Routine, already?! OR Routine, alright, already.

After one week we have officially settled into the new apartment, and it's time for me to figure out what it is I am going to be doing here. Z is currently working, and his work officially began yesterday when he received his student ID card. Ihaven't officially done anything, yet, that doesn't entail trips to IKEA or the supermarket. I have not even left the apartment without Z, except to meet him at the corner of the street for lunch yesterday (which, by the way was a fine French meal!).

This is all because I can't speak Chinese. Whining about the fact that I can't speak the language isn't going to miraculously cure my inabilities, I know this. But I can't believe that I am so intimated by the language. On the other hand, I think I will expire from sheer boredom if I don't come up with my own routine and get out to explore the city. Plus, anyone reading this blog will most likely not continue to read it, if all I write about is how I watched another load of laundry today. We still have not figured that out, by the way. Too many suds, not enough suds...

OK. So this means that I have to learn Mandarin. This isn't a surprise. It's just that now it's becoming a reality. I have decided that I will create a schedule for myself that includes a few hours of studying Chinese each day, researching what I want to do in China, writing, learning how to use our new Canon DSLR camera, and of course eating more Beijing cuisine. I will create a schedule of events, because that is what I am good at on a day-to-day basis. Then I will have something to look forward to each week. Yesterday was long enough for me to have a little pity party, and I am not a very attractive person to be around when I am feeling sorry for myself.

Also, I realize that teaching myself to read and write and speak Mandarin will not be an easy task on my own. I plan to research schools and tutors today. Anyone out there need a language partner? If you're not into the East Coast North Jersey accent I also do impressions of Southern, Mid-western, Valley Girl, New York, New England, Swedish...you name it.

More than ever, I need to find more patience in myself. I need to not wish away the days just because I haven't figured out how to use the washer, or how to hook up my laptop to the flat screen TV that goes unused because we only get one English-speaking channel, or how to tell the the doorman "I like your tie today, sir."

Looks like now I am running out of writing and I have to start my routine...