Getting Settled

Hello friends! As some of you heard, China doesn't like blogspot. Because it is censored I cannot access it to update and it is really frustrating.

This morning I got up after 4.5 hours of sleep. Traveling does that to a person. I read a little and finally Signe took some of us out and around to find an ATM and get some food. One of my friends (also Andrew) is getting me yuan off his card and I'm paying him back with US dollars. I've survived thus far with out my card but soon I'll want to get to the bank to exchange my cash. 

For breakfast we stopped at this little stand and got a sort of taco-pancake-egg croissant with lettuce and some sort of sauce on it. Nothing like hot food on a freezing morning. By 9 we got back to the IES building for orientation then learned about the program, the people we'll be with, and expectations. After that we got our cell phones. Believe it or not, China's cell phone network (in general) is very broad. On the lower end, it functions just like in PNG where you buy a cheap phone and pay as you go. Conversely, iPhones and other super devices are used too. We got the cheap phones by IES mandate. Oh and they're LG so my charger from home works on it!

Next, we took a bus ride to a famous vegetarian restaurant which served us very good food. At the restaurant, we met Jeremiah Jenne. He'll be teaching us here while our St. Olaf prof is in Japan. He is a very smart guy and really funny. After lunch Jeremiah took us on a walk to Tiananmen Square. It is such a huge expanse! I guess that's what China is all about, go big or go home, but this place is huge. 

When we got back, I got to meet my host parents! I packed up and met my Baba and we walked about 10 minutes to his apartment. He seems like a great guy. The language barrier was hard at first, especially because he tends to mumble when he speaks but I'm getting an ear for it.  Mama came home from work later. She speaks a tish of English and it helps with some of the awkwardness. 

At dinner they tried to teach me a ton of words, I really should start keeping notes of them all. There were some that stuck with me, like 锁门 (suo3men2) for "unlock the door." For supper we ate a sort of hotpot meal consisting of what I thing was either pork or beef, greens with peppers and meat and eggs, and this mix of red cabbage and red onions. 

After supper we sat in front of the TV for a while. In China, the norm is to either eat in front of the televison or sit around it afterwards. We watched this soap opera that was no different than the ones back home. They seemed enamored by it. We talked for a while and set down some foundations like breakfast and dinner times, which I am lucky enough to experience every day! What an opportunity to observe and take part in Chinese family. We talked a little longer, then I went to bed exhausted.