Hi everyone! The internet is not yet set up in our apartment
so it has been difficult to post, but that should all be fixed up pretty soon.
Where do I begin???
We had a loooong flight. I dreamed during our flight that we were landing - and
distinctly remember being very pleased with myself for sleeping through that super long 13 hour flight and smiling in my sleep. I even remember thinking, “if that’s not
us landing, at least it will be very soon.” When I woke up, I was extremely
dismayed to discover that we had 8 more hours of flight left! It was right
around that time that I became disgusted with airplanes. It wasn’t such a
big deal in theory, but in reality, it sucked, big time. Landing in China was pretty
cool, it was extremely humid getting out of the plane but customs and bag
checking went really well. I was pretty impressed with myself because we got
separated from the group and it was still pretty easy going. We connected with
a fellow teacher while making our way to our gate and it was all good. Also, I LOVE
TROLLEYS!!! They made transferring at the airport amazing. Zac wanted to push. I let him.
We had the faculty from the school waiting for us at the
airport even though we were several hours behind schedule and it was after 1am
here, plus an hour bus ride back to campus. The staff are amazingly helpful and understanding because they have all
done this for the first time themselves. It’s such a relief.
Zac and I love our apartment. There are a couple of things I
would change but honestly, it’s pretty great. I’m not fully settled in and still
find myself waking up at 2 am unable to sleep, so I just continue organizing
then too. We’ve got the Wii almost hooked up, a games drawer by the t.v., a
lengthy sofa, small but cute kitchen, and 2 roomy bedrooms. The closets are
amazing! I want to bring mine home with me. We’re in the second floor, and it’s
very convenient.
I am so impressed with my son. He has come into a new
culture and adapted very quickly. I know there will be ups and downs for both
of us, but he has already made several friends on campus. Before I came over, I was in frequent contact with the vice
principal, who is from BC and has two children, 8 and 6. His wife is from Dalian, China and their children speak both Mandarin and English. Blake’s
wife, Sandy, is AMAZING. She helped me translate during an interview with an
Ayi (Zac’s Nanny, who is soo nice and going to help us learn
Mandarin!), offered to set up Mandarin lessons for Zac before school with her
own children (he will also learn Mandarin for an hour each day at school, so
that will be 2 hours/day plus his communication with the Ayi), and told me in
no uncertain terms that if I need anything, I am to call her. She told me to
send Zac over for pancakes for breakfast any time, gave me her phone number to
call if I ever need help translating, and is just in general a very wonderful,
helpful person who has further helped put my mind at ease. Her friend, who has
twin daughters two years older than Zac, who will be in his class (he will be
in a multi-grade classroom, grades 4-6 with approximately 10-12 students in his
class), also speaks both Mandarin and English and was very kind as well. They
live in the building right next to us and told me that, "they are very happy to have a new friend." Zac already enjoys the short walk it
takes to find willing playmates to hang out in his new backyard, complete with
a track, soccer field, basketball court, volley ball court, and an area to play
street hockey. He has roller blades, a basket ball, and a soccer ball and is pretty content with those things so far.
Anyways, I know there is TONS more to tell everyone but it's my first prep day before school starts so I'd better get to work! Thanks everyone for your patience as we get our internet communication on track! And Zac LOVES his emails. He hasn't been able to write back yet because of time constraints, but he is excited every time he gets a chance to check :) Lots of love, chat soon xoxo
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