Friday, October 16, 2009

One week down!

I have been in China for more than a week now and am really beginning to settle in and enjoy myself! I cannot say enough good things about the people that I am working and living with. I just finished my first full week of school, and although it was overwhelming at times, I feel very good about my week. I still have a million and one things to do and learn, but I am taking it one day at a time.

Tonight I am feeling brave and I think that I will try real Chinese food for the first time. With the jet lag and workload I just wasn’t feeling up for the adventure during my first week here. I am not a horribly picky eater, but I can’t stand fat, and I’ve been told that the Chinese love fatty meats. On the plus side, it means chicken breasts are EXTREMLY inexpensive and easy to find at any grocery store.

Last night I went to a German restaurant with a few of the other teachers and ate delicious mashed potatoes- comfort food at it’s finest. We walked home and stopped to ride the glass elevator at the Starlight hotel. The view was amazing (even if I am terrified of heights). At the very top is a rotating restaurant. Then came the awkward part: explaining to the restaurant hostess why we were there. We thought about sitting down for a drink, but it was getting late and we all had to be up early for work today. Eventually we said that we would make a group reservation after consulting the rest of the teaching staff. They must have thought we were crazy, which I guess now that I say it, wouldn’t be much of a stretch.

One thing I find very interesting here is the billing customs at the restaurants. In China only one person pays for the bill. This either ends by us splitting the bill, or sending the waitress back to make a new bill for each of us.

Hope all is well on the home front!

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