Saturday, February 19, 2011

Interim

Time is moving rather slowly, which is a nice change of pace. Already cooked 2 meals at home, both times had some friends over. I'm excited for class to start so I can meet more people. Right now, it's basically just hanging out with people I knew from before, and making some appearances in Johns Hopkins group. The roommate search will start next week, which involves interviews… I think my friend Hannah will help me out, she was good friends with Jackson and that crew last semester, and she has an idea of what to look for.

We did french toast this morning, me, Hannah, and her classmate Bernard. Was very good, though no syrup. Just strawberry jam. I really enjoy using my 2 woks, very easy to use and clean.

Still in the process of organizing and cleaning. I have a maid now, comes over once a week and cleans the floor, cabinets, dishes I have left out, tidies things up. I pay her $5 an hour, which is $3 more than what she usually makes. I recently also had a plumber come out, $4 to clean the pipes and whatnot. Got some wireless internet (doesn't work yet…)

A few little first observations: I see a ton of girls here like wearing leggings with wool shorts over top. The taxi drivers here don't really like to talk. In Beijing, they loved talking about their thoughts on the US and government stuff, not so here. It's freezing cold in my house. The eggs I bought the other day froze on the counter.

Things should pick up next week.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Arrival - Nanjing

The plane ride felt quick, though this time I wasn't able to sleep, just couldn't get comfortable. Talked to a few people, stood up for quite a while visiting, watched 3 movies, and didn't eat much. Just didn't feel hungry.

Once we got in to Shanghai, I felt uncomfortable, a headache plus my stomach feeling funny. I'm sure God was helping me out after I got off the plane, because several people approached me about hotels and taxis, and I ignored everyone till this one guy. For some reason I felt I could trust him, and turned out he worked for the airport, and hooked me up with a nearby hotel, only $25 for the night, very nice place. Got 9 hours of sleep and still felt bad, if not worse, in the morning. Took a taxi to the train station, bought a ticket for a train that was leaving 10 minutes after I got there, which I reckon was a good thing. Felt sick, so I wanted to get somewhere, drop off my luggage and stay inside if needed. Train ride, threw up several times, to the point I had nothing left, felt bad, got a taxi to campus, and as soon as I stepped out of the taxi, I felt fine. A little dehydrated, a little shaky, but no more pain and discomfort. Found a hotel nearby, had some drinks, and felt much better. Still not hungry, but I went ahead and got some KFC, and feel fine.

Today, went and walked around, found Costa Coffee, a place I used to go to all the time in Shanghai to study, went out to Uniqlo and H&M. Snowing all day, everyone says it's very abnormal, but it was a nice welcoming gift.

Now, just waiting for tomorrow, when else everyone arrives.