Where do I begin? I will be going to a school in Central China in Winter. It will be freezing. There will be no heating or hot showers. I will be training for at least 4 hours a day. I will be able to practice my Mandarin and perhaps learn more French and German while I'm at it. And the journey may be dangerous at times. But I'm not the type to give up, so I figure that I might as well prepare for the experience as well as see what people like me, who have never been athletic or fit, can learn from this experience.
This is the first time I am travelling overseas, and as a young female, I will have to exercise utmost caution! Like arrange transfers from the airport before I arrive. So I book a hotel. I can use Uber to get to the hotel. But what about all the exploring I'll want to do in Beijing? I can't stay in hotels, schools and transit the whole time!
It will be freezing. And I do not respond well to cold. When you're cold, your muscles stiffen, you're more prone to injury. The showers will be cold. There will be snow. We may even get wet. We will have to clean our clothing by hand in cold water.
But everyone there will be experiencing the same amounts of coldness, and I can prepare for it by bringing heat packs and adequate clothing; as well as getting myself used to cold. In the beginning of November, I did two things: I began sleeping with the window open so that it would be cold in my bedroom (which didn't work because I couldn't get to sleep in the midst of doing exams), and I stopped wearing long sleeved clothing (which I actually coped with better on cold nights).
The biggest challenge for me at the Martial Arts School will be trying to get to sleep when I have been exercising all day, have just forced my body under a cold shower head, and am lying there shivering to death. It will be vital to get completely dry and wear as much clothing to bed as possible. My sleeping bag isn't that great, but it might help.
Another challenge will be adjusting to the food. I read that it's quite common for travellers to get diarrhea. But that'll be fine: As long as I am careful, stay away from Zhengzhou street food and get to the martial arts school safely, I will be fine (probably).
It's quite lucky that I decided to get into skiing this year, because I got an idea of what sort clothing you should bring to a location in which it is snowing and one is exercising. At the ANU Mountaineering Club, we went to camping skiing trips, where we had to bring food, tents, sleeping bags and LOTS of non-cotton, breathable clothing. Another extracurricular thing that prepared me for this trip was orienteering. We spend hours and hours running through the coldest hours of the day and through all types of weather. Therefore, probably the biggest lesson I've learned is that if you buy gear that is shitty and doesn't suit you, expect to buy 5 more of the same. I already spent a lot of money on thermal underwear and waterproof jackets. I have read that you can buy very good quality clothing from the academy itself, but I still want to be prepared before I go.
Speak of the devil: money. Everything to do with travel seems to incur a huge cost. I wasn't expecting to go on exchange when I paid for my return flight to China, so there will probably be an extra cost there. Because I misread something on the CUHK application guidelines, I ended up wasting money on a bank draft they didn't want. I included vaccines cause Hepatitis A and B, and Typhoid are listed as health risks for China. Here, I'll write up a list (in $AUD):
This is the first time I am travelling overseas, and as a young female, I will have to exercise utmost caution! Like arrange transfers from the airport before I arrive. So I book a hotel. I can use Uber to get to the hotel. But what about all the exploring I'll want to do in Beijing? I can't stay in hotels, schools and transit the whole time!
It will be freezing. And I do not respond well to cold. When you're cold, your muscles stiffen, you're more prone to injury. The showers will be cold. There will be snow. We may even get wet. We will have to clean our clothing by hand in cold water.
But everyone there will be experiencing the same amounts of coldness, and I can prepare for it by bringing heat packs and adequate clothing; as well as getting myself used to cold. In the beginning of November, I did two things: I began sleeping with the window open so that it would be cold in my bedroom (which didn't work because I couldn't get to sleep in the midst of doing exams), and I stopped wearing long sleeved clothing (which I actually coped with better on cold nights).
The biggest challenge for me at the Martial Arts School will be trying to get to sleep when I have been exercising all day, have just forced my body under a cold shower head, and am lying there shivering to death. It will be vital to get completely dry and wear as much clothing to bed as possible. My sleeping bag isn't that great, but it might help.
Another challenge will be adjusting to the food. I read that it's quite common for travellers to get diarrhea. But that'll be fine: As long as I am careful, stay away from Zhengzhou street food and get to the martial arts school safely, I will be fine (probably).
It's quite lucky that I decided to get into skiing this year, because I got an idea of what sort clothing you should bring to a location in which it is snowing and one is exercising. At the ANU Mountaineering Club, we went to camping skiing trips, where we had to bring food, tents, sleeping bags and LOTS of non-cotton, breathable clothing. Another extracurricular thing that prepared me for this trip was orienteering. We spend hours and hours running through the coldest hours of the day and through all types of weather. Therefore, probably the biggest lesson I've learned is that if you buy gear that is shitty and doesn't suit you, expect to buy 5 more of the same. I already spent a lot of money on thermal underwear and waterproof jackets. I have read that you can buy very good quality clothing from the academy itself, but I still want to be prepared before I go.
Speak of the devil: money. Everything to do with travel seems to incur a huge cost. I wasn't expecting to go on exchange when I paid for my return flight to China, so there will probably be an extra cost there. Because I misread something on the CUHK application guidelines, I ended up wasting money on a bank draft they didn't want. I included vaccines cause Hepatitis A and B, and Typhoid are listed as health risks for China. Here, I'll write up a list (in $AUD):
- Chinese Visa ($110)
- Passport photos for China Visa, HK Visa, CUHK application and identification at the martial arts school ($22)
- Hong Kong Visa and CUHK application for later ($610)
- Unnecessary bank draft that I had to reprocess ($100)
- Bus to Sydney Airport ($30)
- Plane from Sydney to Beijing ($1300)
- Fee for changing the return flight to May
- Plane from Beijing to Zhengzhou ($160
- Plane from Zhengzhou to Hong Kong
- Vaccines ($150)
- Travel insurance for China ($190)
- Waterproof jacket ($70)
- Other warm gear ($200+)
- Protein bars ($
- Travel power adapter
- 60 L backpack ($200)
- Enough contraception pills for 6 months ($28)
- Phone credit
- Heat packs
- Misc ($30)
