I'm currently a junior at the International School of Beijing, in Shunyi. School work aside, I'm really involved in the service organization Roots and Shoots, the student press The Break, and Model United Nations. Commitment to these activities means spending lots of extra time at school, and commuting from Soho Newtown to Shunyi isn't all that fun. But aside from Beijing's sprawling immensity, I think it's a great city to live in. I gotta love living downtown in the CBD, where there's easy access to about anything, be it food, transport, or leisure. If I don't feel like cooking, nothing's simpler than getting food right across the street. If there are no cabs to be found, subways and city buses are just as convenient. I don't even need an iPod - the department store across the street blasts a random mix of rock and hiphop music every weekend and public holiday. I've grown to love city life in my three years in Beijing.