Jilin

L-R: Matt (a 'nova grad too!), Jim, and Kevin

My 3 companions and I had an extended voyage from Hong Kong to Jilin. We flew to Beijing, had a 3 hour layover, flew to Changchun, and then took an 1hr van ride to our destination. We left the house at 7am and arrived at 11pm. But we made it safe and sound.

The four of us have our own apartment, which are surprisingly nice. In fact, its nicer than my first apartment in Burlington, although, it has less character:

Living Room Kitchen

Bedroom (with a queen sized bed!)

On Sunday, we got our teaching schedules, books, and ventured out into Jilin downtown.

One thing that I noticed immediately, was that it is cooler here than in Hong Kong and no humidity. Its been nice to be in a more temperate environment, however, I think this foreshadows an extremely cold winter.

Our jaunt downtown was pretty comical. I do not attract much attention because I virtually look the same as everyone who lives here, but my friends, on the other hand, definitely have people's attention. On the bus ride down, my friend, Jim was sitting next to an elderly woman who was staring at his hairy, blond arms. Eventually, she started picking at his arm hair, almost to the point of petting his arm. I was standing by the window watching this spectacle and started cracking up. It was pretty hilarious and we all had a good laugh about it.

We are teaching at Beihua University:

I will be teaching a class called "Forensic English," which means covering basic readings on things such as tort law, intellectual property law, etc. I am actually interested in teaching this course because its something that I can learn from. Moreover, it'll help me navigate Law & Order. Also, I will be teaching a class "English for Medical Professionals," which I am looking forward to, actually it starts tomorrow.

I had my first day of Chinese class today, which was very exciting. I had about 6 hours of speaking and comprehension. I was pretty burnt out by the end of the day.

Just some thoughts to leave you with:

- Kevin ate donkey dumplings and beer tonight, which he immensely enjoyed.

- I went running today and almost sank in mud.