Several teachers packed into the school van and we went on a quick shopping trip today.  For lunch, we went to a place called Noodle King – it’s a chain restaurant here.  They serve great food, especially their hand-pulled noodles – delicious.  My dad thinks I might have been born with a Chinese stomach because I am enjoying the food and quite frankly, I didn’t know how that would work when I got here. One thing that I have noticed is that I am definitely a novelty. People stare at me.  I would like to think it’s my good looks…

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…

Everything is still pretty overwhelming but it’s also very exciting.  I still can’t believe the heat – the humidity is brutal. Any cool breeze is a surprise and a welcome one at that! Went apartment hunting and will continue to look tomorrow as well – please keep your fingers crossed for me!  Also pedestrians do not have the right-of-way… it can get a bit dicey on the streets but it definitely keeps it interesting!   For now, please enjoy some photos of Shenzhen!

Went out with a bunch of people from school last night – I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn’t have been so jet lagged!  As you can see in one of the photos below, I am about to fall asleep in my dumplings (which were delicious by the way).  What was interesting was the ‘host’ at the door – when people came in to eat, the guy would literally shout, and I mean shout to ask if there was a table ready and if there was, he would push people in – it was…

My first day in Shekou has been a bit of a whirlwind.  I am pretty jetlagged but I did manage to get out and see some of the city.  The people that I will be working with have been wonderful.  I feel truly welcome. It is very hot and humid here it’s like I could almost slide down the streets – but I am just drinking plenty of bottled water!  I am posting some photos of Old Shekou for you to see.  Nothing spectacular but will hopefully give you a feel for this part of the city.  Cheers!

Well, I am sitting right now in the Hong Kong airport waiting for a ferry to Shekou.  I haven’t been out in the city yet; I can’t wait to see it.  I think it will feel more real when I actually see everything.  Now all I see is a bunch of people in an airport lounge.  I hear Chinese everywhere.  It will be nice when that starts to sound familiar. I have met some great people along the way.  This one student from Xian, China said to me in his broken English. “Humankind is so good, so many creations.”  I…

Here is an interesting article on Shenzhen… I will be there shortly.  Weird. Shenzhen article

Here is a little bit of information about where I will be living starting this August: Shenzhen, once a one-time small fishing village, was singled-out by late Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, the chief designer of Chinese reform and opening, as one of the Special Economic Zones in China originally established in 1978. In May 1980, Shenzhen was formally nominated as a “Special Economic Zone”, the first one of its kind in China. Shenzhen is located at the forefront of the Pearl River Delta and borders on the New Territories of Hong Kong in the south, Daya Bay in the…