And so it begins!

Sorry the first blog post has been such a long time coming, but gosh!  So much has happened!

SATURDAY
I arrived at the Beijing airport after spending the night in Incheon (which is the airport in Seoul).  Facebook was accessible there, and their visitors' quarters were impeccable, which made me have really high hopes for China. 

Obtaining my luggage was difficult, since the longboard had been placed on a different trolley and the airport workers in the area, for the most part, did not speak English.  Made my way to the outer portion of the terminal and a HUGE horde of people - plus the best green tea cheesake in the history of the world.  Emailed Dr. Chen via Gmail, told him I was to arrive at the school, hailed a taxi (driver also didn't speak English, but I wrote the address down and he took me to the final destination).

Note:  Learn Mandarin.

Arrived at the university.  No Dr. Chen.  He had recommended asking the gate guards to call his mobile number, once I arrived, but they also didn't speak English.  Yay, hand gestures!  Apparently some other international students had this problem, as well;  they'd arrived two weeks prior, and were expecting rooms (even though the form said housing would only be provided starting in the month of September).  Dr. Chen sent his student, Ting, to come get me, and we walked around and talked in broken English for several hours before Chen came to meet us for lunch.

Note:  Chen told me later, after we'd had food and he realized Pajjes aren't asslike, that he assumes I'm smart, because most people would not have been able to get to the university through transportation without speaking at least some Mandarin.  Neither he or the guy who deals with international students knew that our representatives hadn't told us when school begins, and currently the "first class rooms" where we'll be housed during the school year are "being decorated".  Whatever that means.

Note, part 2:  LEARN MANDARIN.

Dr. Chen introduced me to his wife and son, and distributed phone numbers and contact information. Christ, the Chinese concept of a "friend" is so much more intense than the American.  I got the impression that anyone I met would do basically ANYTHING to help me, while I'm here.  I'm also really, really impressed with his wife's English proficiency;  apparently she did not speak at ALL before she went to the US, and now is at a level almost higher than her husband's.

My "apartment" isn't that great (an 8-girl room, barely big enough for one person, without mattresses or air-conditioning, and in an all-girls Chinese dormitory.  Smells really bad, but I have a balcony and bought a fan, so it's all good.  No internet access on campus (yet), but should receive a code once the term starts.  Bathrooms are holes in the floor, people spit all the time, etc., etc.  That's to be expected, and the exhilaration of living in a new place + meeting new people + SO MUCH HAPPENING ALL THE TIME more than makes up for it.

Met a really nice UPenn graduate at a restaurant called "Sculpting in Time" who helped me set up a VPN, and even lives on my campus.  He also gave me a lot of pointers about living in the area.  Met a sociologist Spaniard (Nadal) that same morning at a supermarket on Chengfu Lu who also said that he loved China, and doesn't really want to leave.

... :)  Apparently, if you speak Mandarin, that also opens up a lot of doors in the business world.  Who knows?  If I like it, may stay.

 SUNDAY + MONDAY

In the mean time, exploring!  Ate primarily street food the first day, and got sick to my stomach.  Store-bought food is kinda weird, but I'll be checking out Carrefour (sort of a French Wal-Mart) in the very near future. 

When I think of something else, I'll write more.  And believe me, I'll think of something :)

I love you, I miss you, oh baby oh baby
(to continue with the 90's motif @ Lush)
- Pei zhi