My house is pink.

Ok, my building is pink, or perhaps it is more rust colored, but all the buildings in my apartment complex are yellow and rust colored. This is convenient, as it makes the place easy to spot from a distance. I don’t know my way around yet, so I spend a lot of time wandering.

On Wednesday I left Cambodia. The night before I stuffed myself on Cambodian food for the last time. I managed not to cry until I was on the way to the airport. My Cambodian friend came with me, so at least I wasn’t alone. I was able to stop crying by the time I arrived at the check in counter, but after I got checked in I waited with my friend before I had to go through security and just started bawling. People were definitely staring but I’m used to that by now. Walking up the stairs was hard. Getting on the plane was hard. I feel bad for the people who sat next to me. I was definitely crying most of the way to China.

We landed in Guangzhou. Thus began my 7 hour layover. In Phnom Penh they told me that my luggage was checked all the way to Kunming. At the transfer counter in Guangzhou I learned there was some sort of misunderstanding. So I had to go back through customs, back to the luggage carousel, and retrieve my bags. I already knew my bags were overweight and that I would have to pay extra for them, so I arrive for the second time at the transfer counter, ready to pay for my bags. Alas there was another misunderstanding. As the staff spoke rather poor English, and I speak zero Chinese, I understood that the bags had to be paid for before they could be checked in. And the paying happens on the 3rd floor. So I get in the elevator, only to find that there is no 3rd floor button. I wander the second floor trying to ask staff where I’m supposed to be going. Each person tells me to go somewhere else, when I arrive somewhere else, I am told to go elsewhere yet again. Did I mention my luggage was heavy? The staff was very eager to help, but the language barrier was a bit too much.

And then I had a bit of meltdown. I was lugging my heavy bags through a deserted hallway. My mind was racing, wondering why I left a place I knew, people I loved who loved me, to come wonder to a strange place all alone. I have never been so lonely in my life as I was at that moment. I just sat down on my bags and cried. Two guys drove by on an electric cart and asked if I needed to go anywhere. I’m a foreigner, alone in an empty hallway, sitting on luggage, crying her eyes out. I can’t imagine what a sight I must have been to them. I just shook my head, opting to attempt to pull myself together before any more social interaction. I finally find my way to another part of the airport, where lo and behold there is an elevator the third floor. The third floor was huge and bustling with people, I felt a lot better. Surely I could pay for my excess baggage here. I hunt for a promising counter. First I go to international overweight luggage. They tell me I’m in the wrong place, and point me to domestic overweight luggage. Domestic overweight luggage tells me I have to check in first, and I attempt to explain that the check in people told me I had to pay first. He sends me to CDE. I wasn’t sure what that meant so I just wandered some more, looking for any signs written in English. By now I’m feeling rather fantastic. It’s as though I’m playing some of airport counter scavenger hunt, go to as many counters as you can in seven hours. I am clearly dominating this game. I see a counter marked oversize luggage and give it a shot. Finally light is shed on my situation, it is the wrong counter yet again, but the guys manages to get across that CDE isn’t a special counter, it means that I can check in my luggage at counters C1-C20, D1-D20, or E1-C20. Yay! So it turns out the bags could be checked in, but just not downstairs. So I finally check in my bags! They weigh them and write the excess weight on a ticket, and hold my boarding pass hostage until I pay and bring them the receipt. I am more than happy to do this, elated at the idea that I have finally found someone willing to take my money. So after three hours of trying, I finally get rid of my checked bags.

Success. Time for McDonalds. The McDonalds is about the size of a closet. There are a total of three menu items: ice cream cones, oreo mcflurries, and spicy chicken sandwiches. A balanced meal if I ever saw one. I got a mcflurry and a sandwich. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit how delicious they were. Seriously it tasted just like they do in America. Granted I have been gone a while, but still. It made me ridiculously happy. So I napped until it was time to board the plane.

The flight was uneventful, until we got over Kunming. The weather was bad, so we circled the airport for about half an hour. Then the pilot decides it’s just too dangerous, so we land at another airport and wait there for over an hour. I felt terrible because I knew someone was waiting for me, and had been since my plane was supposed to arrive at 9pm. By the time we finally arrived in Kunming it was 1am.

But I made it to China. Kunming really is the nicest place in China (I haven’t actually seen any other places, but I’m assured by everyone that it is) and I believe it. It’s incredibly clean. Women with brooms are everywhere, sweeping. And there are trash can placed conveniently around the city so you don’t have to through trash on the ground. Nice. My apartment is wonderful, I definitely hit the jackpot as far a first apartments go. I have a big master bedroom, and two smaller rooms (so you can come visit!) in addition to a large living room, smaller kitchen, and a laundry room. I have 3 loveseats and a cushioned chair that are ocean blue. I have running (hot) water, a washing machine, and a bathtub. No dryer or AC, but those are really unnecessary. The weather here is great. The only times I’ve broken a sweat have been during exercise. Yay. The apartment complex has over 80 buildings. It’s really huge. The school is less than a ten minute walk away from my building. There are tons of convenience stores, fruit stalls, and various other small shops in the complex. There is even a coffee shop with wireless. The grounds are beautiful. There are tons of gardens and ponds and trees. In the mornings I can watch old people doing tai chi or bringing their pet birds out for some fresh air. There are gazebos and benches for hanging out, and random exercise equipment for anyone to use.

The school is ballin. The classroom are air conditioned and the entire campus has wireless. My room has a 3D image projector. You put anything inside this little box and it projects a 3D image of that object onto the screen. The new teachers all seem to be great. They’re all quite a bit older than me and more experienced. Which is good because I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m working with a guy named Jeff who has worked with underprivileged kids in Chicago for several years. He and I will basically be making sure the non-native English speakers in 1st and 2nd grade can keep up. The school is very progressive as far as teaching techniques. My instructions were to do whatever will help the kids learn, if standing on my head helps the kids learn than I should do that. So we’re probably going to move the desks, and get rugs, pillows and beanbag chairs to make it feel more comfortable. I’m thinking of maybe getting a play kitchen, and maybe even a classroom pet.

So that’s about it. I still need to go shopping and buy house stuff, and learn Chinese so I can buy stuff without it turning a game of charades.
I love and miss you all, and please come visit if you can!