I’ve been in China for approximately 24 hours, and there’s plenty to write about. My flight was delayed an hour in Beijing, so I thought I’d send the fellow interns who were expecting me a message to let them know I would be coming in a bit late. After paying $9.99 for internet access, I discovered that Facebook is indeed blocked in China. Reverting to e-mail, I hoped they would get the message in time. Clearly a naive foreigner, the cab driver charged me 200 ¥ for the ride instead of the usual 120, even though he did not know where my final destination was located. On the 11-hour plane ride to Beijing, I showed the Chinese students sitting next to me my method of communicating with the natives—a sign written in Chinese with the apartment address (see ladies room sign in earlier blog post). Luckily, when the cab driver pulled up in front of the nearby mall to ask for directions, the intern search party was nearby. Alan, a fellow wolverine like the rest of the interns, recognized the sign and essentially saved me from what could have been a treacherous night. I am very thankful for the other interns’ concern and ability to speak the language!
I managed to fall asleep during the Nanjing night/California day. The beds remind me of the cots at Camp Augusta, if the mattresses were removed and you were just sleeping on the hardwood in a sleeping bag. As one of my roommates said, they are just comfortable enough for you to want to get out of bed in the morning. All seven of us in the apartment walked to the train station, stopping on the way to eat breakfast. Papa Roti sells breakfast buns, and apparently I will become a regular there as the interns encouraged me to get a punch card. At work, I started working on the company’s blog, which we hope will become a mainstream site for international education, similar to what ChinaLawBlog.com is in the legal world. I am currently writing an entry on empty-nest syndrome when children are on the other side of the world (aka what my mom is going through right now). Throughout the morning, we witnessed the sandstorm occurring outside, and heard firecrackers go off twice. We ate lunch together and then I was assigned to give feedback on a student’s TOELF essay. It brings me back to the pre-college test prep—something I do not miss. We wrapped up work around 6 pm and headed back to the apartment. After eating dinner at a restaurant nearby, we did what any American would do their first night in China: go to Walmart. I had to pick up a few things, and I put the Chinese-language learners to the test as they differentiated between the shampoo and conditioner. I am still figuring out the money conversion, but they told me that dividing the price by 6 gives you the approximate amount in dollars—a much better exchange rate than with the Euro. The night ended with bubble tea and a walk through the smoggy mist that hangs around the city. We stopped in the convenience store just below our apartment and I found Orion pies!
The jet lag is hitting me hard. Goodnight/Good morning!
