and spanish but of course doing my daily life with chinese people at the beggining was difficult, a lot of times i feld like a little baby, because everything was very hard, even go to the supermarket, because evertything is in chinese. The only way to communicate was with signals or mimics. But i survived and that help me to push my self to learn chinese faster. It was a need.

Favourite night spots would be in haidian district where the university is located. It is cheap and near. Unfortunately a lot is getting destroyed every year. Look out for Loup Chante next qinghua university west gate. Bla Bla Bar in BCLU. The Moonhouse and Go Koo Bar in Wudaokou. Downtown we have Sanlitun bar street although it is going to be destroyed soon. Maybe you want to try Poarcher's Inn it has very cheap drinks and is also very crowded. Vic's or Mix at the works stadium for dancing. Latino's is a nice place for latin dancing it has colombian live band. And there is more ...

I bought a cell phone and also used credits for Skype in order to communicate with friends and family. We purchased a router for internet in our dorm. Dorms come fully furnished so no need to buy/bring anything. Check with your banks to see which Chinese banks they are affiliated with so you can save transaction costs. You can also open an HSBC account and avoid any complications that way.

Well, as we don't have any dorms in Austria, we don't even have a campus in the sense that people can live in the university, it was a new expierence for me. Never had to share a room before, no own bathroom,etc ... But it was OK. Only that they turn off the hot water at 24:00 was really hard to bear. It is alright as long as you don't have to pay for it. But the dorm life is also very funny as long as you don't get into trouble with korean neighbors or have a korean roommate.

In Beijing I have a lot of favorite night spots, but i would say i like Hou Hai, is a place aroun a lake full of bares and restaurants, also the Jiu Ba Jie, is the main street for bares and also restaurantes from all differents parts of the world. My best cafe is Sculpting in time. And places in this city not to be missed are Tiananmen Square, Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, etc.and the markets!!

Although the accommodations were idyllic in reference to cleanliness and space, I would have much preferred to live with other Chinese students. Most all American Study Abroad students living on campus were housed in our dorm. There were no Chinese students living near us.