my first day

was a nightmare. I arrived in Beijing at the same time as my flight to Chengdu departed. Upon arriving, I realized that i lacked two checked bags, one carrying my clothes (replaceable), the second carrying only books (not). bummed about that, i went about rescheduling my flight. i was booked on the last plane to Chengdu at 10:10pm. now this is going on about 24 hours of travel...and it turns out that flight was delayed. finally, we began to board at 1:30am. i sat next to elson, a teenage student of english. he spoke in broken english to me, i spoke broken chinese to him. we both wrote furiously in our notebooks. i arrived in chengdu at 4:30 in the morning. Elson asked if i wanted a ride, and i demurred, thinking that in the chinese culture it is polite to do so at least twice before accepting. he took the first no, and was on his way. i bartered with a taxi driver (badly) to take me to the chengdu sheraton, where i spent from 5 to 6:30 reading in the lobby (thank you the sun!) and waiting for it to be light. at 6:30, i struck out to see the city and kill time before it was reasonable to call the headmaster. at the center of chengdu, there is a statue of mao. i thought if i could find that everything would be okay, i could get my bearings, buy a phone card, and meet my ride at an easily distinguishable place. i was told later by my coordinator that statue is under construction, and cannot be seen. so i wandered aimlessly, trying to work up my courage to ask a shop owner "you mei you dian hua mumble mumble mumble." i never could. finally i spotted an internet cafe. i spoke to the clerk, and situated myself at a terminal. i shot an email off to the lovely parents, and noticed a payphone on the desk and asked if i could make a call. luckily the clerk's english was good, and he assisted me in making a call, buying a phone card, and finally walking two or three blocks to help me find my ride.
since then, the trip has been cake. my apartment is rediculously huge. 90sq meters. i have a bedroom, bath, kitchen, dining room, study, sitting room, and a nook that looks perfect for meditating. the other teachers are from england and really pleasant. all i need now are my bags, and more importantly, my books.


good night and good morning,
bick