I am sitting in a humid room at the school currently, waiting for a monsoon to blow over so I can return to my apartment without getting drenched. So what better to do with my time than post my first official blog from China?
Today was our first official day... we did bunches of paperwork. They spread about 2 hours of information over a 7 hour day - needless to say, the chinese aren't known for being efficient!
I had my first authentic chinese meal yesterday - it was amazing! A little place by the school that supposedly teachers eat at on a regular basis during out 1 hour lunch break ! I'm going to be so spoiled. Before that I had eaten western food and korean... the teachers seem to enjoy eating food from the states.
I've met the other Grade 3 teachers, all of whom are lovely and we will get along well. One in particular will make a great friend, and she has family in Shanghai, so will be a great resource. The Father has provided so many people to get to know - old and new teachers alike, and it is such a wonderful community!
I purchased a bike yesterday.. and rode it home from the market! I felt like I was truly becoming more of a local instead of a tourist! It gives me such freedom to get to travel where I want, without having to try to tell a taxi driver where to go.
I got my first Chinese massage the other day - it was wonderful! So relaxing, most certainly after lugging around 260+ lbs of luggage across the globe. Something that may become a weekly tradition, esp. for $6 for an hour deep tissue massage! And this is a more expensive place than some.
I'm moved into my apartment, and am feeling so at home! The previous tennat, whom I bought all the furniture from, left me loads of helpful stuff... my kitchen is stocked, I have candles, cleaning supplies, bedding, outlets, over 50 DVDs! It's amazing! I watched my first pirated DVD last night... and it was so interesting to hear the backround noise of the laughter in the theater, and every so often it would switch to Chinese! Quite an experience in itself beyond the movie! :)
Something i'm not used to yet is the humidity... every morning after my run I'm drenched - all my clothes are wet and my skin is slimy... but with the rain yesterday and today it helps it quite a bit. I've never so looked forward to rain! :)
Blessings! Can't wait to share more excitement with you - thanks for reading! Possibly next time I'll get to post some pictures too!
- Elizabeth
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Wonderful update! We are so proud of you, and cannot wait to 'experience' some of China with you in November. We miss you so much, but are so excited with how well you are doing and how much fun you are having already! Love you!
Mom
Hey Elizabeth, Great to read your blog now that I'm home from a month of travel. It sounds as though you're settling in well and have a great attitude. I ditto your mom's sentiments regarding "being so proud of you". I will email a more personal message when I have things settled here regarding teaching. Thanks for the name of your student too, I'll see if she can fit in my schedule. "Blssngs" and loads of "pryrs" are winging your way. Cathy
Cool way to stay in touch. If you want jump over to shccworship.wordpress.com, I post a review of our mornings. So you could keep up if you want.
Steve
Post a Comment