Beijing, formal hall, Chinese food, parents

I arrived in Beijing today. Alex Schmehl was on the same plane and we took a taxi to the hotel. Even though I had been warned that the weather would be cold and that there would be snow, there is no snow at all and the temperature is quite comfortable as well. The hotel is pretty amazing. It's a five star hotel and we have executive rooms which are really huge and have Internet and a fax machine. The hotel also has a swimming pool and fitness center so I went swimming for a while. Afterwards I took a hot, relaxing bath. We're currently waiting for Andreas Tille who should be arriving soon, and then we'll hopefully grab some food.

The last two weeks have been fairly eventful. On Monday almost two weeks ago a friend from work invited me to formal hall (i.e. a dinner) at his college. I wasn't sure whether I should go but then I went along and it was a really nice evening. The food was also excellent. I wanted Mexican food for about two months but never did anything about it and then they served Mexican food at the formal. The following day, a few colleagues from work went to a Chinese friend who cooked for us (together with her mum who was visiting). Again, great food, but I ate way too much on both days. On Wednesday night, my parents arrived to visit me for a few days. I showed them around the colleges, the university library and a few other places, and we had dinner at a Greek restaurant. Overall I had a pretty good time. Last week I went to formal hall again with a group of people from the institute.

And now I'm hungry again. I'm really looking forward to the Chinese food!