All I have I say is that I love coming to lab. Despite weather forecasts of torrential downpour here, I still initiated that I be dropped off at the bus stop so I could ride for over an hour to get to the lab.
I live being around the students in the lab because they are so focused, so driven, and willing to learn.
Besides, when I leave early, I get to school early and get to treat myself to some breakfast at Starbucks 🙂
I think it is pretty well known how bad the traffic in Beijing can get. It can be described on one word: horrific. (Okay at times it may be fine but for the most part it is bad.) Example: when I was a student at UCLA, it would take me about 4 hours to go from campus to my house up in NorCal. This includes the shuttle to LAX, waiting for my flight (no delays), flying, and driving from SJC to where I live. This one particular day, I was waiting for my flight and decided to give my aunt a call. At the time, she was on her way to my grandparents house. This trip typically takes 40 minutes, an hour in light traffic. This day, though, by the time I had gotten to my house, unpacked, and rested, they were still on the road stuck in traffic.
Little tangent there, but only to illustrate my point: traffic can be pretty bad at times. If you add on public transportation, well, that in itself is a whole other ball game.
This morning, for example, in order to avoid traffic since I had to take the bus to lab, I left my aunt’s place at 7:15 AM. An hour and 15 minutes later, I finally made it to school. A couple days ago, I took the bus home from school too, and that trip took about an hour and a half.
I didn’t really have a goal in mind with this post. I just wanted to share my two cents on what it is like taking public transportation (the bus) in Beijing. It is actually quite liberating. I can run on my own time, of course keeping in mind traffic…
But overall the independence is nice. Like this morning, since I got to school early, I stopped by Starbucks for tea before going to lab. The only downside of being here in the middle of the summer? The weather is not great at all.
~cheers
Breakfast this morning:
Journal of a Nerd Foodie 