it's a chinese life for me

oh man, so much to write and so little time! i may or may not be using a proxy to write this blog post. heaven forbid blogspot is allowed in china. well, i'm here! all i can say is that i'm basically the miley cyrus of china. just kidding, but they do love us here. the city i'm living in isn't a tourist city, so americans rarely come through....hence the feeling of a zoo animal with strangers looking, laughing and talking about you in a foreign language/a pop star with people taking pictures of you wherever you go. i feel just as worn out as the barbie at the end of toy story two.."are the cameras off? good! my cheeks are killing me!" a few days ago was the end of the chinese new year, so the boarding school we're teaching at built a huge float and stuck us on it in the biggest parade i've ever seen! people were running into the street and reaching up to touch our hands. i am not kidding. i just hope my self confidence isn't shattered when i come back to america and no one comes running up, asking to take a picture with me.

a few thoughts on my adventure so far:

1) here's the thing about living in a different environment than your own....you are forced to adjust because that's the only way you'll survive. there's no such thing as being picky...this is real life! when i first got here, i thought the food was absolutely disgusting. contrary to my own belief, orange chicken only exists in america or in my head, when i'm trying to imagine that's what i'm eating instead of slimy, noodly, stew for breakfast. but instead of starving myself to death, i had no choice but to buck up and eat the unidentifiable meals in front of me. now i know what i like and what i don't like and things i would never eat under any other circumstances are beginning to taste really good compared to withering away and having no energy to teach. survival of the fittest, baby.

2) china's kind of like camping. they never drink water. and the water here is not drinkable. bring out the resourcefulness! every night, i fill up my water bottle with boiled water and stick it in the fridge so it's pure- yet drinkable- the next day, and i have to remember to take it everywhere i go. the mattresses are like sleeping in a sleeping bag without padding. with a rock and a tree root under you the whole night. it's a generous slab of plywood with a little fabric covering. bring out the $13 beach futon i bought at the store! dryers don't exist in china so you have to drip dry your clothes and then get over the cigarette smell like everything and everyone here. your clothes are always wrinkly and you never look cute. you get over it really quickly!

3) i really really love my group. i don't think i could have asked for a better one! the girls are so chill and funny and i like them all a lot. i've had a bunch of fun with them and i can't wait for the upcoming adventure together! i know i'm making lifelong friends. they really are so great. i'm lovin' my girls.

4) i think i'll spare you the teaching part of my week until things have calmed down a little and i don't refer to my kids only as "spawn of satan." one of my boys locked me in my own classroom. yesterday, i had to refrain from hopping on a plane and coming home. it was a rough day. my head teacher said it's always like that for the first few weeks until you establish some routine and discipline. i sure hope so because the next few months look dismal if i can't stop the kids from throwing knives at me (kidding!). i know it'll get better. i think i just had too high of expectations about the first day, so now i know that it's not going to be a bed of roses all the time, and especially until i can establish a good teacher/student relationship with the kids.

overall, i am having SO much fun and i can tell it's going to be a great few months. of course it's not going to be easy, but i'm living the dream right now! off on my own, seeing the world...i can't believe i'm here!

p.s. survival of the fittest aside, i'd really kill for a red robin bonzai burger right now...