I am signing papers on my new apartment this morning – very exciting!  I will post pics as soon as I get in there.  Finding a place was interesting.  Thank goodness a fellow teacher, Tracy, was there to help me.  She is truly an angel.

I am going to break it down for you – imagine being in an unfamiliar city with a language that is tough to understand even when the locals are speaking English, 100 degree heat and 100 degree humidity, many balmy elevator rides, unfamiliarity of the system of leasing an apartment, different money (or as I like to call it, ‘Monopoly’ money), steaming taxi rides, dripping sweat, moldy apartments, trying to make the right decision for living arrangements for the next year in a new country after having just landed 3 days ago, and dealing with jet lag.  As I told my mom, this experience is not for the faint of heart!

It is a blessing that Tracy and I have the same sense of humor because it could have been a lot worse without the laughter or her input.  At times, we would both just look at each other and laugh because it just became silly.

As I get to know the city itself, it seems to be a mix of foreigners and Chinese.  For instance, I was at the Starbucks (yes, they even have them here) waiting for my friend from New Zealand, and right next to me was a guy speaking French, at a table close by, people were speaking English, and the baristas were speaking Chinese.  That was just me getting a coffee to go.

It’s like there are these wonderful little surprises around each corner for me to discover.

Have a great day and more photos to come later!  Cheers.