Settlin In to a Nest

While still getting used to the new country, new tiny dorm room with terrible bathroom, funky water, and pushy people, I made new friends fast.

I met Elaine, a lawyer from Malaysia, totally by chance the day of registration when I was starting to give up mentally. What a wimp, I know. But I went to the manager's office, we smiled at each other, and then went out to explore. Besides my already established contacts, Elaine is my first official friend at Jiao Tong and at Shanghai, and she's been busting my balls ever since.

At the Bank of China, where the wait for a teller was over 2 hours, I met Yoon from South Korea. Turns out, he studied in the States for 9 years, and five of those years were at St. Alban's High School...right down the street from me in good old Washington, D.C. Small world. Yoon is my guide, my buddy, and the general manager for the Jiao Tong International Students Women's Farm League. Obviously fluent in Korean, he speaks English like an American, and his Chinese is high level. Hanging out with him feels like cheating, as I jsut let him do the ordering and talking. We eat, drink, play basketball, and have a good time

I thought I would never be able to distinguish street names (it took me at least 4 days to get the name of our International School building right..."Tao Li Yuan") but my bubble has been growing. Already I am getting tired of the places to eat around our campus. There are multiple gates to exit the school, and the closest to my dorm and Tao Li Yuan is called Panyu Lu Kou. There is a Korean restaurant that serves as fine dining for Yoon and I, a xiao long bao place that gets hit up all the time and at all hours, and many cheap Chinese rice places. Oh and one Cantonese style restaurant that is a little more expensive. Walk down Hongqiao Road, a much bigger Lu (Street) than Panyu, and you will see the bright lights, graphics, and people at Xiu Jia Hui. This place reminds one that Shanghai is very modern, high end, and technology oriented. It's a bit of a rush for me compared to the few blocks around Jiao Tong. And that is kind of funny, because Xiu Jia Hui is really only a few blocks from Jiao Tong. I figure I will be somewhat overwhelmed when I venture further out to places like the Bund; I've seen Shanghai before but it's different when you think of a place as your new home.


This blog already is kind of random, because I started it several weeks after getting here. CURRENTLY, I have a fever and have missed two days of classes. My bathroom is broken, but Doug is letting me stay at his place. Clos, Spence, and Chloemon have been keeping in good contact, and lil Wong as well. It surprised me a little, but Dad has been the best at keeping emails, and now two CALLS, flowing. Miss everyone, and maybe I'll post again later tonight considering I think I will be under house arrest and liquor is the last (college kids would say first) thing I need. Zaijian