A Short Update

So...sickness has caught up to me and I gave in and went to a doctor today. I've been having some weird chest pains and an annoying cough that I was trying to deny for the past couple days, and it just got to the point that I figured I should go and get it checked out. Long story short, I'm fine, I got some medicine, I'm gonna live. YAY.

Yesterday was my first day of teaching English, and it went great. The students were awesome and spoke better English than I expected, and I really think I am going to love teaching English/learning Chinese at this school.

Today is just a relaxing day full of cathching up on emails and reading. I am going to avoid going outside today until I feel a bit better (the freezing air and pollution doesn't really help heal a cough), and luckily the internet is working (somewhat) in my one roommate's room (who was nice enough to let me borrow her laptop - thanks Chelsey!) Unfortunately, my other roommate who has Skype can't get her internet to work yet, so I'm still not able to call from my apartment yet. Oh well, eventually everything will get worked out. This is China, time is kind of irrevelent.

I forgot to mention in my last post just how interesting the traffic is in this city. It's a little like driving in New York City (the amount of cabs combined with a similiar number of pedestrians, clumped together with various types of bikes and mopeds), but it is completely different. It seems more chaotic, more out of control, but at the same time much more safe and without the least bit of road rage. The use of the horn here can be heard at all hours, but it is not a sound of madness and aggressive driving, it is just a mandatory part of the car, just like a steering wheel or the brakes. A device used to let other cars know the exact location of each person on the road. It's hard to explain, but I feel safe being in the front seat of a cab with a non-English speaking driver and a car coming head on as we try to pass a bus on our right side with just enough time to squeeze through before being sandwiched between the two. It just seems normal...it's quite interesting.

The buses are another new thing for me. As most know, personal space is just not an issue here in China. People don't walk around with a bubble around them, and it's completely normal to be crushed into a bus so full that the doors can't fully shut. I was on a bus like this the other day, and if this situation happened back in the states, I know I would feel claustrophobic, nervous even, and would probably have gotten out and walked. But there is a weird calmness to it here. It doesn't feel creepy or dangerous.

It's funny how quickly people can adjust to certain things in such a short time. I know I am adjusting, but I also know there is a lot more to come that may not be so easy to adjust to. I just gotta take it one day at a time.

Anyway, this short update has turned long, and I'm just going to end it with my address here in China, in case anyone wants to send me something! We are allowed to use the school's address so mail doesn't get lost trying to make it's way to all of our own apartments.

So here it is:
Lindsey Glick c/o Langston English
Dongyu Building 3rd floor, #2 Heping South Ave.
Shenyang, Liaoning Province 110001
China

More updates later -- Much love.