Ok. You guys. You know how tragedies come in three's? So: my flight gets delayed making it so I miss my plane. 1. I have a struggle rebooking my flights all by myself. 2. My checked bag gets lost and I STILL have no idea where it is. 3. BUT, I woke up today and thought, "Today is gonna be a good day. I can feel it." Xiu Ming invited me to go sightseeing, and it was just what I needed. I knew I was going to love this place once I got over the shock of moving to a foreign place by myself. But here I am, alive after dealing with my three tragedies. IT'S A FREAKIN MIRACLE! Here are Xiu Ming (Harry) and
I waiting for the bus to get to the Changsha Museum. It took us about twenty minutes by bus to get there, so it wasn't too bad. It turns out that Ali was in the exact same place but we were twenty minutes too late, so I couldn't see her. Next time. :) (For those of you who don't know, Ali is my best friend and she's here teaching English through ILP. She's kind of amazing. :)) Anyway, we got to tour the museum and it was really neat to learn more about Changsha and its' history. Here I am at the entrance to the "Old Lady's Tomb" or
that's how you would translate it :). Xiu Ming and I talk in both English and Mandarin. We want to better our language skills so I ask him questions about Mandarin, and he asks about English! It works out!
After the museum, we went shopping since I lost so many of my clothes in my checked bag. The mall we went to was HUGE! I mean, it was just a long stretch of road with shops on both sides. Below is a picture of the major intersection for pedestrians to cross between each mall (it's just a huge block of buildings crowded with independent malls
and shops)-hopefully that makes sense. I was able to find everything I needed and it was super cute because Xiu Ming shopped too, and he kept asking me, "Maura, zhe shi he shi hao bu hao? Ni xi huan ma?" or "Maura, does this look good? Do you like?" We enjoyed lunch at a "hole in the wall" place and I had the BEST rice noodles I have ever tasted. Xiu Ming has continued to make fun of me because I have a hard time eating
all the food on my plate, but the serving sizes here are huge! I'm a little person! :) He recommended I try something called "tian shui" or "sugar water". They brought it to me and it was filled with nuts and green beans... But... it was sweet! It was really tasty, but it took me off guard that I was drinking bean water. :)
Today has been such a good day. Everything is starting to look up. I am finally getting used to the heat. AND, I was struggling with the language a little bit when I first got here, but now I am talking with my friends in the dorm in Mandarin! I mean, it's a miracle! I've learned a lot about myself already and how I respond to stress. In the end, I am proud of myself for how I handle it. Tomorrow is my first day of registration, so wish me luck! Here's to having a great day!
Comentários