Dissapointment

So, in addition to having spent more than $1000 in the first month of my stay in Beijing, (and probably another $500 or more since then), within the past week I have lost both my cell phone and a winter coat I bought. I tried to find the phone with no success. I need a phone for work, for casual convenience, and I will definitely need a cell phone in a week's time when I leave Beijing for traveling. I bought another Phone, a sim card, and added minutes for 300 kuai.

I had bought the coat a few weeks ago in preparation for the frigidity of Beijing's winter. The first time I wore it, I took it off to relax while spending some time with friends in the lobby and I forgot to grab it afterward. I went to the housekeeping office, but they had not found my coat, nor a cell phone. I don't want to spend another 200 or 300 kuai on another winter coat, but I am worried that I will freeze in the Beijing winter if I don't.

In addition to these constant money worries, I am gonna be spending a significant amount on train tickets over the course of the next few weeks. I plan to go as cheap as I can on housing and food, but there isn't a way to cut down on travel costs more than the train (which, I have to admit, is pretty cheap in China).

I want to be able to buy souvenirs and gifts as well. It is strange to try and budget tight in China, because I can look at expensive things, translate it back into US currency, and think about how cheap it is. But then I also think of how many meals I could eat with that money. I don't want to spend a lot of money here, because I don't want to return to Kalamazoo for my senior year to find that I have very little money left over. I think I am gonna try and work more during ICRP and spring quarter in order to try and make up some of my losses.