Getting My Shit Together

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The day has arrived.

After traveling by two planes, one shuttle bus, one train, and one taxi (a total 22-hour journey); after wandering around the Jiangsu University campus (area of 2,030,000 square meters) aimlessly with my luggage in tow; after being denied living accommodations and then being deposited into a room with a roommate who didn't know she was about to have to endure a messy, inexperienced, immature Canadian; after attempting (but failing) to communicate with the locals who strictly speak solely Chinese, with my limited knowledge of how to say hello, goodbye, thank you, and count to 10; after struggling to pass my days without Google, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube...(the list goes on and on), using Baidu (the Chinese version of Google which lacks English translations), and eventually realizing that Yahoo works just fine; after comprehending that I am just going to have to deal with the fact that there is, and will always be, only rice and noodles to be eaten, and that starving occasionally is just the way of life when you are a vegetarian living in China; after going twelve days without a SIM card, as Apple, and technology altogether, has made a faithful vow to ruin my life; after dissecting at least 50 silkworms for my professor's research projects; and after experiencing just a week and a half of the most fascinating, exhilarating, and peculiar adventure I have ever embarked on thus far -- I have finally gotten my shit together.

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