Adapting...

It's been a little over two months since I landed in China. It feels like five. I'm as comfortable here as I was at the end of my five months in New York. And that's surviving without Google maps and countless English-seaking natives.
I manage to get where I need to get here. Of course I've missed a subway stop a time or two, but that's more due to the lack of attention I pay with my headphones in and my nose in a game or a book.
Beijing is double the size of NYC in population, but probably double in size, too. The subway stops are far more spread out in Beijing. You can't go outside, walk for 10 minutes then enter another station, in that amount of time or less. If you leave the subway in Beijing, you're walking at least a mile to another one! So it seems like.
I walk 15 minutes to the subway from home each morning, ride the train for 40 minutes then hop off and walk 5 to work.
Apparently my other friends thought through their morning commute a lot more when choosing an apartment because they always say to me, "that's so far."
Maybe it is but I get an hour of solitude through my headphones and the walking unwinds me from the long days. Plus, I still always see the most interesting humans on my commute: street sleepers, street sweepers and street cutters (as I call them.) There are also beggars with electronic radios, and my favorite, the beggar who has no legs but manages to migrate begging stations at a quick pace.
The 40-minute commute is also filed with a dozen or more stares. I've narrowed the stares down to four types:
1. The children, of course. The children are the best, they literally can't take their eyes off of you, and you always say hello or ni hao, if they don't beat you to it. :) With the children are parents or grandparents who often force their children to say hello and wave to foreigners. The locals love you!
2. Creeps: in any city, country or culture, there are creeps along the way.
3. The women: the women who stare because they wish they had my skin color, when I'd kill for skin as dark as theirs and a day in the sunshine. The paler you are in China, the more beautiful you are.
4. The older generation: The stares from the older generation come for several reasons. Some for the same reasons as the above mentioned and some because they see my tattoos and piercings through my mid drift.

But just as in any country, you can spot the foreigners. We're all guilty of staring. I stare at them, too. It is what it is- curiosity.
I've adjusted to the staring. For now...

The one thing I've improved is my Chinese. The words I knew a month ago I can now actually say correctly! I've picked up a lot more. It's amazing how much you learn just from listening (something I've really been practicing here.)
I can now order a meal by doing more than pointing at a picture and saying, "jiga." It's not much more than that but I can say, "I want this." As apposed to just "this". More importantly I can say, "I want two beers." :)
The point is, you just have to say it, whether or not you sound like an idiot, or say it completely wrong, locals appreciate that you try. On that note, it helps me know how my students feel when they're learning English. The problem with learning a language is finding the confidence to use it. But once you do, you're fine. My local friends and colleagues are very supportive and active in helping me learn the language.

I guess at the end of the day, it's just survival. You try a lot harder to do and learn when you have no other options. The challenges are great, and although at the time of any challenge I'm furious, when I look back I see where I grew from it.

I'm making wonderful friends who are all on similar journeys as my own. The locals have taken a liking to my crazy behavior and love me. At home my actions and words are usually considered too spontaneous and crass, but here they just think I'm cooler than the other side of a pillow. So, I can't really complain. I'm really thankful for the support and help I get from my family here. I guess you can make it anywhere if you are willing to adapt and open your mind.

So I'm two months down and 10 more to go. It seems like a lifetime from now because I already feel as though I've been in Beijing for six months. I think that's a good sign!!! :)