I'M BACK!!!

So back in China, this time for the long haul. While I was quite aware that this was coming I got so caught up in the summer that it became almost a myth to myself that I would be back here. Thankfully, a 14 hour flight with China Eastern Airlines sitting in the middle seat gave me lots of time to contemplate my future as there was no way I was getting any sleep on that plane. 4 movies, 150 pages of a book, several bad meals and I was in China. This time I was not as wide eyed going through the Shanghai airport so I went through customs/security pretty quick and quickly settled in for a 2 hour ( well would turn into 3 hour) layover before flying to Nanchang. This time I somehow got some sleep even though I clearly did not fit in my seat. It would be like seeing me trying to sit in one of those swings at parks made specifically for babies with the cross beams for their legs. I am pretty sure the flight attendant laughed at me. The good news was that their was someone who works for the school there to pick me up from the airport and drive me to my apartment.

My apartment is good considering it is being covered by the school. It is small but everything is over here, basically the antithesis to what I imagine Texas would be like. I have a living area with couch/tv/coffee table, a kitchen that is about the size of an outhouse (I can already anticipate that when I come back to Canada I will want everything I eat to be roasted as I only have two gas elements so my diet will entirely be the result of frying, boiling or steaming), a bed room with a double bed and a decent view of downtown Nanchang, and a bathroom that has a very nice shower. So for those that browsed my previous blogs, this is a big upgrade in my mind. The square footage is not huge but the quality is there. There are some minor issues with things not working but the school administration has people coming by all week to fix things. Once the second AC unit is working I will be able to turn this place into an ice palace as it is about 35 outside with humidity so bad I sweat as soon as I am outside.

The school I will be teaching at seems great. I have my own classroom that was just re-done and has all sorts of new technology to teach with. We have only 20 teachers so it will be a tight community.

Today already had my first adventure as some of the teachers and I went out for Thai for lunch after our orientation today. Most of the teachers have e-bikes so I hoped on the back of one of them. Luckily she knew what she was doing so this was not like my last experience with bikes in Xi'an. Though she was a bit of a crazy driver, and this comparing her to the other chinese drivers.

But that is about it for now. Classes start tomorrow so I am going to head to the school and get everything set up and check out my classroom a bit.

Looks like it is going to be a good year.