Salutations from Smokestack City-

Almost settled.  I spent most of the weekend cleaning, shopping, rearranging furnature, and my favorite, organizing my stuff.  Now my place feels more or less homey.  It's good to have a place to go back to that's yours.  Next comes what I came over here for-learning Chinese and teaching English.  Teaching begins tomorrow.  I have spent surprisingly little time thinking about that.  First week (I teach 19 classes each once a week) will be just pretest stuff, so no worries.

Michelle and are past our must-stay-together-soas-not-to-drowned-in-Chinese" phase.  I went off by myself to the city (we live out what I would call a rural area.  But still it's only 15 bus ride to the city) and who should I run into but another Worldteach Zhuzhouian, Melissia!  What are the odds in a city of a few million?  So we hung out, went to a McDonalds where we struck up a conversation with an employee.  By the end we all exchanged email addresses.  We also gave her a new English name, Hope.  (Her old one was Grass.  Chinese seem to have toruble with English names)

Random Observations- Although traffic here is very crazy, I've never seen an accedent, nor ever seen a dinged up car.  I think there is a definete relation between the filthyness of Chinese bathrooms with the existence of squat toilets.

-the Wandering Norseman-