The Heroes City

Welcome to the "Heroes City!" We arrived early this Sunday morning to our city, the final destination on our journey. The train ride was pretty tiresome, but we have somewhat revived since we came here. A man from our school and a driver picked us up at the train station. The streets are so chaotic and packed full of people. The city is a bit better off than the central Chinese city I was in 2 years ago. And the heat and humidity is enough to take your breath away.

We ate breakfast next to a huge square at the center of the city which commemorates where the communist revolution began in 1927. It is very patriotic, with tons of red bunting and a huge yellow star overshadowing everything. Apparently we have arrived in the "Heroes City!" So for breakfast we ate rice noodles and hot dumplings while gazing at the square.

Then we arrived at our campus. All seven of us "foreign teachers" paraded onto campus, walking by tons of students playing basketball and chatting. I can't believe I'm supposedly a teacher! Right now I feel so small and unprepared and very out of place. Another teammate, Rachael, and I were shown up the stairs to the fifth floor to our apartment, which will be our home until next July. Our apartment is very large and Chinese-style. I was happy to see I have my own room.

After we arrived I took a shower in the bathroom. The bathroom is a toilet, sink, and shower all wrapped into one. There is one drain in the middle of the floor for all the water. Since there is no tub or shower curtain, water sprayed everywhere. Afterwards I squeegeed the whole bathroom.

There are a million other random observations I have made, but I don't want to overwhelm you, since right now I'm pretty overwhelmed myself. Later this afternoon we are going to the Wal-mart here, which is the world's largest and busiest. I can't imagine that at the moment. I'll let you know how it turns out! Thanks again for your thoughts thousands of miles away! I may be overwhelmed and way out of my comfort zone right now, but I feel very at peace and confident that I have been placed in this city at this school for a wonderful reason.