Monday, September 5, 2011

First Few Days

So there are a LOT of things I'm still figuring out and let's be fair, probably will be for a while. The flight here wasn't so bad, especially since the seat next to me was unoccupied and the leg room was like twice that of what I usually fly. I think the main takeaway is not to fly American airlines (in general, not just that specific company) and stick to foreign ones. Mainly, my recent experiences with British Airways and Air Canada have taught me this. Although, to be fair, the Air Canada flight definitely served me a 30-cent Cup-O'-Ramen as a meal, so that was exciting and hilarious.

But the moral of the story is that I'm here and alive and well! I start class tomorrow and spent the last few days figuring out all the logistical details of my life. Firstly, this is the place in which I live:

It is much nicer than I expected! Sunlight, brand new Ikea furniture, television, it honestly has better amenities than your average state school dorm room. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't really convey the few drawbacks... namely, it is 85 degrees, humid as all hell, and I have no AC or even a fan, and of course, the mosquitoes and cockroaches are everywhere. I'm happy to have been trained in the bowels of East Campus to be completely unfazed by hordes of gross bugs because otherwise I would probably be quite happy. Additionally, the mattress is like... probably 1.5 inches thick. My mattress cover in the States is thicker than this. I have been saying I should be sleeping on a firmer surface, so maybe this is a good thing. :P But you know, then there's this:

That is... a toilet. Glossing over the fact that I have to buy toilet paper for my own dorm (No. Glossing!), that is a squat toilet. That is also, a pretty nice squat toilet according to the literature, given that it's like porcelain and flushes and all that jazz.

The main idea here is that I've totally accomplished a lot of things since I've been here. I took my placement test. I'm registered for classes. I have a room. I know where some things are (still working on that Starbucks that is in theory, just past the subway). I have a water boiler (basically the only appliance you will every really need). I even stood in line for like two hours and now have INTERNET! in my dorm room! for the way too high price of why am I paying money for this. :| I will figure out my cell phone soon, and then I will be all set for life (probably). :D Oh and I have rugby practice later so I also get to explore the subway system today.

hearts and stars,

P.S. Incidentally, my new Chinese name loosely translates to 'Elegant Horse'. Haha.

3 comments:

  1. Looks not bad! Where are you having classes?

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  2. Apparently it could also mean "elegant mother", "elegant hemp" or "elegant scold" according to this http://mandarin.about.com/od/pronunciation/a/tones.htm

    But I guess some of these might sound weird?

    Anyway, elegant mother would be a pretty badass name with the implied third word :-)

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  3. Haha, squatty potty. The one in my grandparents' old apartment building was shared by everyone on the floor...and the only way it flushed was if you took a bucket of water with you to the bathroom.

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