New blog, not censored....yet!

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I am able to finally blog without having to jump through hoops, thank you .org websites!! Apparently China hasn't figured out how to censor anything that is not .com. Yah!

I am in Zhongshan, ready to start teaching on Sept. 1st. I am nervous about teaching but am excited at the same time. The days have gone by so slowly I am ready for them to fly by. I live in Zhongshan, but the city is called Xiaolon (pronounced show-lon) and is a very busy city. There are people out at every hour of every day. It can be pretty hectic at times. They have no stop lights so everyone just goes when they can. Getting across the street as a pedestrian is very difficult. Have you ever seen The Frogger on Seinfield? Imagine doing that everyday. That is exactly what we do. It can be very scary, pretty much taking your life in your hands every time you cross the street. But the only good thing us Americans have is, everyone goes so slow staring at you that they don't want to hit you so they can continue staring at you. You are basically a celebrity here. Everyone staring, saying hi, taking pictures. It is crazy.

We have only explored a small portion of Xiaolon so far. We have done just the basic shopping at the nearby Da Fu Yen mart, which I call the Fu Mart, which is basically a WalMart. It has everything and more! We had to get everything you'd need in a new house. Dish soap, towels, garbage cans and bags, etc... it was adventurous seeing all the different foods and having to use a lot of charades to get the right brand or right item you need. My ASL skills have come in handy quite a few times. We have been to the Bank of China to exchange our money, which is a great exchange rate. Example: I got 100 quai out of the ATM and it only charged me about 15 U.S. bucks! Nice huh! 100 quai goes a long way here too.

We, and by we I mean the other teachers, there are 7 of us young ladies, bought bikes to ride around on. At first it was really fun, until my pedals broke off. After those were fixed, another girl's chain fell off, got that fixed, now my handle bars are broken so I no longer have a bike. I am going back to the bike shop and either having them fix that bike or get a new one (more sturdy and bigger) since I am MUCH larger than any Chinese person, the bikes are not made for me. I hit my knees on the bars, it's hard to pedal so I hope they have a man's bike I can buy. I will keep you updated.

We are living in a very nice apartment. Actually it is two apartments, one side has three bedrooms and two baths, and the other has four bedrooms and two baths. They both have a kitchen, dining, living room, tv and dvd player. This is majorly luxury for China. I am very blessed to have such a nice set up. The school is very nice. My HT put me in the room with the supplies, which is great because it has the very coveted air conditioner! I will write more about the teaching and children when I actually start teaching.

UPDATE: I got a new bike!! It is so much better and prettier than the other bike! A moment of silence for Jasper. Say hello to um...haven't named him yet. I'll post a picture soon.

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Photos

Getting bikes!
Here is my group of teaching companions all getting bikes. Mine was the bum bike on the far left hand side with no one standing by it, it's purple. His name is Jasper. From left to right me (taking the photo), Laura (HT), Chelsey, Teresa, Becca, Keara, and Lindsey.

Comments

[Kelly]

I am laughing my head off about what happened to everyone's bikes, what bad luck! We miss you here! Good to hear about your adventures so far.

[Nina]

Hi
I am glad to see things are going fairly well. We sure miss you here at the office. I think if you had been able to traing the new guy, Jordan and yes he is a guy, transition would have gone really smooth. He has a lot of the work qualities that you have. Hope your first day went well. Keep us updated as you have time. Take care

[Brady]

Yay for you!
It's cool to hear about what you're doing. I love that you named your bike(s). I hope to read more on here! And I hope you start feeling better, and find some decent food to eat.

[Leslie Combs]

Yikes....the teaching has begun, already!
Sounds like you're having a wonderful time. Can't wait to hear how the teaching is going!

[Kelly]

We miss you Skyla. Oh, guess what, my dog broke her toe and dislocated it. She's wearing a splint and is now in a kennel that we borrowed from Diane. Poor baby!