Third time's a charm

So I wrote an insanely long post last night at the apartment that was timed out by my email and deleted. So I rewrote it but then it apparently did not post onto the blog. So here I am again for the third time trying to update this darn blog.

Some things I talked about yesterday in the blog post that never was: A few things I learned on my first day in China, what I ate, discomfort, and truths.

I learned how to exchange money. You can only exchange 500 USD at Bank of China so that's exactly what I did. In the post below you can see how many 100 yuans it takes to make 500 USD. Basically, 100 yuan is like 14 USD. I was taught how to distinguish between real and counterfeit money. If Mao's collar is bumpy then it is good. Cash varies in size here, with 100 yuan being the largest bill and 1 jiang being the smallest. Jiang also comes in a coin form. The coins are like plastic pretty much. To calculate how much American money you are spending you just divide the yuan spent by 6. That way you see about hot much you are spending in USD. I feel so worldly already.

Instead of wearing diapers while potty training, kids here have "split-pants." These are literally pants with a slit from the crotch to the bottom. The kid's dingaling basically just hangs out and his bottom rubs all over anything he touches. One kid peed in a plastic cup during Art Explorers class. It was like no big deal. "Oh you have to pee? Well here is a cup. Don't worry that the toilet is right outside the door." The culture is definitely different here.

Everything stinks here. The air was so smog filled yesterday. If you are breathing with your mouth open it tastes like rotten sewage and if you breathe through your nose you feel like you might pass out. I guess you decide which way is better for you at the time. The water smells, too. I'm not really sure what exactly it smells like. Maybe bad eggs...

Many of you were wondering about the food that I am eating in China. Yesterday I had:

Breakfast- Special K bar and fruit snacks (brought from home)
Lunch- Pancake noodles with beef and veggies
Snack- Vanilla ice cream bar with a chocolate coating and chocolate crunchy thing inside
Dinner- Pork and corn dumplings from 7-11

7-11 is not a rare commodity around here. There were probably 50 people inside the 7-11 across the street from work. We had lunch there today and waited in line for awhile.

It is so hot here. Even though we have air conditioning Chinese people really don't like for it to be turned on at all times. At my apartment I am not supposed to leave it on but I really can't breathe without it on. It's just hot, hot, hot. Way uncomfortably hot. I can't believe it will only get hotter for the next few months.

My bed is hard as a rock. It is basically like sleeping on a wood slab. Maybe even more uncomfortable than that. Once I get settled into a more permanent apartment I will buy a mattress pad for sure. I think this is a necessity at this point. My back is seriously sore. I also have bruises all over my body...

It is true-- about the spitting thing. People really do spit a lot. But it is not that strange to me. You can tell that someone wants to spit because they just constantly clear their throats. Once outside they just hawk a huge loogie wherever they want.

Not so true-- driving isn't so ridiculous here. Granted I haven't been here very long so I really haven't seen much driving. I have almost been run over a few times but that is just because pedestrians pretty much never have the right-of-way. There is a lot of honking and switching lanes or driving in the middle of the road. I have only been in the car with Luyin. I am sure once I ride in a cab I will be freaked out.

It is true-- this city is massive. It just goes on forever. It really is not very crowded, though. I think it has a lot to do with the area I am in. I work/live in the business district which has been termed "The Silicone Valley of China." Microsoft has offices across the street from me along with some other big businesses.

I am enjoying my time here. I am trying to just take it in and not really pass any judgment right now. Pretty much everything is different here. Once I know my way around a bit more and have a roommate I will be much happier. I like being at work since there are people I can talk to. I don't like going home because there is no one there. I am going to attempt to venture out tonight. I want to find something good for dinner. I will probably be too scared to go too far from home. I am not positive that I will be able to find my way back if I go somewhere so I will stay close.

I will blog again when I get back to the apartment about my day today. Sorry it took so long to give a real update. The pictures posted below in the previous post are of my apartment, the view from my window, all of my RMB, and my excitement over finding Sprite!

I think I will find something to do at work now... though I am not really sure what I can do.

Mandarin lesson:
Wǒ è le. 我餓了。 (I am hungry.)